Canadian Manufacturing Coalition members to discuss industry growth with ministers

Members of the Canadian Manufacturing Coalition (CMC), a group representing Canada’s manufacturing trade associations, chaired by Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters (CME), are meeting Ministers and MPPs on December 7 at Queen’s Park to discuss how government and industry can work together to drive investment in manufacturing and grow the sector.

Manufacturing representatives will meet George Pirie, Minister of Mines, Grayson Smith, Minister of Natural Resources and Forestry, and Charmaine Williams, Associate Minister of Women’s Social and Economic Opportunity, as well as MPPs, political staff and officials.

“We look forward to meeting with MPPs across party lines and government officials to stress the importance of manufacturing, address the challenging investments for the sector, especially with the recent passing of the Inflation Reduction by the U.S., and to inform Ontario’s Advanced Manufacturing Strategy,” said Dennis Darby, chair of CMC and president and CEO of CME, in a press statement.

CME states that to lay a foundation for an advanced manufacturing strategy, Ontario should act on three urgent priorities:

1. Lower the cost of doing business
   • Lower electricity rates to mitigate the recent rise of the Hourly Ontario Energy Price (HOEP).
   • Eliminate the Business Education component of property tax and switch to annual assessments for greater predictability.
   • Reduce red tape by $700 million in next four years (20 percent increase over last mandate).
   • Renew the Provincially Significant Employment Zones framework to protect employment lands.
2. Get manufacturers the workers they need
   • Introduce a new tax credit to support Work Integrated Learning and automation training for employees (covering 50 percent of employer expenditures).
   • Include manufacturing employers in initiatives to promote STEM education and introduce a single online window matching apprentices with employers.
   • Expand immigrant intake through the provincial nominee program.
3. Support business scale up and investment
   • Expand the Ontario Made Program and make it permanent.
   • Ensure competitive investment support programs for technology, training, environment (matching recent U.S. investments) and exports.
   • Leverage government procurement through the Building Ontario Businesses Initiatives (BOBi) to drive commercialization and scale-up.

“An Ontario manufacturing strategy built around these three pillars will sustain investment and preserve the competitive position of manufacturers from across the province,” added Darby.