Welcome binder for Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development, Paul Thompson - 2023

From: Employment and Social Development Canada

Information supplied to the Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development, Paul Thompson as of September 18, 2023.

Employment and Social Development Canada departmental overview

In this section

The ESDC portfolio - Mission
Employment and Social Development Canada's core responsibilities
How we carry out ESDC's mandate
Legislative framework
Organizational structure
Biographies of Deputy Ministers
- Lori MacDonald, Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development and Chief Operating Officer for Service Canada
- Kristina Namiesniowski, Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development
- Sandra Hassan, Deputy Minister of Labour and Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development
- Cliff Groen, Associate Deputy Minister, Benefits Delivery Modernization
- Andrew Brown, Associate Deputy Minister, Employment and Social Development
Departmental Branches and Regions
- Employment and Social Development Canada Program and Policy Branches
- ESDC Enablers
- Labour Program
- Service Canada Branches
- Benefits Delivery Modernization programme
- Service Canada Regions
Commissions, Tribunals, Councils and Committees
- Canada Employment Insurance Commission
- Accessibility Standards Canada
- Social Security Tribunal of Canada
- Canada Industrial Relations Board
- Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety
- National Seniors Council
- National Advisory Council on Poverty
- National Advisory Council on Early Learning and Child Care
- Policy Horizons Canada
Federal-Provincial/Territorial Relations
- Forum of Labour Market Ministers
- Federal-Provincial/Territorial Ministers Responsible for Social Services
- Federal-Provincial/Territorial Forum of Ministers Most Responsible for Early Learning and Child Care
- Forum of Federal-Provincial/Territorial Ministers Responsible for Seniors
- Federal-Provincial/Territorial Ministers Responsible for Labour
Annex A

The ESDC portfolio - Mission

The mission of Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC); including, the Labour Program and Service Canada, is to build a strong and more inclusive Canada, to support Canadians in helping them live productive and rewarding lives and to improve Canadians' quality of life.

Employment and Social Development Canada's core responsibilities

ESDC's 5 core responsibilities include:

social development: to increase inclusion and opportunities for Canadians to participate in their communities
pensions and benefits: to assist Canadians in maintaining income for retirement and provide financial benefits to surviving spouses, people with disabilities and their families
learning, skills development and employment: to help Canadians access post- secondary education, obtain the skills and training needed to participate in a changing labour market, and provide support to those who are temporarily unemployed
working conditions and workplace relations: to promote safe, healthy, fair and inclusive work conditions and cooperative workplace relations
information delivery and services for other departments: to provide information to the public on the programs of the Government of Canada (GC), and provide services for government departments and other partners

As part of this role, the Department is responsible for delivering some key GC programs and services:

Old Age Security Program
Canada Pension Plan
Canada Disability Savings Program
Employment Insurance
Canada Student Financial Assistance Program and Canada Apprentice Loan
Canada Education Savings Program
Wage Earner Protection Program
Passport services
Social Insurance Number

How we carry out ESDC's mandate

ESDC spent $193.0B in 2021 to 2022 in order to deliver on its wide array of policy, program, and service delivery activities, as well as pandemic response measures, representing 37% of total federal government program spending^{Footnote 1}:

92.4% ($178.3B)^{Footnote 2} of ESDC expenditures were to provide direct benefits to Canadians, corresponding to 6.9% of Canada's GDP
3.6% ($7.0B) was transferred to provinces and territories
2.6% ($5.0B) represented the Department's gross operating budget
1.4% ($2.6B) was charges and recoveries for other government departments and organizations' Employment Insurance and Canada Pension Plan administrative costs, as well as Workers Compensation^{Footnote 3}.

A list of ESDC programs is attached as Annex A.

Specifically, ESDC fulfills its mission by:

developing policies that ensure Canadians use their talents, skills and resources to participate in learning, work and their community
delivering programs that help Canadians move through life's transitions, from school to work, from one job to another, from unemployment to employment, from the workforce to retirement
providing income support to seniors, families with children and those unemployed due to job loss, illness or caregiving responsibilities
helping Canadians with distinct needs, such as Indigenous people, persons with disabilities, travelers and recent immigrants
ensuring to support the federally regulated private sector by providing conciliation and mediation services
promoting a fair and healthy workplace by enforcing minimum working conditions, promoting safe, healthy, fair, stable, cooperative and productive workplaces and employment equity, and fostering respect for international labour standards
delivering programs and services for government departments and other partners, and
ensuring the realization of a Canada without barriers

Legislative framework

ESDC is responsible for administering the following acts and their regulations.

ESDC acts:

Accessible Canada Act^{Footnote 4}
Apprentice Loans Act
Canada Disability Savings Act
Canada Education Savings Act
Canada Emergency Response Benefit Act
Canada Emergency Student Benefit Act
Canada Pension Plan
Canada Recovery Benefits Act
Canada Student Financial Assistance Act
Canada Student Loans Act
Canada Worker Lockdown Benefit Act
Celebrating Canada's Seniors Act
Department of Employment and Social Development Act
Employment Insurance Act
An Act to amend the Employment Insurance Act (additional regular benefits), the Canada Recovery Benefits Act (restriction on eligibility) and another Act in response to COVID-19
Government Annuities Act
Government Annuities Improvement Act
Labour Adjustment Benefits Act
Main Point of Contact with the Government of Canada in case of Death Act
Old Age Security Act
Poverty Reduction Act
Supplementary Retirement Benefits Act
Universal Child Care Benefit Act
Unemployment Assistance Act
Unemployment Insurance Benefit Entitlement Adjustments (Pension Payments)

Labour acts:

Canada Labour Code
Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety Act
Employment Equity Act
Government Employees' Compensation Act
Hudson Bay Mining and Smelting Co., Limited Act
Merchant Seamen Compensation Act
Non-smokers' Health Act
Pay Equity Act
Postal Services Resumption and Continuation Act
Protecting Air Service Act
Restoring Mail Delivery for Canadians Act
Restoring Rail Service Act
Status of the Artist Act
Wages Liability Act
Wage Earner Protection Program Act
Port of Montreal Operations Act
Hazardous Materials Information Review Act

Organizational structure

With over 43,000 employees, ESDC is one of the largest departments within the GC. In very tangible ways, ESDC's employees touch the lives of Canadians across the entire country - with operations across Canada, with 71% of our employees working outside the National Capital Region.

Biographies of deputy ministers

Lori MacDonald, Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development and Chief Operating Officer for Service Canada

Lori MacDonald became the Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development and Chief Operating Officer for Service Canada in January 2020.

Lori began her career in Correctional Services of Canada in Kingston, Ontario and has held senior leadership roles within Transportation, Public Safety and Immigration. At Transport Canada, she served as the Assistant Deputy Minister of the Safety and Security Group. At Public Safety, she was responsible for Canada's emergency and crisis management responses. As Associate Deputy Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, Lori was responsible for world-class immigration programs that ensured the successful integration of newcomers and upheld Canada's humanitarian obligations.

Lori has excelled at developing policies and programs at all levels of government. She has led and supported high-level consultations and engagements and has received recognition for her leadership in developing managerial and leadership capacity in government teams and managers.

Lori has championed many projects related to women, Indigenous peoples, and mental health issues. In addition to playing a leadership and champion role, she volunteered with the United Way for 36 years, helping to raise millions of dollars.

Lori is a recipient of the Exemplary Service Medal and the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Medal.

Kristina Namiesniowski, Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

On March 3, 2021, Tina Namiesniowski assumed the role of Senior Associate Deputy Minister at Employment and Social Development Canada. In addition, the Clerk appointed her Deputy Minister Champion for Employees with Disabilities in the Federal Public Service effective November 29, 2022.

Ms. Namiesniowski has spent more than 30 years in the federal government. Throughout her career, she has accumulated a wide range of experience in policy, programs and operations and has a passion for public service.

Prior to arriving at ESDC, Tina worked in 8 different federal organizations, with the last 20 years at the executive level. She spent time in central agencies, including Privy Council Office as Assistant Secretary, Operations Secretariat, and line departments.

Her program experience stems from her work as Director General, Multiculturalism and Human Rights at Canadian Heritage and as Assistant Deputy Minister with Programs Branch at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. She also served as Strategic Policy Assistant Deputy Minister, Public Safety Canada and Assistant Deputy Minister, Markets and Industry Services Branch at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. At the deputy level, she was most recently Executive Vice-President at the Canada Border Services Agency, following which she was President of the Public Health Agency of Canada during the biggest public health crisis of the century.

Tina's career has greatly deepened her understanding of Canada, the citizens we serve and our contribution globally. She knows first-hand the stresses that organizations face in times of peril, what it takes to rise to the challenge and the importance of innovation. She is committed to service, policy and program excellence as well as continuous improvement. She cares deeply about people, diversity, inclusion, mental health, and well-being.

Tina holds a Bachelor of Arts in political science and history from Carleton University. She also holds a Master of Arts in political science, with a concentration in strategic studies and international relations from Dalhousie University.

She is married and has 3 children.

Sandra Hassan, Deputy Minister of Labour and Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Sandra Hassan was appointed Deputy Minister of Labour and Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development effective March 8, 2021.

Ms. Hassan holds a Bachelor of Law (civil law) from Université Laval (1990) and a Master of Taxation from the Université de Sherbrooke (1995). She also holds a Licence in common law (magna cum laude) from the University of Ottawa (2005). She is a member of the Barreau du Québec since 1991.

Prior to joining ESDC, from July 2016 to March 2021, she was the Assistant Deputy Minister, Employment Conditions and Labour Relations, Office of the Chief Human Resources Officer, Treasury Board Secretariat. Ms. Hassan was also co-chair of the National Joint Council.

Ms. Hassan began her public service career in the Department of Justice in 2000 with the Legislative Services Branch. From 2006 to 2011, she was the Executive Director and General Counsel, Tax Counsel Division of the Department of Finance Legal Services. She was further appointed as Assistant Deputy Minister, Central Agencies Portfolio (Justice) and Counsel to the Department of Finance from April 2011 to June 2016.

Between 1991 and 2000, prior to joining the public service, Ms. Hassan worked in private practice for Langlois Robert Gaudreau, for Deloitte & Touche and finally for Grant Thornton.

Cliff Groen, Associate Deputy Minister, Benefits Delivery Modernization

Cliff Groen was appointed in a newly created Associate Deputy Minister role as the Business Lead, Benefits Delivery Modernization (BDM), effective July 18, 2022. In this role, he provides overarching strategic leadership for the BDM programme, with a strong focus on modernizing and strengthening the way that the Government of Canada serves Canadians, including the elderly, the young, people looking for work and people living with a disability, in ways that best meet their needs.

Most recently, Cliff was Senior Assistant Deputy Minister of Benefits and Integrated Services Branch and was responsible for overseeing the delivery of the Department's core statutory benefits programs, Employment Insurance (EI), Canada Pension Plan (CPP) and Old Age Security (OAS), which total over $130B in annual program benefit payments. In addition, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Cliff was responsible for the implementation of the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB), as well as the call centre to support the Public Health Agency of Canada's enforcement of the Quarantine Act. Cliff also had horizontal accountability for the Integrated Service Management mandate, to lead the implementation and oversight of integrated workload, workplace and workforce management across all channels, for all of Service Canada.

Prior to assuming the Assistant Deputy Minister role for Benefits Delivery Services, from 2014 to 2016, Cliff was Director General (DG), CPP and OAS within Service Canada, and led the ongoing service delivery and modernization agenda for these programs.

Preceding this function, from 2009 to 2014, Cliff was a DG within the Integrity Services Branch, and led measures to enhance the integrity and effective risk management of the delivery of the CPP, OAS and EI Programs.

Previously, Cliff held a number of director-level positions within Service Canada. He began his career in the public service in 1996 as a Management Trainee with the Canada Revenue Agency, and also worked at Industry Canada prior to joining Service Canada in 2005.

Cliff is married and has 2 adult children. In his spare time, Cliff enjoys participating in various sports, in particular golf, cycling, and squash, as well as pursuing his passion for craft beer.

Andrew Brown, Associate Deputy Minister, Employment and Social Development

Andrew was appointed Associate Deputy Minister of ESDC in February 2023.

Prior to this appointment, he worked at ESDC since 2014 on Employment Insurance policy, pandemic benefits policy and labour issues. Most recently, he was the Senior Assistant Deputy Minister responsible for skills and employment programming.

Earlier in his career, Andrew worked as an Advisor at the Privy Council Office on files related to the Canada-United States border from 2012 until 2014; and on citizenship, immigration and refugee programs in Canada and abroad.

Andrew holds a Bachelor of Science (with Honours) degree from Queen's University (Kingston) and a doctorate in Physics from the University of Alberta.

Departmental branches and regions

Employment and Social Development Canada Program and Policy Branches

Income Security and Social Development Branch

The Income Security and Social Development Branch develops social policies and designs programs to ensure that children, families, seniors, persons with disabilities, communities and others who face social challenges have the support, knowledge, and information that they need to maintain their well-being and facilitate their participation in Canadian society. The Branch ensures that eligible Canadians obtain retirement, survivor and disability benefits. It supports the long-term financial security of persons with disabilities and their families, leads the implementation of the Accessible Canada Act and develops regulations that reduce barriers to accessibility. It develops policy to support persons with disabilities, including the Disability Inclusion Action Plan, and serves as the federal focal point for the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. The Branch manages the Old Age Security program, the Canada Pension Plan and related Canada Pension Plan Disability, which includes disability benefits and long-term financial security through the Canada Disability Savings Program.

There are also several sub-programs that work towards Branch goals, that include:

the Enabling Accessibility Fund
the Social Development Partnerships Program
the Investment Readiness Program
the Social Finance Fund
the Supporting Black Canadian Communities Initiative
the Black-Led Philanthropic Endowment Fund (which is led by the Minister of Housing and Diversity and Inclusion)
the New Horizons for Seniors Program
the Early Learning and Child Care

Learning Branch

The Learning Branch helps make post-secondary education and apprenticeship training more affordable and accessible to all Canadians, as well as builds a culture of volunteer service for youth to gain leadership and other soft-skills while making an impact on communities across Canada. Specifically, the Branch helps families save early for their children's post-secondary education through education savings incentives, supports students in the after-school space (for example, tutoring, mentoring), provides grants and loans and repayment assistance to students and apprentices in need, and provides non-financial support aimed at helping students succeed in their studies and transition to post-secondary education and/or the labour market.

The Branch also supports third-parties to deliver volunteer service opportunities for youth to engage in communities across Canada. The major programs managed by the Branch are the Canada Student Financial Assistance Program, the Canada Education Savings Program, the Supports for Student Learning Program, and the Canada Service Corps.

Skills and Employment Branch

The Skills and Employment Branch helps Canadians access the skills and employment supports they need to fully participate in a changing labour market and contribute to growth and innovation. It achieves this by providing programs and initiatives that promote skills development, labour market participation and inclusiveness. Specifically, these programs seek to build a skilled and inclusive labour force by removing barriers to skills development and employment and supporting lifelong learning.

The Branch also offers programs to support an efficient labour market by facilitating the integration of skilled newcomers, the mobility of workers across Canada, the dissemination of labour market information, and a suite of Indigenous labour market programs to help reduce the skills and employment gaps between Indigenous and non- Indigenous people. In addition, the Branch is responsible for programs that provide temporary income support to eligible unemployed workers.

Major programs managed by the Branch include:

the Canadian Apprenticeship Strategy
the Employment Insurance (EI) Program
the Enabling Fund for Official Languages Minority Communities
the Foreign Credential Recognition Program
Future Skills
Indigenous Skills and Employment Training Program
Labour Market Transfer Agreements
Opportunities Fund for Persons with Disabilities
Sectoral Workforce Solutions Program
Skills for Success Program
Skills and Partnership Fund
Student Work Placement Program
Youth Employment Skills Strategy Program

Strategic and Service Policy Branch

The Strategic and Service Policy Branch undertakes the development of policy analysis and advice on key economic and social aspects of the ESDC mandate, as well as leading on horizontal policy development and integration across the portfolio. The responsibilities of the Strategic and Service Policy Branch include the development of economic, social, and service policies, as well as research activities related to the mandate of the Department.

The Branch leads on policy development and implementation in areas such as Indigenous Early Learning and Childcare, families and care, Canada's Poverty Reduction Strategy and the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals. It is also the focal point for:

portfolio-wide strategic planning and reporting
analysis, guidance and oversight on service-related issues
program evaluation
Cabinet and regulatory affairs
international and intergovernmental relations
houses centres of expertise for GBA+
official languages and performance measurement

The Branch houses the ESDC Innovation Lab that fosters a culture of innovation and experimentation in the Department.

ESDC Enablers

Internal Audit and Enterprise Risk Management Branch

The Internal Audit function supports the Department by providing independent, objective assurance and advisory services. Internal Audit seeks to assess and improve the adequacy and effectiveness of risk management, control, and governance processes within the Department.

The Internal Audit function also offers liaison services with the Office of the Auditor General and other central agencies. Furthermore, the Internal Audit function can conduct Special Examinations to gather evidence to support or deny possible irregularities related to organizations or individuals.

The function of enterprise risk management (ERM) provides management with a systematic process, supported by a risk culture, to assess, communicate and manage all types of risks at a level appropriate to the organization's risk profile. ERM takes risk management beyond functional, program or policy silos and allows for risk information to be actively incorporated into governance deliberations and strategic and operational decisions, including those related to resource allocation.

Chief Data Officer

As the Department's newest enabling service branch, the Chief Data Officer provides direction and leadership for the innovative, secure, and ethical management and use of data and analytics. The Chief Data Officer Branch works with stakeholders across the organization to implement ESDC's Data Strategy and drive towards a future state enterprise data ecosystem where data users are empowered by access to properly contextualized and curated data at the right time to meet the needs our clients and improve programs and services for all Canadians. Our key initiatives and services include:

leading the development and implementation of ESDC's Data Strategy
management of ESDC's data portfolio
data infrastructure and program management, including enablement of appropriate access through ESDC's Data Foundations Platform and open data
enterprise data governance and stewardship
guidance and support for the innovative and responsible use of AI and advanced analytics tools and methods
support for organizational change through data literacy, engagement, and awareness

Chief Financial Officer

In order to ensure an environment of fiscal responsibility, compliance and accountability, the Chief Financial Officer provides functional direction, guidance and leadership for the management of the Department's financial resources and systems. This includes:

strategic multi-year resource planning
management, and reporting
corporate accounting
reporting, and financial statements
the administration of the corporate real estate portfolio property
financial system maintenance
the stewardship of corporate investments and procurement
centre of expertise for project management

Corporate Secretariat

The Corporate Secretariat is responsible for the administration of the Access to Information Act, the Privacy Act, Part 4 of the Department of Employment and Social Development Act related to Protection of Personal Information, the policy on Ministerial Appointments and the Departmental Policy on Privacy Management. The Corporate Secretariat also supports the Department by providing services, advice and assistance on domains related to:

Parliamentary Affairs
Access to Information and Privacy Management
Governance and Executive Committees
Ministerial and Executive Briefings
Ministerial and Executive Correspondence
Governor in Council appointment frameworks and selection processes

Human Resources Services Branch

The Human Resources Services Branch contributes to ESDC as an inclusive, accessible, healthy, and productive organization by attracting and retaining diverse talent aligned with business needs, by developing people, and by fostering a safe, healthy, and productive workplace.

To achieve these goals and with the vision to drive the employee experience at ESDC to be the best in government through seamless, digital, inclusive, and user-centric services, the Branch is committed to enabling and supporting a strengthened ESDC workforce, enabling an ESDC workplace that supports well-being and inclusion, and modernizing Human Resources programs and services.

Innovation, Information and Technology Branch

The Innovation, Information and Technology Branch is the digital services enabler for the whole department. The Branch provides information and technology services to the Department, covering our citizen-facing services, key departmental business systems, and the technologies used by all employees. As one of the largest departments in the federal government, ESDC has a diverse and aging technology base, which the Branch is actively sustaining, modernizing, and transforming in collaboration with partner organisations across the Department and the Government.

Legal Services Branch

The Legal Services Branch provides legal services to support the core operations and key initiatives of the Department. The services provided include legal advice on program statutes and policies administered by the Department; advice in relation to the development of policy and legislative or regulatory proposals; and representing the Department before boards, administrative tribunals, and courts.

Public Affairs and Stakeholder Relations Branch

The Public Affairs and Stakeholder Relations Branch (PASRB) is the communications branch of ESDC. The Senior Assistant Deputy Minister of this Branch is the Head of Communications for the Department and is responsible for upholding the GC's Policy on Communications and Federal Identity and the Directive on the Management of Communications.

The Branch serves as the focal point for strategic and operational communications advice, products and services and supports portfolio Ministers in their roles as principal spokespersons for the Department and Deputy Heads in their roles as heads of the institution. Through its networks and channels, the Branch works closely with central agencies (such as the Privy Council Office, Treasury Board Secretariat and Finance Canada) for communication direction, guidance and approvals.

PASRB is a full-service communications branch that offers professional communication services, including:

internal and strategic communications
events, marketing and advertising
stakeholder relations
public opinion research
video and creative services
social media
media relations
speech writing
linguistic services

Labour Program

Policy, Dispute Resolution, and International Affairs Branch

The Policy, Dispute Resolution and International Affairs (PDRIA) branch leads policy development on labour issues affecting federally regulated industries in Canada. The Branch manages the Government of Canada's relationships with its international, federal, provincial and territorial partners, and with unions and employers. It provides mediation and conciliation services to unions and employers in the federally regulated private sector.

The branch also works to promote respect for international labour standards with Canada's international partners; and makes connections with employers, unions and a wide array of stakeholders and partners on labour policy issues.

Compliance, Operations and Program Development Branch

The Compliance, Operations and Program Development (COPD) branch provides a strategic vision for program operations and service delivery. It leads the administration of labour legislation and regulations in the areas of workplace safety, labour standards, employment equity, and federal workers' compensation. It also ensures national consistency in program delivery and works to modernize services to strengthen accountability, results, and performance along with other Labour Program business lines.

Strategic Integration and Governance Directorate

The Strategic Integration and Governance Directorates provides corporate management advice and support to the Labour Program and ensures strategic alignment and integration across the Labour Program and department.

Service Canada Branches

Citizen Service Branch

The Citizen Service Branch (CSB) is responsible for determining what services citizens can expect and how these services are delivered and marketed to citizens through an integrated multi-channel delivery network, in both official languages. This involves working with federal, provincial, territorial, and municipal partners, as well as Indigenous organizations, to ensure Canadians have access to all programs and services to which they are entitled. The Branch's work focuses on client-facing service delivery or supporting service delivery and the client experience (CX) with a horizontal view. CX is now a top priority for the Department and is driving how we do business.

CSB is leading this work through:

the CX Centre of Expertise
CX surveys
client feedback research
business insights

CSB is leading the department's effort to reduce the number of eligible individuals not receiving benefits. This effort, referred to as Reaching All Canadians, is an enterprise- wide horizontal initiative aimed at addressing barriers impeding marginalized and underserved populations across benefit programs.

The Branch delivers general program and service information and self-service options across a multi-channel network of over 600 offices and outreach locations. For example, in-person points of service, such as:

Service Canada Centres (SCC)
scheduled outreach sites
SCC Passport Services sites
Service Delivery Partner sites

CSB also offers services tailored to the needs of communities or specific client segments through

eService Canada
community outreach
telephone operations (1-800 O-Canada call centre, and the Service Canada Outreach Support Centre)
digital presence (eSIN and the web channel Canada.ca)

In addition, CSB leads in the development of national service delivery strategies for the multi-channel network and offers enterprise-wide digital solutions to other GC departments to manage their Internet web and social media presence.

The Branch leads the delivery of passport services as well as the strategies to ensure integrated service management in the departmental context. It enables the network with the right tools, strategies, and training, ensuring integrated workplace, workforce and workload in a multichannel environment for Passport. The Branch also leads the implementation of modernization initiatives in close collaboration with IRCC.

The Branch leads a Service Delivery Partnerships Program that establishes service delivery partnerships with other government departments and other jurisdictions to offer citizens a comprehensive spectrum of government services and information.

The Branch also provides more in-depth service for a range of other offerings including managing the Official Languages Centre of Expertise for Part IV (Communications with and Services to the Public) of the Official Languages Act (OLA) and the governance of ESDC's OL Program.

Integrity Services Branch

The Integrity Services Branch (ISB) protects the Department's most important programs and benefit services - Employment Insurance (EI), Canadian Pension Plan (CPP) and Old Age Security (OAS) from error, fraud and abuse by preventing, detecting and addressing wrongdoing through the use of investigations, business intelligence, predictive analytics, root cause analyses and fraud risk assessments. This contributes to the long-term sustainability of the programs offered by the Government of Canada.

ISB is the policy centre for identity management, by providing registration and authentication services, managing the operations processing and quality management of the Social Insurance Number program, and providing a leadership role on information sharing agreement with provinces and territories.

ISB is responsible for supporting internal integrity, emergency management, business continuity and corporate security. ISB promotes the security and the safety of departmental personnel, visitors, information, and assets, oversees the security clearance process of all employees, as well as manage unauthorized accesses / log monitoring in corporate system, and a complementary internal risks program. ISB ensures the Department continues to deliver services to Canadians in the event of security incidents, disruptions, natural disasters, or emergencies.

Program Operations Branch

The Program Operations Branch (POB) leads the management and delivery of core ESDC, grants and contributions programs through a national delivery centre and a regional network, and 5 ministerial portfolios, including:

Labour
Seniors
Families, Children, and Social Development
Women and Gender Equality and Youth
Employment, Workforce Development and Disability Inclusion

POB is also responsible for managing and overseeing the Work-Sharing Program. POB plays an important role in the grants and contributions lifecycle, from supporting the design, through launching of call for proposals, screening and assessing, and negotiating agreements with clients.

The Branch also leads modernization initiatives as well as interdepartmental grants and contributions engagement. It conducts client experience research by collecting important feedback on how clients experience and evaluate the services of the Department, which allows the Department to understand the interactions, challenges, and expectations of client organizations. Applied research is also conducted to ensure that we understand barriers to access programs, to reduce bias in all phases of the lifecycle, and to ensure that we are meeting and exceeding client expectations.

In addition to providing horizontal support and functional direction to Delivery units, POB also supports the management, oversight, and administration of grants and contributions by operating the Grants and Contributions Centre of Expertise and by managing the Common System for Grants and Contributions and a variety of other client-facing IT systems.

In 2021 to 2022, ESDC managed a budget of $4.35 billion^{Footnote 5} in grants and contributions, which included about 37 programs and 66 streams.

Temporary Foreign Worker Branch

The Temporary Foreign Worker (TFW) Branch is responsible for delivering the TFW Program, which enables Canadian employers to fill labour and skills shortages on a temporary basis when Canadians and permanent residents are not available. The program seeks to balance the needs of employers with the protection of foreign workers while they are in Canada.

The program is designed to be responsive to changes in the labour market and incorporates a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA), which requires prospective employers to demonstrate that the entry of TFWs will not have adverse impacts on the Canadian labour market, and that the employer and job offer are legitimate. The program is a primary source of seasonal labour in Canada, particularly in the agricultural sector, and plays a key role in ensuring domestic food security.

The TFW Branch is directly responsible for leading program policy, providing protections for foreign workers in Canada, processing LMIA applications, and ensuring that employers participating in the Program are compliant with the Program's requirements. The TFW Branch works closely with program stakeholders, including provinces and territories who hold jurisdiction over labour and housing standards in most sectors; Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada who determines eligibility for work permits; and the Canada Border Services Agency who assesses admissibility at ports of entry, and issues work permits.

Benefits and Integrated Services Branch

The Benefits and Integrated Service Branch (BISB) was established as a separate branch within Service Canada in June 2020. In partnership with regional service delivery networks, the branch is responsible for the development, delivery, and continuous improvement of the daily operations of Canada's largest statutory benefit programs, including Employment Insurance (EI), the Canada Pension Plan (CPP), and Old Age Security (OAS), as well as the appeals and quality management services for these core statutory programs. BISB also has core capacity and readiness to deliver new service offerings, such as one-time payments and call centre services for ESDC and other GC organizations. The Branch leads the specialized call centre networks that ensure Canadians have timely access to the information they need to access the benefits to which they are entitled, through key life events. Further, BISB is responsible for certain modernization initiatives, including improvements realized through projects such as the Canada Pension Plan Enhancement.

BISB's mandate and services continue to evolve as Service Canada seeks to improve its service delivery integration and client focus, through horizontal management of the workload, workforce, and workplace. The Branch works closely with colleagues and partners across the Department and GC, to align policy direction with effective operations. This work ensures that the design and implementation of benefits delivery aligns and evolves with key GC priorities, such as temporary recovery benefits and grants to Canadians during the COVID-19 crisis, while striving to meet evolving service expectations of delivering dependable, digital, client-centred services and incorporating technologies that enable agents to focus on work that is more complex.

Benefits Delivery Modernization programme

The Benefits Delivery Modernization (BDM) programme is the largest transformation initiative ever undertaken by the Government of Canada and one of the government's highest priorities. The mandate of BDM is to improve the service delivery of Old Age Security (OAS), Employment Insurance (EI) and Canada Pension Plan (CPP) benefits and modernize the underlying information technology systems.

The BDM programme will deliver a world-class service experience in a time of rapidly changing expectations by updating aging infrastructure, policies and systems, and by equipping employees with updated tools to better serve clients.

The BDM programme is a multi-year, multi-phase initiative that will make the next generation of benefits processing capable of addressing dynamic client expectations and a changing business and economic environment. The introduction of new and enhanced technological capabilities will enable further automation and rapid adaptability to economic and policy changes. BDM will design modernized business processes, introduce modern application solutions, incorporate progressive leading-edge technologies and methods, and identify policy and legal constraints to improve service delivery across OAS initially, followed by EI and, over time, to CPP and potentially spillover to other GC services as appropriate.

Service Canada regions

Service Canada Regions support the Department in delivering on key commitments and in responding to the unique service delivery needs of citizens in the areas they serve.

Regional offices are critical to the delivery of the Department's services, operating an extensive network of SCC, Passport Service sites, outreach services, specialized call centres and processing centres. Service Canada delivers services to Canadians in person, online and by phone.

As of March 2021, Canadians have access to services at 604 in-person points of service across the country, including:

317 SCC
247 scheduled outreach sites
25 SCC Passport Service sites
15 Service Delivery Partner sites

As part of Community Outreach and Liaison Services, staff travel to pre-determined locations, typically in rural or remote areas that are otherwise underserved, to answer questions, guide clients through online services and forms and help clients access services and benefits they are entitled to. Through the Indigenous outreach program, Service Canada builds and maintains relationships with all on-reserve, remote and northern Indigenous communities, and visits these communities at least once annually to provide services. Outreach teams from Service Canada regions conducted 1,287 visits in 646 Indigenous communities in 2019 to 2020.

In response to COVID-19, the network introduced innovative ways to access personalized service to ensure continuity of assisted service, resulting in a multi-vehicle Person-to-Person service network.

Meant to mirror the service provided to clients who come into SCC for support, the new eService channels are important options for clients seeking extra help:

eServiceCanada - Using an online form, clients indicate the service support they are seeking and are contacted within 2 business days
Outreach Support Centre - A dedicated toll-free phone service for vulnerable Canadians seeking support in accessing benefits and services. This builds on the relationships and reach of the community outreach and liaison service
eSIN - An online service that allows clients to apply for a Social Insurance Number online

In delivering the full mandate of the Service Canada vision and recognizing that, the face of the client also includes communities, employers, unions and associations, Service Canada Regions apply an integrated service delivery strategy. This ensures effective and efficient service delivery, simplifying the multitude of government services through a collective approach, resulting in increased accessibility and ease with which clients can access government programs and services regardless of where they live. In addition, Service Canada Regions engage in multi-jurisdictional partnerships, informed by labour market and socio-economic intelligence, ensuring best reach to all Canadians, understanding where programs are most needed and how services should be delivered.

Atlantic Region

The Atlantic Region covers 4 provinces:

New Brunswick
Nova Scotia
Prince Edward Island
Newfoundland and Labrador

The Atlantic Region has a combined area of 504,320 km2 and serves a population of 2.5 million. The Region includes over 4,300 employees. The Region provides services to Canadians through:

57 in-person sites (including 3 consolidated passport centres)
1 Passport Mail Centre
15 Benefits Delivery Operation Centres
30 Integrity Services sites
8 Grants and Contributions program sites
2 TFW program sites

The national Social Insurance Number Registry for the country is also located in the Atlantic.

Ontario Region

The Ontario Region Service Delivery Network covers an area of 1.076 million km2 and serves a population of 14.7 million. The Region includes over 9,027 employees with the following points of presence:

1 Regional Headquarters (all regional business lines)
99 Points of Presence - Citizen Service Network (SCC and Passport Centres)
10 Benefit Service Delivery Hubs
5 Contact Centres (EI and Pensions)
1 Integrity Service Delivery Hub
1 Program Service Delivery Hub
1 Passport Service Delivery Hub

Ontario Region provides a coordinated, integrated, and seamless service experience to clients, communities and Labour Market Partners.

Quebec Region

The Quebec Region covers an area of 1.668 million km² and serves a population of 8.5 million. The Region includes:

nearly 6,700 employees
6 EI Processing Centres
1 OAS Processing Centre
4 Program Operations Centres
1 Passport Processing Centre
1 Passport Printing Centre
1 Administrative Centre

In the Region, direct service sites available for citizens include:

75 SCC
18 regular Mobile Service Sites
5 dedicated Passport Service Centres
4 Call centres (for Passport, EI and OAS)

Western Canada and Territories Region

The Western Canada and Territories Region includes 4 provinces (British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba) and 3 territories (Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut). It is the biggest region in terms of size, with an area of 6.1 million km². The Region serves a population of 12 million and includes over 7,200 employees through 245 in-person sites and 11 Benefit Delivery Operation Centres. Planning is underway to add a new Passport Service Delivery Hub by the end of December 2023.

Commissions, Tribunals, Councils and Committees

Canada Employment Insurance Commission

The Canada Employment Insurance Commission plays a leadership role, with ESDC, in overseeing the EI program. For more than 75 years, this tripartite organization has included representation from business, labour and the GC.The Commission was first established in 1940 as the Unemployment Insurance Commission with the introduction of the Unemployment Insurance scheme. Its authority originates from the Department of Employment and Social Development Act and from the Employment Insurance Act.

Members

The Commission has 4 members, 3 of whom are voting members, representing the interests of government, workers and employers.

The Commissioner for Workers and the Commissioner for Employers are appointed by the Governor in Council for terms of up to 5 years. They are mandated to represent and reflect the views of their respective constituencies.

The chairperson and vice-chairperson are respectively the Deputy Minister and Senior Associate Deputy Minister of ESDC, who represent the interests of government. The Vice-Chairperson votes on decisions only if the Chairperson is unavailable.

Services and information

The main statutory function of the Commission is to administer the Employment Insurance Act. In practice, many of the day-to-day duties of the Commission have been delegated to Employment and Social Development officials.

The Commission has the legislated mandate to annually monitor and assess the EI program. In this context, the Canada Employment Insurance Commission is responsible for:

overseeing a research agenda for the annual EI Monitoring and Assessment Report, including the impact and effectiveness of employment benefits and support measures
delivering the report to the Minister by fiscal year end, for tabling in Parliament

The Commission also has responsibilities in the following areas:

EI policy and regulations

The Canada Employment Insurance Commission, under the authority of the Employment Insurance Act:

reviews and approves policies related to EI program administration and delivery
makes regulations, with the approval of the Governor in Council

Financial transparency/rate setting

The Canada Employment Insurance Commission commissions an EI premium report from the Senior Actuary and prepares a summary report
delivers both reports to the ministers of ESDC and Finance for tabling in Parliament
sets the annual EI premium rate according to the projections of the Senior Actuary
sets the annual maximum insurable earnings according to the legislative requirement

EI appeals

The EI Appeals Committee seeks advice from both Commissioners - for Workers and Employers - before proceeding with respect to judicial reviews or appeals to the Federal Court, the Federal Court of Appeal or the Supreme Court of Canada.

Both Commissioners - for Workers and Employers - as part of a committee with the chairperson of the Social Security Tribunal, are consulted by the Minister before recommending to the Governor in Council any person for appointment as member to the EI section of the Tribunal.

Additionally, the Canada Employment Insurance Commission has authority to perform duties and functions in relation to, but not limited to:

making regulations, with the approval of the Governor in Council, regarding the registration for, use of and periods of validity of the Social Insurance Number
overseeing delivery of pan-Canadian programming activities under EI Part II
approving amendments to Provincial and Territorial EI Part II funding agreements
approving Work-Sharing agreements of more than $600,000
employment services
developing and using labour market resources
performing duties and functions as directed by the Minister and/or the Governor in Council

Financial profile

The operations of the Commission are funded from the EI Operating Account, for which there is no set financial profile as EI is a statutory program.

Accessibility Standards Canada

Accessibility Standards Canada was established under the Accessible Canada Act. It is a departmental corporation that is part of the ESDC portfolio. Its mandate is to help make Canada a place without barriers to accessibility, and it accomplishes its mandate through, among other things:

the development and revision of accessibility standards
the recommendation of accessibility standards to the Minister
the provision of information, products and services in relation to the accessibility standards that it has developed or revised
the promotion, support and conduct of research into the identification and removal of barriers and the prevention of new barriers
the dissemination of information, including information about best practices, in relation to the identification and removal of barriers and the prevention of new barriers

The accessibility standards developed by Accessibility Standards Canada will set out how the following bodies can prevent, identify and remove barriers to accessibility:

federal private sector organizations
GC departments and agencies

The organization's Board of Directors:

sets its strategic direction
oversees its activities
provides advice to its Chief Executive Officer, a Governor in Council appointee

The majority of the directors are persons with disabilities and reflect the diversity of Canadian society.

Accessibility standards will be published and submitted to the Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Disability Inclusion. The Minister may consider making them mandatory by adopting them into regulations. Standards can be legally enforced only if they become regulations.

Social Security Tribunal of Canada

The Social Security Tribunal of Canada is a federal institution that is part of the ESDC portfolio. They operate at arm's length from the GC.

The organization is an independent administrative tribunal that makes quasi-judicial decisions on appeals related to the Employment Insurance Act, the Canada Pension Plan, and the Old Age Security Act. The Social Security Tribunal of Canada receives services from the Administrative Tribunals Support Service of Canada, which is also responsible for providing support services and facilities to 11 federal administrative tribunals by way of a single, integrated organization. These services include the specialized services required to support the mandate of each tribunal (for example registry, research and analysis, legal and other case- and mandate-specific work or case activities), as well as internal services (for example human resources, financial services, information management and technology, accommodation, security, planning and communications).

Canada Industrial Relations Board

The Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) is an independent, representational, quasi-judicial tribunal responsible for the interpretation and administration of Part I (Industrial Relations) of the Canada Labour Code, and certain provisions of Part II (Occupational Health and Safety) and Part III (Labour Standards). The CIRB is also responsible for the interpretation and administration of Part II (Professional Relations) of the Status of the Artist Act and appeals under the Wage Earner Protection Program Act.

The Board's mandate is to contribute to and promote a harmonious industrial relations environment in the federally regulated sector, while also ensuring compliance with health and safety legislation and adherence to minimum employment standards in federal workplaces.

In order to fulfill its mandate, the CIRB provides a variety of dispute resolution services. It adjudicates matters where necessary, but it also focuses on providing mediation assistance at all stages of a proceeding to proactively seek a resolution of matters that best meets the needs of the parties. Through this approach, the CIRB supports labour and management as well as artists and producers in improving their workplace and professional relationships.

Since November 1, 2014, the CIRB obtains its support services from the Administrative Tribunals Support Service of Canada (ATSSC). The ATSSC was created to consolidate the provision of support services to 11 administrative tribunals - including the CIRB - into a single, integrated organization. Applications, complaints and Ministerial referrals are filed, managed and dealt with independently by the CIRB through the application of its regulations, policies and procedures.

Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety

The Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS) is governed by a tripartite council representing governments (federal, provincial and territorial), employers and labour, which assists in delivering a trustworthy and complete occupational health and safety service and ensures that the information the CCOHS disseminates is unbiased.

The CCOHS has an established history of collaborating with many Canadian and international partners. Projects with leading workplace health and safety organizations in Canada have expanded the quality and quantity of resources and programs available to workers and employers across the country.

Work with international partners, including the World Health Organization (WHO) and the European Union, has helped to advance health and safety in the workplace on a global level. These partnerships, in addition to its position as one of the Collaborating Centres of the International Labour Organization and WHO, allow the CCOHS to provide Canadians with information from international sources and to share our own knowledge and expertise in return.

National Seniors Council

The National Seniors Council (NSC) engages with seniors, stakeholders, and experts to provide advice to the GC on current and emerging issues and opportunities related to the health, well-being and quality of life of seniors. The NSC has a maximum of 12 members, including the Chairperson, who are appointed by the Governor in Council on the recommendation of the Minister of Seniors and the Minister of Health.

Work priorities are determined by the Ministers based on NSC members' recommendations. The NSC recently completed its 3-year work plan (2018 to 2021) focusing on 4 key priorities, including addressing financial crimes and harms against seniors, developing a seniors policy lens examining potential objectives and elements of a national seniors strategy and identifying measures to counteract ageism by shifting the public discourse.

The Council has also provided advice on issues emerging from or highlighted by the COVID-19 pandemic and seniors. In the coming months, the Council will be discussing with Ministers key areas of focus and developing a plan for its next work cycle.

National Advisory Council on Poverty

As part of Opportunity for All - Canada's First Poverty Reduction Strategy, the Government introduced the National Advisory Council on Poverty (NACP) in August 2019. The mandate of the NACP is set in the Poverty Reduction Act and is to:

provide advice to the Minister of Families, Children and Social Development on programs and activities that support poverty reduction in Canada
track and report on progress on poverty reduction efforts through an annual report that will be tabled in Parliament
continue a national dialogue with Canadians on poverty including the academic community and other experts, Indigenous persons, and persons with lived expertise of poverty

The NACP is currently made up of 8 members from diverse backgrounds (for example, individuals with lived expertise, leaders, experts and practitioners that have worked extensively in the field of poverty reduction) including a Chairperson and member with particular responsibilities for children's issues who are full-time members.

The NACP's first annual report ‘Building Understanding: The First Report of the National Advisory Council on Poverty' was tabled in Parliament on February 23, 2021. On December 10, 2021 the Honourable Karina Gould, Minister of Families, Children and Social Development, tabled in Parliament the NACP's second annual report entitled Understanding Systems: The 2021 report of the National Advisory Council on Poverty and their third report Transforming our Systems: the 2022 report of the National Advisory Council on Poverty on October 17, 2022. Their 2023 report is expected this fall.

National Advisory Council on Early Learning and Child Care

As one of several levers supporting the success of a Canada-wide Early Learning and Child Care (ELCC) system, Budget 2021 committed to establish a National Advisory Council (the Council) on ELCC to provide third-party expert advice to ESDC in support of the Minister of Families, Children and Social Development and serve as a forum for consultation on issues and challenges facing the ELCC sector.

On November 24, 2022, the federal government announced the creation of the National Advisory Council on ELCC, composed of sixteen members, including academics, advocates, practitioners, and caregivers who reflect Canada's geographic, cultural, and linguistic diversity.

Policy Horizons Canada

Policy Horizons Canada uses foresight to help the GC develop future-oriented policy and programs that are robust and resilient in the face of disruptive change by:

analyzing the emerging policy landscape, the challenges that lie ahead, the opportunities opening up
engaging in conversations with public servants and citizens about forward-looking research to inform their understanding and decision-making
building foresight literacy and capacity in the public service

Policy Horizons Canada's mandate is government-wide. It reports to the Deputy Minister of ESDC.

A Deputy Minister Steering Committee, chaired by the Deputy Minister of ESDC and the Deputy Secretary to the Cabinet (Plans and Consultations) of the Privy Council Office provides Horizons with oversight, direction and guidance.

Federal-Provincial/Territorial Relations

The Department's mandate covers a number of areas of shared intersecting jurisdictions with provinces and territories.

Forum of Labour Market Ministers

The Forum of Labour Market Ministers is a multilateral federal, provincial and territorial collaborative forum that promotes discussion and cooperation on labour market matters of common interest. Federal, provincial and territorial governments work cooperatively to ensure that Canada has a skilled, adaptable and inclusive workforce that supports the competitiveness of the Canadian economy.

The federal Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Disability Inclusion co-chairs the Forum with a provincial-territorial co-chair that rotates on a 2-year basis. The Minister of Economic Development, Investment and Trade of Manitoba currently co-chairs the Forum until March 31,2025.

Federal-Provincial/Territorial Ministers Responsible for Social Services

The Forum of Federal-Provincial/Territorial (F-P/T) Ministers Responsible for Social Services was established to promote inter-jurisdictional discussion, provide timely outcome-oriented policy options, and encourage intergovernmental cooperation on social services issues.

The Forum operates at the Ministerial and Deputy Minister levels, and is supported by committee work conducted at the officials' level. At the Ministerial level, provinces and territories are generally represented by their respective ministers who have the primary mandate for social services; in some cases, other ministers may participate if there is a specific link to their mandate (for example there may be a separate minister with a mandate for persons with disabilities). One provincial/territorial (P/T) minister takes on the role of co-chair of the Forum, usually for a period of 2 years. The federal co-chair is the Minister of Families, Children and Social Development, with support from other federal ministers as appropriate.

The Forum of Deputy Ministers Responsible for Social Services facilitates partnerships aimed at leveraging strategic opportunities to address challenging social issues. Members work collaboratively with P/T governments on key policy development issues, share information, and best practices to support F-P/T alignment on existing and emerging issues of mutual concern. The Forum is also involved in establishing bilateral F-P/T information and data sharing agreements to support program administration and delivery, particularly in respect of income support and related social services. The Forum also provides a space to establish linkages among jurisdictions and among other intergovernmental fora on crosscutting issues.

It is a platform to promote inter-jurisdictional engagement on matters of mutual concern and to align work with P/T priorities, needs and perspectives.

The F-P/T Relations Division, Intergovernmental Affairs, Strategic and Service Policy Branch, provides secretariat services to the Ministers Responsible for Social Services. In collaboration with the P/T co-chair, the F-P/T Relations Division coordinates and supports the work of the Ministers Responsible for Social Services and the Deputy Ministers Responsible for Social Services at the working level as federal co-chair of the F-P/T Support Committee of Officials.

The F-P/T Support Committee is responsible for providing strategic advice and guidance to, as well as providing overall coordination and support for the following committees and working groups established to advance the priorities of Ministers and Deputy Ministers in a range of social policy areas:

F-P/T Persons with Disabilities Advisory Committee
Under the committee: Open Forum for Accessibility
Poverty Advisory Committee
Indigenous Children and Youth in Care Working Group
Social Innovation Ad Hoc Working Group
Social Development Research and Information Committee
Directors of Income Support Committee

These committees and working groups clarify and consider issues, advance F-P/T collaboration on subjects of mutual interest, develop options for consideration by Deputy Ministers and Ministers and take action on decisions made by Ministers through the Ministers Responsible for Social Services table.

Federal-Provincial/Territorial Forum of Ministers Most Responsible for Early Learning and Child Care

The Forum of Ministers Most Responsible for Early Learning and Child Care (ELCC) serves as a table for Ministers to discuss common priorities and issues of shared interest in the immediate and long-term, including information sharing, best practices, and potential opportunities for further discussion and collaboration on ELCC to improve the lives of children and families across Canada.

The Forum may also share information about work undertaken collaboratively with Indigenous communities and organizations towards developing culturally appropriate early childhood education. The Forum is supported by the F-P/T Deputy Ministers Steering Committee and the F-P/T Officials Working Groups. The Ministerial Forum meets on an annual basis.

This Forum is in alignment with the 2017 Multilateral ELCC Framework and recognizes that P/T governments have primary responsibility and authority for the design and delivery of ELCC systems in their jurisdiction. The Forum also recognizes that federal, provincial and territorial governments have important roles to play, and provide investments to support the ELCC needs of families, including supporting ELCC for Indigenous children and families.

Forum of Federal-Provincial/Territorial Ministers Responsible for Seniors

The Forum of F-P/T Ministers Responsible for Seniors meets to discuss issues of importance to seniors, share information on seniors' well-being, and undertake collaborative initiatives to advance issues of common concern to seniors, including, where possible, in collaboration with other F-P/T fora.

The Federal Minister responsible for the seniors' portfolio occupies the federal co-chair role. The provincial territorial co-chair is identified following each in-person Ministers' meeting, usually every 12 to 18 months, among P/T ministers responsible for their governments' seniors' portfolio.

A F-P/T Committee of Deputy Ministers and a F-P/T Committee of Officials support the work of the Forum. The Seniors and Pensions Policy Secretariat, Income Security and Social Development Branch in ESDC manages the F-P/T Seniors Forum's Secretariat. The Forum's current work priorities include examining the socio-economic impact of ageism, the role of technology to enhance aging in place, senior abuse during the pandemic and beyond, and supportive housing for a diverse seniors population.

Federal-Provincial/Territorial Ministers Responsible for Labour

A key means by which the federal Minister of Labour engages with the provinces and territories is by co-chairing annual Federal-Provincial-Territorial (FPT) meetings of Ministers responsible for Labour. The ministers' meeting is an opportunity for ministers to discuss issues of mutual interest and consider approaches that address domestic and international workplace matters of importance to Canadians.

The annual meeting of ministers is normally held in late January or early February when Parliament and most provincial and territorial legislatures are still in recess. If there are labour matters of mutual interest requiring discussion in between annual meetings, FPT ministers may meet on an ad hoc basis. The federal Minister of Labour co-chairs on a permanent basis, while the provincial/territorial co-chair rotates among jurisdictions.

Due to COVID-19, the most recent annual meeting of FPT Ministers responsible for Labour meeting took place via videoconference on February 25, 2022. The topics of discussion included the ratification of International Labour Organization Convention 190 on Violence and Harassment in the World of Work, occupational health and safety harmonization, labour issues related to COVID-19, and paid sick leave. To continue the conversation on paid sick leave and to look at current national labour shortages and labour mobility issues, the federal Minister of Labour hosted an ad hoc virtual follow-up meeting on June 28, 2022.

The Canadian Association of Administrators of Labour Legislation (CAALL) is a forum of deputy ministers responsible for labour and serves as the vehicle for preparations for FPT ministers' meetings, as well as for the follow-up required on issues as directed by ministers. The CAALL has 5 standing committees covering key labour subject areas: International Labour Affairs; Strategic Labour Policy; Occupational Health and Safety; Mediation and Conciliation, and Labour Standards.

As of January 2019, the FPT Working Group on Temporary Foreign Workers Protections also reports to CAALL and FPT Ministers responsible for Labour.

Beginning in spring 2022, British Columbia (B.C.) assumed presidency of CAALL for a 2-year term. Accordingly, the B.C. Deputy Minister serves as CAALL President.

The CAALL Secretariat resides in the federal Labour Program. The Secretariat is responsible for managing the CAALL budget, liaising with and providing support to the various jurisdictions, and leading preparations for the ministers' meetings as well as for CAALL meetings.

Annex A

ESDC programs and initiatives

Grants and contributions

Youth Employment and Skills Strategy
1. Youth Employment and Skills Strategy Program
2. Canada Summer Jobs
Student Work Placement Program (including Innovative Work Integrated Learning Initiative)
Canada Service Corps
1. Innovation and Engagement
2. Micro-Grants
3. Service placements
Future Skills
Community Workforce Development Program
International Education Strategy: Outbound Student Mobility Pilot
Pathways to Education
Skills for Success
Enabling Fund for Official Language Minority Communities
Canadian Apprenticeship Strategy
The Migrant Worker Support Program
Opportunities Fund for Persons with Disabilities
Skills for Success
1. Women's Employment Readiness Program Pilot
Sectoral Workforce Solutions Program
Foreign Credential Recognition Program
Support for Labour Market Information in Canada
Canadian Benefit for Parents of Young Victims of Crime
Social Innovation Social Finance
1. Investment Readiness Program
2. Social Finance Fund
Social Development Partnerships Program
1. Children and Families Component
2. Supporting Black Canadian Communities Initiative
3. Community Services Recovery Fund
4. Increasing Uptake and Awareness of the Canada Learning Bond
5. Disability Component
6. Canada's Volunteer Awards
7. Official Language Minority Communities
Black-Led Philanthropic Endowment Fund
Indigenous Skills and Employment Training Program
Indigenous Early Learning and Child Care Transformation Initiative
Skills and Partnership Fund
Supporting Indigenous Post-Secondary Education (Indspire)
Sustainable Development Goals Funding Program
Enabling Accessibility Fund
1. Small-sized projects component
2. Mid-sized projects component
3. Youth Innovation component
New Horizons for Seniors Program
1. Pan Canadian
2. Regional Communities
Age Well at Home initiative
Strategic Engagement and Research Program
Labour Funding Program
1. International Trade and Labour
2. Labour Management Partnerships
3. Occupational Health and Safety and Fire Prevention
Labour Funding Program (LFP)
Workplace Harassment and Violence Prevention Fund (formerly entitled Labour Management Collaboration Program)
Work Integration Social Enterprise
Atlantic Apprenticeship Harmonization
Sectoral Initiatives Program (SIP) / Sectoral Workforce Solution Program (SWSP)
Community Workforce Development Program (CWDP)
Early Learning and Child Care
1. Early Learning and Child Care Data and Research
2. Early Learning and Child Care Innovation Program

Statutory programs

Canada Student Financial Assistance Program and Canada Apprentice Loan
Canada Education Savings Program
Supporting Indigenous Students
Employment Insurance
1. Regular Benefits
2. Fishing Benefits
3. Support for Seasonal Workers
4. Sickness Benefits
5. Maternity and Parental Benefits
6. Special Benefits for Self-Employed
7. Caregiving Benefits
8. Premium Reduction Program
9. Work Sharing
Job Bank
Canada Disability Savings Program
Canada Pension Plan
1. Canada Pension Plan-Disability
Old Age Security
1. Guaranteed Income Supplement
Canada Worker Lockdown Benefit

Transfer payments

Early Learning and Child Care Agreements
1. Canada-wide Early Learning and Child Care Agreements
2. Bilateral Early Learning and Child Agreement Extensions
Labour Market Development Agreements ^{Footnote 6}
Workforce Development Agreements

Other initiatives

Skilled Trades and Apprenticeship (Red Seal Program)
Canada Training Benefit
Canadian Government Annuities
Social Security Tribunal
Temporary Foreign Workers Program
Employment Strategy for Canadians with Disabilities

Other initiatives led by Finance Canada with support from ESDC

Canada Child Benefit
Canada Workers Benefit

Senior management organization chart

Alternate format

Employment and Social Development Canada - Departmental Structure [PDF - 2.4 MB]

Our Ministers

Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Official Languages – The Honourable Randy Boissonnault
Minister of Diversity, Inclusion and Persons with Disabilities – The Honourable Kamal Khera
Minister of Citizens' Services – The Honourable Terry Beech
Minister of Families, Children and Social Development – The Honourable Jenna Sudds
Minister of Labour and Seniors – The Honourable Seamus O'Regan Jr.

Our Deputy Ministers

Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development – Paul Thompson
Deputy Minister of Labour and Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development – Sandra Hassan
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development and Chief Operating Officer for Service Canada – Lori MacDonald
Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development – Andrew Brown
Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development – Kristina Namiesniowski
Business Lead, Benefits Delivery Modernization – Cliff Groen

Employment and Social Development

Chief Audit Executive – Sheri Ostridge
Chief Financial Officer and Senior ADM – Karen Robertson
ADM Human Resources Services – Darlène de Gravina
Chief Information Officer – Peter Littlefield
Deputy Chief Information Officer – Rina Lorello
Senior ADM Public Affairs and Stakeholder Relations – Debora Brown
Senior ADM Skills and Employment – Colette Kaminsky
Associate ADM Skills and Employment – Catherine Demers
Senior ADM Income Security and Social Development – Elisha Ram
Associate ADM Income Security and Social Development – Karen Hall
ADM Learning – Atiq Rahman
Senior General Counsel – Rose-Gabrielle Birba
Senior ADM Strategic and Service Policy – Catherine Adam
Associate ADM Strategic and Service Policy – Chantal Marin-Comeau
Corporate Secretary – Sally Thorpe
Ombuds – Elizabeth (Liz) Smith
Chief Data Officer – Ima Okonny

Labour Program

Senior ADM Policy, Dispute Resolution and International Affairs – Gary Robertson
ADM Compliance, Operations and Program Development – Brenda Baxter

Service Canada

Senior ADM Citizen Service (Service Canada) – Christine McDowell
Associate ADM Citizen Service and Chief Client Experience Officer – Ryan Hum
ADM Integrity Services – (Service Canada) – Mary Crescenzi
Chief Security Officer – Robert Bonnefoy
ADM Program Operations (Service Canada) – Nisa Tummon
ADM Business Change Authority / Benefits Delivery Modernization – Jacques Cormier
ADM Technical Change Authority (Benefits Delivery Modernization Programme) and Deputy Chief Information Officer – Nasser Alsukayri
Senior ADM Benefits and Integrated Services – Tammy Bélanger
ADM Temporary Foreign Workers – Mike MacPhee
ADM Western Canada and Territories Region – Cari Turi
ADM Ontario Region – Mary Ann Triggs
ADM Quebec Region – Michel Laviolette
ADM Atlantic Region – Ian James

Infographics

Figure 1: description follows — **Figure 1: ESDC 101**

Figure 2: description follows — **Figure 2: Programs and services**

Figure 3: description follows — **Figure 3: Economic and social inclusion**

Diagram 1 text: Labour force participation and individual employment earnings for selected groups (ages 25 to 64)
Groups (Ages 25 to 64)	Labour force participation rate	Median employment income (annual $)	Year
Men	87.1%	$45600	2022
Women	79%	$27200	2022
Recent immigrants (less than 10 years)	83.7%	$25300	2022
Persons with disabilities*	74%	$17350	2020
Indigenous (off-reserve)**	82.8%	$ 22500	2022
Racialized groups (visible minorities)**	86.2%	$ 29300	2022
Unattached persons	81.5%	$31500	2022

Diagram 2 text: Postsecondary education attainment for selected groups (ages 25 to 64)
Group (ages 25 to 64)	Postsecondary education attainment (%)
Men	69.3%
Women	75.7%
Recent immigrants (less than 10 years)	84.5 %
Persons with disabilities	63.0%
Indigenous (off-reserve)	59.6%
Racialized groups (Visible Minorities)	75.0%
Unattached persons	70.7%

Diagram 3 text: Risk ratio of ethnic and racial discrimination (relative to non-visible minority group)
Group (age 15 and above)	In the 5 years before the pandemic	Since the start of the pandemic
Chinese	6.0%	10.4%
Korean	7.4%	9.1%
Black	7.5%	8.4%
Filipino	6.0%	8.4%
Southeast Asian	4.3%	5.9%
West Asian	5.2%	4.9%
Latin American	4.7%	3.1%
Arab	4.4%	3.1%

Diagram 4 text: Poverty reduction targets based on Canada's Poverty Reduction Strategy, 2020 and 2030 (Canada's Official Poverty Line, Market Basket Measure, 2018-base)
Year	Poverty rates based on Canada's Official Poverty Line	2020 Target	2030 Target
2012	15.0%	11.60%	7.25%
2013	14.4%	11.60%	7.25%
2014	13.6%	11.60%	7.25%
2015	14.5%	11.60%	7.25%
2016	12.8%	11.60%	7.25%
2017	11.7%	11.60%	7.25%
2018	11.0%	11.60%	7.25%
2019	10.3%	11.60%	7.25%
2020	6.4%	11.60%	7.25%
2021	7.4%	11.60%	7.25%

Diagram 5 text: Median Government Transfers. The diagram shows three strips illustrating median government transfers over the years.
Year	Median Government Transfers
2019	8,500
2020	17,000
2021	13,300

Diagram 6 text: The diagram shows year-on-year changes in average hourly wages, consumer price index, and food prices. The vertical axis expresses percentage points changes and the horizontal axis expresses a date range between May 2017 and May 2023.
Month	Consumer price index	Average hourly wages	Food prices
May 2017	1.3%	1.3%	-0.1%
June 2017	1.0%	1.6%	0.6%
July 2017	1.2%	1.6%	0.6%
August 2017	1.4%	2.0%	0.9%
September 2017	1.6%	2.0%	1.4%
October 2017	1.4%	1.8%	1.3%
November 2017	2.1%	1.9%	1.6%
December 2017	1.9%	2.3%	2.0%
January 2018	1.7%	3.1%	2.3%
February 2018	2.2%	3.0%	2.1%
March 2018	2.3%	2.8%	1.7%
April 2018	2.2%	3.1%	1.8%
May 2018	2.2%	3.4%	1.0%
June 2018	2.5%	3.2%	1.4%
July 2018	3.0%	2.9%	1.4%
August 2018	2.8%	2.2%	1.6%
September 2018	2.2%	2.4%	1.8%
October 2018	2.4%	2.7%	2.0%
November 2018	1.7%	2.5%	2.2%
December 2018	2.0%	2.5%	2.9%
January 2019	1.4%	2.3%	2.8%
February 2019	1.5%	2.2%	3.2%
March 2019	1.9%	2.1%	3.6%
April 2019	2.0%	2.2%	2.9%
May 2019	2.4%	2.3%	3.5%
June 2019	2.0%	3.1%	3.5%
July 2019	2.0%	3.2%	3.8%
August 2019	1.9%	3.1%	3.6%
September 2019	1.9%	3.3%	3.7%
October 2019	1.9%	3.1%	3.7%
November 2019	2.2%	2.9%	3.4%
December 2019	2.2%	2.6%	3.0%
January 2020	2.4%	2.8%	3.2%
February 2020	2.2%	3.3%	2.4%
March 2020	0.9%	6.2%	2.3%
April 2020	-0.2%	10.5%	3.4%
May 2020	0.7%	10.1%	3.1%
June 2020	0.1%	7.2%	2.7%
July 2020	0.1%	6.5%	2.2%
August 2020	0.5%	6.3%	1.8%
September 2020	0.7%	5.0%	1.6%
October 2020	1.0%	5.6%	2.3%
November 2020	0.7%	5.1%	1.9%
December 2020	1.0%	5.4%	1.1%
January 2021	1.1%	6.3%	1.0%
February 2021	2.2%	5.3%	1.8%
March 2021	3.4%	1.9%	1.8%
April 2021	0.7%	-1.3%	0.9%
May 2021	3.6%	-1.5%	1.5%
June 2021	3.1%	0.0%	1.3%
July 2021	3.7%	1.2%	1.7%
August 2021	4.1%	1.9%	2.7%
September 2021	4.4%	2.7%	3.9%
October 2021	4.7%	2.0%	3.8%
November 2021	4.7%	2.7%	4.4%
December 2021	4.8%	3.3%	5.2%
January 2022	5.1%	2.7%	5.7%
February 2022	5.7%	2.7%	6.7%
March 2022	6.7%	3.2%	7.7%
April 2022	6.8%	3.3%	8.8%
May 2022	7.7%	3.7%	8.8%
June 2022	8.1%	5.0%	8.8%
July 2022	7.6%	4.4%	9.2%
August 2022	7.0%	4.9%	9.8%
September 2022	6.9%	4.9%	10.3%
October 2022	6.9%	5.3%	10.1%
November 2022	6.8%	5.8%	10.3%
December 2022	6.3%	4.8%	10.1%
January 2023	5.9%	4.5%	10.4%
February 2023	5.2%	5.4%	9.7%
March 2023	4.3%	5.3%	8.9%
April 2023	4.4%	5.2%	8.3%
May 2023	3.4%	5.1%	8.3%

Diagram 7 text: The diagram consists of 6 bars showing a percentage. It is divided into three sections and represents the statistical difference between certain under-represented groups and the majority group.
Under-represented Groups	Labour force participation rates
Women	77.1%
Men	83.5%
Indigenous peoples*	73.1%
Non-Indigenous peoples*	81.0%
Racialized groups (visible minority),*	80.2%
Not a racialized group,*	85.6%

Diagram 8 text: The diagram represents 6 bars, each showing the percentage of poverty among certain groups of the Canadian population.
Affected groups	Poverty rate
All persons	7.4%
Racialized groups (visible minority)	9.5%
Recent immigrants (10 years or less, aged 16+)	10.3%
Persons with disabilities (aged 16+)	10.6%
Indigenous peoples (off-reserve)	12.3%
Persons in lone-parent families	16.1%
Unattached persons	21.9%

Figure 4: description follows — **Figure 4: Disability inclusion and accessibility**

Per Capita Spending ($s) in 2021, by level of Government in 2021
2021	Federal government	P/T governments
Sickness and disability	221	729
Old Age	1,668	67
Family and Children	1,240	721

Figure 5: description follows — **Figure 5: Meeting Canada's labour market needsy**

Chart description: Monthly unemployment rate (15 plus years), January 1976 to June 2023
Month	Unemployment rate
January 1976	7.1
February 1976	7
March 1976	6.7
April 1976	6.8
May 1976	6.9
June 1976	6.9
July 1976	7.4
August 1976	7.1
September 1976	7
October 1976	7.4
November 1976	7.4
December 1976	7.5
January 1977	7.6
February 1977	7.9
March 1977	7.8
April 1977	7.9
May 1977	7.8
June 1977	7.8
July 1977	8.1
August 1977	8.2
September 1977	8.3
October 1977	8.4
November 1977	8.5
December 1977	8.5
January 1978	8.3
February 1978	8.3
March 1978	8.5
April 1978	8.4
May 1978	8.6
June 1978	8.4
July 1978	8.3
August 1978	8.4
September 1978	8.4
October 1978	8.2
November 1978	8.3
December 1978	8.3
January 1979	8.2
February 1979	8
March 1979	7.9
April 1979	8
May 1979	7.6
June 1979	7.4
July 1979	7.2
August 1979	7.1
September 1979	7
October 1979	7.2
November 1979	7.2
December 1979	7.2
January 1980	7.5
February 1980	7.6
March 1980	7.6
April 1980	7.7
May 1980	7.8
June 1980	7.7
July 1980	7.6
August 1980	7.6
September 1980	7.3
October 1980	7.3
November 1980	7.2
December 1980	7.3
January 1981	7.4
February 1981	7.4
March 1981	7.4
April 1981	7.1
May 1981	7.2
June 1981	7.2
July 1981	7.2
August 1981	7.1
September 1981	8.1
October 1981	8.3
November 1981	8.3
December 1981	8.7
January 1982	8.6
February 1982	8.9
March 1982	9.3
April 1982	9.8
May 1982	10.3
June 1982	11.1
July 1982	11.9
August 1982	12
September 1982	12.4
October 1982	12.9
November 1982	12.9
December 1982	13.1
January 1983	12.7
February 1983	12.7
March 1983	12.5
April 1983	12.4
May 1983	12.4
June 1983	12.4
July 1983	11.9
August 1983	11.7
September 1983	11.4
October 1983	11.3
November 1983	11.3
December 1983	11.3
January 1984	11.3
February 1984	11.3
March 1984	11.3
April 1984	11.5
May 1984	11.7
June 1984	11.3
July 1984	11.2
August 1984	11.3
September 1984	11.8
October 1984	11.3
November 1984	11.4
December 1984	11.1
January 1985	10.6
February 1985	10.8
March 1985	11
April 1985	10.8
May 1985	10.6
June 1985	10.7
July 1985	10.4
August 1985	10.3
September 1985	10.2
October 1985	10.3
November 1985	10.3
December 1985	10.1
January 1986	9.8
February 1986	9.9
March 1986	9.8
April 1986	9.7
May 1986	9.5
June 1986	9.6
July 1986	9.6
August 1986	9.6
September 1986	9.5
October 1986	9.4
November 1986	9.4
December 1986	9.5
January 1987	9.5
February 1987	9.5
March 1987	9.4
April 1987	9.2
May 1987	8.9
June 1987	8.9
July 1987	8.7
August 1987	8.6
September 1987	8.4
October 1987	8.3
November 1987	8.2
December 1987	8
January 1988	8.1
February 1988	7.8
March 1988	7.8
April 1988	7.7
May 1988	7.8
June 1988	7.6
July 1988	7.8
August 1988	7.8
September 1988	7.8
October 1988	7.8
November 1988	7.8
December 1988	7.5
January 1989	7.5
February 1989	7.6
March 1989	7.5
April 1989	7.8
May 1989	7.7
June 1989	7.5
July 1989	7.5
August 1989	7.3
September 1989	7.3
October 1989	7.2
November 1989	7.5
December 1989	7.7
January 1990	7.9
February 1990	7.7
March 1990	7.3
April 1990	7.6
May 1990	7.8
June 1990	7.6
July 1990	7.9
August 1990	8.1
September 1990	8.5
October 1990	8.8
November 1990	9.1
December 1990	9.5
January 1991	9.8
February 1991	10.2
March 1991	10.5
April 1991	10.3
May 1991	10.2
June 1991	10.5
July 1991	10.5
August 1991	10.5
September 1991	10.3
October 1991	10.3
November 1991	10.4
December 1991	10.3
January 1992	10.4
February 1992	10.5
March 1992	10.9
April 1992	10.7
May 1992	10.9
June 1992	11.4
July 1992	11.3
August 1992	11.7
September 1992	11.6
October 1992	11.4
November 1992	12.1
December 1992	11.7
January 1993	11.2
February 1993	11
March 1993	11.2
April 1993	11.6
May 1993	11.6
June 1993	11.7
July 1993	11.6
August 1993	11.2
September 1993	11.5
October 1993	11.3
November 1993	11.2
December 1993	11.4
January 1994	11.4
February 1994	11.1
March 1994	10.6
April 1994	10.9
May 1994	10.7
June 1994	10.3
July 1994	10.1
August 1994	10.2
September 1994	10.1
October 1994	10
November 1994	9.7
December 1994	9.6
January 1995	9.6
February 1995	9.6
March 1995	9.7
April 1995	9.5
May 1995	9.5
June 1995	9.5
July 1995	9.6
August 1995	9.5
September 1995	9.2
October 1995	9.3
November 1995	9.2
December 1995	9.4
January 1996	9.4
February 1996	9.5
March 1996	9.6
April 1996	9.3
May 1996	9.2
June 1996	9.8
July 1996	9.7
August 1996	9.4
September 1996	9.9
October 1996	9.9
November 1996	9.9
December 1996	9.7
January 1997	9.5
February 1997	9.5
March 1997	9.3
April 1997	9.4
May 1997	9.4
June 1997	9.1
July 1997	8.9
August 1997	8.9
September 1997	8.8
October 1997	8.9
November 1997	8.9
December 1997	8.5
January 1998	8.8
February 1998	8.6
March 1998	8.4
April 1998	8.3
May 1998	8.3
June 1998	8.4
July 1998	8.3
August 1998	8.1
September 1998	8.2
October 1998	8
November 1998	8
December 1998	8.1
January 1999	7.9
February 1999	7.9
March 1999	7.9
April 1999	8.2
May 1999	7.9
June 1999	7.6
July 1999	7.6
August 1999	7.4
September 1999	7.5
October 1999	7.2
November 1999	6.9
December 1999	6.8
January 2000	6.8
February 2000	6.9
March 2000	6.9
April 2000	6.7
May 2000	6.6
June 2000	6.7
July 2000	6.8
August 2000	7
September 2000	6.9
October 2000	7
November 2000	6.9
December 2000	6.8
January 2023	6.9
February 2023	7
March 2023	7.1
April 2023	7.1
May 2023	7
June 2023	7.2
July 2023	7.1
August 2023	7.2
September 2023	7.2
October 2023	7.3
November 2023	7.5
December 2023	8.1
January 2023	8
February 2023	7.9
March 2023	7.9
April 2023	7.7
May 2023	7.8
June 2023	7.6
July 2023	7.6
August 2023	7.4
September 2023	7.6
October 2023	7.6
November 2023	7.5
December 2023	7.6
January 2023	7.5
February 2023	7.5
March 2023	7.4
April 2023	7.6
May 2023	7.8
June 2023	7.6
July 2023	7.7
August 2023	7.8
September 2023	7.9
October 2023	7.6
November 2023	7.4
December 2023	7.3
January 2023	7.3
February 2023	7.3
March 2023	7.3
April 2023	7.2
May 2023	7.1
June 2023	7.2
July 2023	7.1
August 2023	7
September 2023	6.9
October 2023	7.1
November 2023	7.2
December 2023	7.1
January 2023	6.9
February 2023	7
March 2023	6.9
April 2023	6.7
May 2023	7
June 2023	6.8
July 2023	6.7
August 2023	6.7
September 2023	6.7
October 2023	6.7
November 2023	6.3
December 2023	6.6
January 2023	6.7
February 2023	6.6
March 2023	6.5
April 2023	6.5
May 2023	6.2
June 2023	6.3
July 2023	6.5
August 2023	6.5
September 2023	6.5
October 2023	6.3
November 2023	6.5
December 2023	6.3
January 2023	6.4
February 2023	6.3
March 2023	6.3
April 2023	6.3
May 2023	6.2
June 2023	6.1
July 2023	6
August 2023	6
September 2023	6
October 2023	6
November 2023	6.1
December 2023	6.2
January 2023	6.1
February 2023	6.1
March 2023	6.2
April 2023	6.2
May 2023	6.2
June 2023	6.1
July 2023	6.2
August 2023	6.2
September 2023	6.3
October 2023	6.4
November 2023	6.7
December 2023	7
January 2023	7.5
February 2023	8.1
March 2023	8.3
April 2023	8.4
May 2023	8.6
June 2023	8.8
July 2023	8.8
August 2023	8.8
September 2023	8.5
October 2023	8.5
November 2023	8.6
December 2023	8.6
January 2023	8.4
February 2023	8.4
March 2023	8.3
April 2023	8.2
May 2023	8.1
June 2023	8
July 2023	8.2
August 2023	8.2
September 2023	8.2
October 2023	8.1
November 2023	7.8
December 2023	7.8
January 2023	7.8
February 2023	7.8
March 2023	7.8
April 2023	7.8
May 2023	7.7
June 2023	7.7
July 2023	7.4
August 2023	7.4
September 2023	7.4
October 2023	7.5
November 2023	7.6
December 2023	7.5
January 2023	7.7
February 2023	7.6
March 2023	7.3
April 2023	7.4
May 2023	7.5
June 2023	7.4
July 2023	7.3
August 2023	7.4
September 2023	7.4
October 2023	7.4
November 2023	7.3
December 2023	7.2
January 2023	7.1
February 2023	7
March 2023	7.3
April 2023	7.2
May 2023	7
June 2023	7.2
July 2023	7.3
August 2023	7.2
September 2023	7.1
October 2023	7.2
November 2023	7.1
December 2023	7.4
January 2023	7.2
February 2023	7.2
March 2023	7.1
April 2023	7.1
May 2023	7.3
June 2023	7.1
July 2023	7.1
August 2023	7
September 2023	7
October 2023	6.8
November 2023	6.8
December 2023	6.7
January 2023	6.8
February 2023	6.9
March 2023	6.8
April 2023	6.9
May 2023	6.8
June 2023	6.9
July 2023	6.9
August 2023	7
September 2023	7.1
October 2023	7
November 2023	7.1
December 2023	7.2
January 2023	7.3
February 2023	7.3
March 2023	7.2
April 2023	7.3
May 2023	7
June 2023	6.9
July 2023	6.9
August 2023	6.9
September 2023	7
October 2023	6.9
November 2023	6.8
December 2023	6.9
January 2023	6.8
February 2023	6.6
March 2023	6.7
April 2023	6.5
May 2023	6.6
June 2023	6.5
July 2023	6.3
August 2023	6.2

Chart text: Job vacancies are beginning to decline, but still well above pre-pandemic.
Quarter	Job vacancies
Q1 2015	442,050
Q2 2015	427,190
Q3 2015	388,630
Q4 2015	368,790
Q1 2016	362,065
Q2 2016	367,280
Q3 2016	386,660
Q4 2016	391,265
Q1 2017	421,740
Q2 2017	433,495
Q3 2017	447,125
Q4 2017	481,165
Q1 2018	497,620
Q2 2018	519,340
Q3 2018	528,965
Q4 2018	560,735
Q1 2019	545,620
Q2 2019	552,890
Q3 2019	538,955
Q4 2019	521,770
Q1 2020	555,615
Q2 2020	No data available
Q3 2020	No data available
Q4 2020	572,835
Q1 2021	604,245
Q2 2021	700,505
Q3 2021	885,735
Q4 2021	936,150
Q1 2022	956,570
Q2 2022	984,600
Q3 2022	952,075
Q4 2022	876,665
Q1 2023	843,190

Occupational groupings showing signs of shortage conditions
Year	Structural	Frictional/Cyclical
2019	25	Data unavailable
2021	38	20
202 to 2031 projection	56	Data unavailable

Chart description: Interest rate and average residential mortgage lending rate - 5 year (Jan. 1997 to July 2023)
Month	Bank of Canada Overnight Rate	Avg. residential mortgage rate ‐ 5 year
January 1997	3%	7.14%
February 1997	3%	7.12%
March 1997	3%	7.06%
April 1997	3%	7.56%
May 1997	3%	7.46%
June 1997	3%	7.22%
July 1997	3%	6.98%
August 1997	3%	7.00%
September 1997	3%	6.96%
October 1997	4%	6.73%
November 1997	4%	6.69%
December 1997	4%	6.90%
January 1998	4%	6.90%
February 1998	5%	6.84%
March 1998	5%	6.84%
April 1998	5%	6.79%
May 1998	5%	6.92%
June 1998	5%	6.90%
July 1998	5%	6.90%
August 1998	5%	7.08%
September 1998	6%	7.32%
October 1998	5%	6.73%
November 1998	5%	6.94%
December 1998	5%	6.69%
January 1999	5%	6.79%
February 1999	5%	6.79%
March 1999	5%	7.03%
April 1999	5%	6.71%
May 1999	5%	6.99%
June 1999	5%	7.35%
July 1999	5%	7.42%
August 1999	5%	7.80%
September 1999	5%	7.67%
October 1999	5%	7.90%
November 1999	5%	8.13%
December 1999	5%	8.13%
January 2000	5%	8.34%
February 2000	5%	8.43%
March 2000	5%	8.24%
April 2000	5%	8.23%
May 2000	5%	8.50%
June 2000	5%	8.34%
July 2000	5%	8.18%
August 2000	5%	8.08%
September 2000	5%	8.08%
October 2000	5%	8.08%
November 2000	5%	8.04%
December 2000	6%	7.81%
January 2023	6%	7.58%
February 2023	6%	7.52%
March 2023	5%	7.19%
April 2023	5%	7.22%
May 2023	5%	7.38%
June 2023	5%	7.47%
July 2023	4%	7.46%
August 2023	4%	7.39%
September 2023	4%	7.03%
October 2023	3%	6.74%
November 2023	2%	6.51%
December 2023	2%	6.64%
January 2023	2%	6.62%
February 2023	2%	6.59%
March 2023	2%	6.80%
April 2023	2%	7.00%
May 2023	2%	7.00%
June 2023	3%	6.98%
July 2023	3%	6.90%
August 2023	3%	6.61%
September 2023	3%	6.49%
October 2023	3%	6.50%
November 2023	3%	6.47%
December 2023	3%	6.39%
January 2023	3%	6.26%
February 2023	3%	6.29%
March 2023	3%	6.33%
April 2023	3%	6.44%
May 2023	3%	6.10%
June 2023	3%	5.62%
July 2023	3%	5.71%
August 2023	3%	5.87%
September 2023	3%	5.97%
October 2023	3%	5.83%
November 2023	3%	6.02%
December 2023	3%	6.00%
January 2023	3%	5.78%
February 2023	3%	5.51%
March 2023	2%	5.31%
April 2023	2%	5.56%
May 2023	2%	5.82%
June 2023	2%	6.06%
July 2023	2%	6.10%
August 2023	2%	5.97%
September 2023	2%	5.94%
October 2023	3%	5.95%
November 2023	3%	5.87%
December 2023	3%	5.69%
January 2023	3%	5.60%
February 2023	3%	5.59%
March 2023	3%	5.60%
April 2023	3%	5.67%
May 2023	3%	5.55%
June 2023	3%	5.31%
July 2023	3%	5.26%
August 2023	3%	5.32%
September 2023	3%	5.30%
October 2023	3%	5.39%
November 2023	3%	5.56%
December 2023	3%	5.60%
January 2023	4%	5.65%
February 2023	4%	5.75%
March 2023	4%	5.78%
April 2023	4%	5.88%
May 2023	4%	6.05%
June 2023	4%	6.12%
July 2023	4%	6.26%
August 2023	4%	6.24%
September 2023	4%	6.13%
October 2023	4%	6.01%
November 2023	4%	5.99%
December 2023	4%	5.89%
January 2023	4%	5.91%
February 2023	4%	6.00%
March 2023	4%	5.91%
April 2023	4%	5.92%
May 2023	4%	6.01%
June 2023	4%	6.51%
July 2023	5%	6.60%
August 2023	5%	6.62%
September 2023	5%	6.61%
October 2023	5%	6.69%
November 2023	5%	6.73%
December 2023	4%	6.75%
January 2023	4%	6.81%
February 2023	4%	6.72%
March 2023	4%	6.60%
April 2023	3%	6.40%
May 2023	3%	6.21%
June 2023	3%	6.20%
July 2023	3%	6.37%
August 2023	3%	6.25%
September 2023	3%	6.16%
October 2023	2%	6.46%
November 2023	2%	6.51%
December 2023	2%	6.17%
January 2023	1%	5.78%
February 2023	1%	5.28%
March 2023	1%	5.14%
April 2023	0%	4.79%
May 2023	0%	4.62%
June 2023	0%	4.90%
July 2023	0%	5.14%
August 2023	0%	5.13%
September 2023	0%	4.97%
October 2023	0%	5.00%
November 2023	0%	5.06%
December 2023	0%	4.83%
January 2023	0%	4.80%
February 2023	0%	4.73%
March 2023	0%	4.71%
April 2023	0%	5.15%
May 2023	1%	5.30%
June 2023	1%	5.18%
July 2023	1%	5.02%
August 2023	1%	4.82%
September 2023	1%	4.60%
October 2023	1%	4.52%
November 2023	1%	4.45%
December 2023	1%	4.50%
January 2023	1%	4.55%
February 2023	1%	4.68%
March 2023	1%	4.70%
April 2023	1%	4.87%
May 2023	1%	4.83%
June 2023	1%	4.60%
July 2023	1%	4.57%
August 2023	1%	4.52%
September 2023	1%	4.42%
October 2023	1%	4.35%
November 2023	1%	4.38%
December 2023	1%	4.36%
January 2023	1%	4.31%
February 2023	1%	4.23%
March 2023	1%	4.21%
April 2023	1%	4.36%
May 2023	1%	4.35%
June 2023	1%	4.25%
July 2023	1%	4.23%
August 2023	1%	4.23%
September 2023	1%	4.20%
October 2023	1%	4.17%
November 2023	1%	4.15%
December 2023	1%	4.15%
January 2023	1%	4.14%
February 2023	1%	4.11%
March 2023	1%	4.02%
April 2023	1%	4.02%
May 2023	1%	4.02%
June 2023	1%	4.00%
July 2023	1%	4.08%
August 2023	1%	4.14%
September 2023	1%	4.33%
October 2023	1%	4.40%
November 2023	1%	4.39%
December 2023	1%	4.39%
January 2023	1%	4.38%
February 2023	1%	4.32%
March 2023	1%	4.16%
April 2023	1%	4.02%
May 2023	1%	4.02%
June 2023	1%	4.00%
July 2023	1%	4.01%
August 2023	1%	4.01%
September 2023	1%	4.02%
October 2023	1%	4.00%
November 2023	1%	4.00%
December 2023	1%	3.98%
January 2023	1%	3.96%
February 2023	1%	3.91%
March 2023	1%	3.84%
April 2023	1%	3.76%
May 2023	1%	3.74%
June 2023	1%	3.72%
July 2023	1%	3.71%
August 2023	1%	3.71%
September 2023	1%	3.71%
October 2023	1%	3.72%
November 2023	1%	3.72%
December 2023	1%	3.75%
January 2023	1%	3.76%
February 2023	1%	3.75%
March 2023	1%	3.73%
April 2023	1%	3.70%
May 2023	1%	3.67%
June 2023	1%	3.66%
July 2023	1%	3.67%
August 2023	1%	3.68%
September 2023	1%	3.67%
October 2023	1%	3.68%
November 2023	1%	3.70%
December 2023	1%	3.74%
January 2023	1%	3.73%
February 2023	1%	3.75%
March 2023	1%	3.66%
April 2023	1%	3.62%
May 2023	1%	3.59%
June 2023	1%	3.60%
July 2023	1%	3.72%
August 2023	1%	3.82%
September 2023	1%	3.89%
October 2023	1%	3.98%
November 2023	1%	4.04%
December 2023	1%	4.07%
January 2023	1%	4.14%
February 2023	1%	4.26%
March 2023	1%	4.27%
April 2023	1%	4.27%
May 2023	1%	4.35%
June 2023	1%	4.32%
July 2023	2%	4.42%
August 2023	2%	4.43%
September 2023	2%	4.43%
October 2023	2%	4.48%
November 2023	2%	4.38%
December 2023	2%	4.59%
January 2023	2%	4.59%
February 2023	2%	4.52%
March 2023	2%	4.44%
April 2023	2%	4.33%
May 2023	2%	4.30%
June 2023	2%	4.23%
July 2023	2%	4.14%
August 2023	2%	4.08%
September 2023	2%	4.07%
October 2023	2%	4.09%
November 2023	2%	4.09%
December 2023	2%	4.08%
January 2023	2%	4.08%
February 2023	2%	4.08%
March 2023	0%	3.90%
April 2023	0%	3.95%
May 2023	0%	3.86%
June 2023	0%	3.77%
July 2023	0%	3.64%
August 2023	0%	3.57%
September 2023	0%	3.51%
October 2023	0%	3.45%
November 2023	0%	3.42%
December 2023	0%	3.34%
January 2023	0%	3.30%
February 2023	0%	3.25%
March 2023	0%	3.26%
April 2023	0%	3.25%
May 2023	0%	3.25%
June 2023	0%	3.26%
July 2023	0%	3.20%
August 2023	0%	3.20%
September 2023	0%	3.22%
October 2023	0%	3.29%
November 2023	0%	3.40%
December 2023	0%	3.45%
January 2023	0%	3.44%
February 2023	0%	3.58%
March 2023	1%	3.77%
April 2023	1%	4.19%
May 2023	1%	4.63%
June 2023	2%	5.05%
July 2023	3%	5.51%
August 2023	2.50%	5.58%
September 2023	3.30%	5.64%
October 2023	3.80%	5.75%
November 2023	3.80%	5.88%
December 2023	4.30%	5.89%
January 2023	4.50%	5.86%
February 2023	4.50%	5.81%
March 2023	4.50%	5.81%
April 2023	4.50%	5.75%
May 2023	4.50%	5.74%
June 2023	4.80%	No data available
July 2023	5.00%	No data available

Chart description: Probability of a US recession one year later (predicted by Treasury spread)
Month	Prob US recession	Recession years
January 1989	1%	0%
February 1989	2%	0%
March 1989	2%	0%
April 1989	1%	0%
May 1989	1%	0%
June 1989	2%	0%
July 1989	3%	0%
August 1989	4%	0%
September 1989	7%	0%
October 1989	10%	0%
November 1989	13%	0%
December 1989	16%	0%
January 1990	19%	0%
February 1990	23%	0%
March 1990	25%	0%
April 1990	25%	0%
May 1990	27%	0%
June 1990	33%	0%
July 1990	33%	0%
August 1990	31%	100%
September 1990	26%	100%
October 1990	27%	100%
November 1990	31%	100%
December 1990	31%	100%
January 1991	23%	100%
February 1991	20%	100%
March 1991	21%	100%
April 1991	16%	0%
May 1991	16%	0%
June 1991	20%	0%
July 1991	18%	0%
August 1991	12%	0%
September 1991	9%	0%
October 1991	9%	0%
November 1991	11%	0%
December 1991	11%	0%
January 1992	5%	0%
February 1992	5%	0%
March 1992	3%	0%
April 1992	3%	0%
May 1992	2%	0%
June 1992	2%	0%
July 1992	2%	0%
August 1992	2%	0%
September 1992	2%	0%
October 1992	2%	0%
November 1992	1%	0%
December 1992	1%	0%
January 1993	1%	0%
February 1993	0%	0%
March 1993	0%	0%
April 1993	0%	0%
May 1993	0%	0%
June 1993	0%	0%
July 1993	0%	0%
August 1993	0%	0%
September 1993	0%	0%
October 1993	0%	0%
November 1993	0%	0%
December 1993	0%	0%
January 1994	0%	0%
February 1994	0%	0%
March 1994	1%	0%
April 1994	1%	0%
May 1994	1%	0%
June 1994	1%	0%
July 1994	1%	0%
August 1994	1%	0%
September 1994	2%	0%
October 1994	3%	0%
November 1994	2%	0%
December 1994	1%	0%
January 1995	1%	0%
February 1995	1%	0%
March 1995	1%	0%
April 1995	1%	0%
May 1995	1%	0%
June 1995	1%	0%
July 1995	1%	0%
August 1995	1%	0%
September 1995	1%	0%
October 1995	1%	0%
November 1995	2%	0%
December 1995	3%	0%
January 1996	4%	0%
February 1996	7%	0%
March 1996	9%	0%
April 1996	9%	0%
May 1996	15%	0%
June 1996	19%	0%
July 1996	16%	0%
August 1996	13%	0%
September 1996	15%	0%
October 1996	18%	0%
November 1996	21%	0%
December 1996	21%	0%
January 1997	19%	0%
February 1997	14%	0%
March 1997	10%	0%
April 1997	8%	0%
May 1997	6%	0%
June 1997	6%	0%
July 1997	6%	0%
August 1997	7%	0%
September 1997	6%	0%
October 1997	8%	0%
November 1997	12%	0%
December 1997	9%	0%
January 1998	8%	0%
February 1998	9%	0%
March 1998	8%	0%
April 1998	6%	0%
May 1998	7%	0%
June 1998	8%	0%
July 1998	12%	0%
August 1998	12%	0%
September 1998	11%	0%
October 1998	13%	0%
November 1998	18%	0%
December 1998	20%	0%
January 1999	22%	0%
February 1999	23%	0%
March 1999	20%	0%
April 1999	19%	0%
May 1999	19%	0%
June 1999	22%	0%
July 1999	22%	0%
August 1999	23%	0%
September 1999	28%	0%
October 1999	20%	0%
November 1999	23%	0%
December 1999	27%	0%
January 2000	24%	0%
February 2000	21%	0%
March 2000	17%	0%
April 2000	15%	0%
May 2000	13%	0%
June 2000	10%	0%
July 2000	11%	0%
August 2000	11%	0%
September 2000	11%	0%
October 2000	11%	0%
November 2000	15%	0%
December 2000	13%	0%
January 2001	10%	0%
February 2001	15%	0%
March 2001	21%	0%
April 2001	26%	100%
May 2001	20%	100%
June 2001	25%	100%
July 2001	32%	100%
August 2001	40%	100%
September 2001	38%	100%
October 2001	43%	100%
November 2001	45%	100%
December 2001	46%	0%
January 2002	33%	0%
February 2002	28%	0%
March 2002	22%	0%
April 2002	10%	0%
May 2002	5%	0%
June 2002	5%	0%
July 2002	6%	0%
August 2002	7%	0%
September 2002	3%	0%
October 2002	2%	0%
November 2002	1%	0%
December 2002	0%	0%
January 2003	0%	0%
February 2003	1%	0%
March 2003	0%	0%
April 2003	0%	0%
May 2003	0%	0%
June 2003	1%	0%
July 2003	1%	0%
August 2003	1%	0%
September 2003	3%	0%
October 2003	2%	0%
November 2003	1%	0%
December 2003	1%	0%
January 2004	1%	0%
February 2004	1%	0%
March 2004	1%	0%
April 2004	1%	0%
May 2004	2%	0%
June 2004	2%	0%
July 2004	1%	0%
August 2004	0%	0%
September 2004	0%	0%
October 2004	0%	0%
November 2004	0%	0%
December 2004	0%	0%
January 2005	0%	0%
February 2005	1%	0%
March 2005	1%	0%
April 2005	0%	0%
May 2005	0%	0%
June 2005	0%	0%
July 2005	1%	0%
August 2005	1%	0%
September 2005	2%	0%
October 2005	2%	0%
November 2005	3%	0%
December 2005	4%	0%
January 2006	4%	0%
February 2006	6%	0%
March 2006	5%	0%
April 2006	7%	0%
May 2006	9%	0%
June 2006	13%	0%
July 2006	14%	0%
August 2006	16%	0%
September 2006	16%	0%
October 2006	17%	0%
November 2006	19%	0%
December 2006	20%	0%
January 2007	28%	0%
February 2007	29%	0%
March 2007	28%	0%
April 2007	24%	0%
May 2007	24%	0%
June 2007	26%	0%
July 2007	30%	0%
August 2007	35%	0%
September 2007	35%	0%
October 2007	37%	0%
November 2007	41%	0%
December 2007	39%	0%
January 2008	38%	100%
February 2008	40%	100%
March 2008	42%	100%
April 2008	37%	100%
May 2008	32%	100%
June 2008	22%	100%
July 2008	29%	100%
August 2008	22%	100%
September 2008	19%	100%
October 2008	19%	100%
November 2008	15%	100%
December 2008	12%	100%
January 2009	13%	100%
February 2009	6%	100%
March 2009	3%	100%
April 2009	2%	100%
May 2009	3%	100%
June 2009	3%	100%
July 2009	2%	0%
August 2009	3%	0%
September 2009	2%	0%
October 2009	1%	0%
November 2009	0%	0%
December 2009	2%	0%
January 2010	2%	0%
February 2010	2%	0%
March 2010	1%	0%
April 2010	1%	0%
May 2010	1%	0%
June 2010	0%	0%
July 2010	0%	0%
August 2010	0%	0%
September 2010	0%	0%
October 2010	0%	0%
November 2010	0%	0%
December 2010	0%	0%
January 2011	0%	0%
February 2011	0%	0%
March 2011	0%	0%
April 2011	0%	0%
May 2011	0%	0%
June 2011	1%	0%
July 2011	1%	0%
August 2011	2%	0%
September 2011	2%	0%
October 2011	2%	0%
November 2011	1%	0%
December 2011	1%	0%
January 2012	0%	0%
February 2012	0%	0%
March 2012	0%	0%
April 2012	0%	0%
May 2012	1%	0%
June 2012	1%	0%
July 2012	1%	0%
August 2012	2%	0%
September 2012	4%	0%
October 2012	3%	0%
November 2012	4%	0%
December 2012	4%	0%
January 2013	4%	0%
February 2013	4%	0%
March 2013	3%	0%
April 2013	4%	0%
May 2013	5%	0%
June 2013	7%	0%
July 2013	8%	0%
August 2013	6%	0%
September 2013	6%	0%
October 2013	6%	0%
November 2013	6%	0%
December 2013	6%	0%
January 2014	4%	0%
February 2014	4%	0%
March 2014	4%	0%
April 2014	5%	0%
May 2014	4%	0%
June 2014	3%	0%
July 2014	2%	0%
August 2014	1%	0%
September 2014	1%	0%
October 2014	2%	0%
November 2014	1%	0%
December 2014	1%	0%
January 2015	1%	0%
February 2015	1%	0%
March 2015	1%	0%
April 2015	1%	0%
May 2015	2%	0%
June 2015	2%	0%
July 2015	2%	0%
August 2015	2%	0%
September 2015	2%	0%
October 2015	2%	0%
November 2015	2%	0%
December 2015	3%	0%
January 2016	4%	0%
February 2016	4%	0%
March 2016	4%	0%
April 2016	4%	0%
May 2016	3%	0%
June 2016	2%	0%
July 2016	2%	0%
August 2016	3%	0%
September 2016	3%	0%
October 2016	3%	0%
November 2016	3%	0%
December 2016	4%	0%
January 2017	5%	0%
February 2017	7%	0%
March 2017	6%	0%
April 2017	6%	0%
May 2017	7%	0%
June 2017	8%	0%
July 2017	10%	0%
August 2017	9%	0%
September 2017	8%	0%
October 2017	8%	0%
November 2017	5%	0%
December 2017	4%	0%
January 2018	4%	0%
February 2018	4%	0%
March 2018	5%	0%
April 2018	7%	0%
May 2018	8%	0%
June 2018	10%	0%
July 2018	9%	0%
August 2018	10%	0%
September 2018	10%	0%
October 2018	9%	0%
November 2018	11%	0%
December 2018	11%	0%
January 2019	10%	0%
February 2019	9%	0%
March 2019	11%	0%
April 2019	11%	0%
May 2019	11%	0%
June 2019	13%	0%
July 2019	14%	0%
August 2019	15%	0%
September 2019	15%	0%
October 2019	14%	0%
November 2019	16%	0%
December 2019	21%	0%
January 2020	24%	0%
February 2020	25%	0%
March 2020	27%	100%
April 2020	27%	100%
May 2020	30%	0%
June 2020	33%	0%
July 2020	31%	0%
August 2020	38%	0%
September 2020	35%	0%
October 2020	29%	0%
November 2020	25%	0%
December 2020	24%	0%
January 2021	25%	0%
February 2021	31%	0%
March 2021	18%	0%
April 2021	19%	0%
May 2021	19%	0%
June 2021	19%	0%
July 2021	20%	0%
August 2021	19%	0%
September 2021	19%	0%
October 2021	17%	0%
November 2021	15%	0%
December 2021	14%	0%
January 2022	12%	0%
February 2022	10%	0%
March 2022	6%	0%
April 2022	6%	0%
May 2022	6%	0%
June 2022	7%	0%
July 2022	9%	0%
August 2022	9%	0%
September 2022	8%	0%
October 2022	7%	0%
November 2022	7%	0%
December 2022	8%	0%
January 2023	6%	0%
February 2023	6%	0%
March 2023	5%	0%
April 2023	4%	0%
May 2023	4%	0%
June 2023	6%	0%
July 2023	18%	No data available
August 2023	25%	No data available
September 2023	23%	No data available
October 2023	26%	No data available
November 2023	38%	No data available
December 2023	47%	No data available
January 2024	57%	No data available
February 2024	54%	No data available
March 2024	58%	No data available
April 2024	68%	No data available
May 2024	71%	No data available
June 2024	67%	No data available

Chart description: Number of individuals* who could be added to the labour force if they participated at the same rate as their peers (Note: groups are not mutually exclusive)
Group	Additional participants
Women, 55+ (vs. men)	578,200
Women, 25-54 (vs. men)	520,100
Canadians, 60-64 (vs. younger group)***	260,000
Canadians, 55-59 (vs. younger group)***	127,800
Canadians, 65-69 (+5 pp)****	113,300
Immigrants, 25-54 (vs. Canadian born)	138,100
First Nations on-reserve, 15+ (vs. non-Indig.)	38,800
First Nations off-reserve, 15+ (vs. non-Indig.)	18,300

Chart text: Number of individuals* able to work who could be added to the labour force (Note: groups are not mutually exclusive)
Persons with disabilities with work potential, 25-64*****	445,000
NEET youth not in the labour force, 15-24	211,300

Chart description: Proportion of businesses reporting notable skill gaps (20% or more of employees had skill gaps)
Industry	Gaps
Prof., scientific, and tech services	13.8%
Transportation and warehousing	17.0%
Educational services	21.0%
Health care and social assistance	21.3%
Finance and insurance	23.7%
All industries	26.0%
Retail trade	31.9%
Manufacturing	32.0%
Construction	33.6%
Accommodation and food services	43.5%

Figure 6: description follows — **Figure 6: Changing nature of work and skills**

Diagram 2 text: Prevalence of skills gaps and recruitment difficulties, by firm size
Firm size	Skill gap prevalence rate	Recruitment difficulties prevalence rate
Small	73.7%	60.3%
Medium	90.1%	73.3%
Large	93%	66%

Diagram 3 text: Shares of the employed labour force in non-standard work in Canada, 2001 to 2022
Reference period	% Permanent part-time	% Temporary	% Self-employed	Total non-standard work
2001	10.6%	10.8%	15.3%	36.7%
2002	10.9%	11.0%	15.2%	37.1%
2003	11.3%	10.5%	15.4%	37.2%
2004	11.0%	10.8%	15.4%	37.2%
2005	10.7%	11.1%	15.6%	37.4%
2006	10.6%	11.1%	15.1%	36.9%
2007	10.7%	11.0%	15.4%	37.1%
2008	11.0%	10.4%	15.4%	36.9%
2009	11.4%	10.6%	16.0%	38.0%
2010	11.4%	11.3%	15.7%	38.4%
2011	11.2%	11.7%	15.3%	38.1%
2012	10.8%	11.6%	15.2%	37.6%
2013	11.0%	11.4%	15.3%	37.8%
2014	11.0%	11.4%	15.2%	37.6%
2015	10.8%	11.4%	15.2%	37.4%
2016	10.9%	11.3%	15.3%	37.5%
2017	10.9%	11.7%	15.1%	37.7%
2018	10.5%	11.4%	15.2%	37.1%
2019	10.6%	10.9%	15.1%	36.7%
2020	10.0%	9.8%	15.4%	35.2%
2021	10.5%	10.4%	14.1%	35.1%
2022	10.4%	10.4%	13.6%	34.4%

Diagram 5 text: Employment rates of specific groups
Group	Rate
Women (15 to 64)	72.3%
Recent immigrants (10 years and under), (15 to 54)	75.1%
Visible Minorities (15 to 54)	73.8%
Persons with Disabilities (25 to 64), (2017)	59.3%
Youth (15 to 24)	57.9%
Lower educational attainment (25 to 64)	68.6%
Indigenous people off reserve (15 to 64)	68.5%
Indigenous people on reserve (15 to 64)	40.3%
Canada average (15 to 64)	75.2%

Diagram 8 text: Percentage of Canadians aged 25 to 65 with literacy and/or numeracy skills at or below level 2, by level of education.
Group	Level 2 or below, literacy	Level 2 or below, numeracy	Level 2 or below, literacy and numeracy
Total	49.0	55.0	43.4
Less than high school	87.8	90.9	85.3
High school only	60.0	68.0	54.8
PSE below bachelor	48.3	55.1	41.7
University graduates	27.2	31.8	21.6

Diagram 9 text: Annual hours of participation in education and training, Adults aged 25 to 64
Country	Hours per year
Korea	248
Mexico	226
Japan	148
United States	140
Israel	135
Chile	121
Canada	119
Russian Federation	117
New Zealand	113
Australia	103

Diagram 10 text: Expenditures in training as a percentage of GDP to: OECD, Public expenditure and participant stocks on labour market programming
Year	Canada	OECD Average
2004	0.08	0.15
2005	0.08	0.15
2006	0.08	0.14
2007	0.08	0.12
2008	0.09	0.12
2009	0.14	0.15
2010	0.13	0.16
2011	0.10	0.14
2012	0.08	0.14
2013	0.08	0.14
2014	0.07	0.14
2015	0.07	0.13
2016	0.07	0.12
2017	0.06	0.13
2018	0.06	0.11
2019	0.06	0.1
2020	0.06	0.11

Diagram 12 text: Changes in employment shares by tasks expected in 10 years
Routine	Non-routine cognitive
-1.4	1.6

Figure 7: description follows — **Figure 7: Youth employment, skills and learning**

Table 1: Youth at a glance
Youth 15 to 29 (as of May 2023)	Millions	Percent of Canadians
Population	7.22	22.3
Labour force	5.40	25.1
Unemployed	0.50	45.4

Percentage of Canadians (15 to 24 years) enrolled in PSE, 2010 to 2022
Year	College	University	Total PSE
2010	12	19	30
2011	12	19	31
2012	12	20	32
2013	12	20	32
2014	12	20	32
2015	12	20	32
2016	12	21	33
2017	12	22	33
2018	12	22	33
2019	12	22	33
2020	11	23	34
2021	10	23	33
2022	10	23	34

Average Canada Student Loan (CSL) debt at the time of leaving school (2009 to 2010 and 2021 to 2022).
Year	Average Canada Student Loan debt at time of leaving school - nominal dollars	Average Canada Student Loan debt at time of leaving school - real dollars (2009)
2009 to 2010	$12 857	$12 857
2010 to 2011	$12 281	$12 060
2011 to 2012	$12 155	$11 597
2012 to 2013	$12 314	$11 575
2013 to 2014	$12 480	$11 626
2014 to 2015	$12 783	$11 680
2015 to 2016	$13 306	$12 024
2016 to 2017	$13 456	$11 989
2017 to 2018	$13 416	$11 770
2018 to 2019	$13 367	$11 463
2019 to 2020	$13 549	$11 397
2020 to 2021	$14 418	$12 040
2021 to 2022	$15 578	$12 586

Actual and Projected value of Canada Student Grants (CSGs) and Canada Student Loans (CSLs) disbursements (2015 to 2016 and 2024 to 2025).
Year	Canada Student Grant disbursement (million)	Canada Student Loan disbursement (million)
2014 to 2015	$717.7	$2,723.1
2015 to 2016	$719.5	$2,722.3
2016 to 2017	$1,014.6	$2,627.2
2017 to 2018	$1,364.9	$3,352.1
2018 to 2019	$1,614.1	$3,575.4
2019 to 2020	$1,634.8	$3,449.1
2020 to 2021	$3,187.5	$3,968.8
2021 to 2022	$3,256.2	$2,940.0
2022 to 2023 (projected)*	$3,408.0	$3,015.0
2023 to 2024 (projected)*	$2,373.0	$4,334.0
2024 to 2025 (projected)*	$1,754.0	$4,119.0

Labour market outcomes by highest level of education, 25 to 34 year-olds
Level of education	Employment rate - percentage	Median employment earnings - dollars
No credentials	49.60	$22,200
High School	66.50	$27,400
College/CEGEP	79.80	$39,200
Apprenticeship	83.10	$40,000
Bachelor's degree	84.10	$53,600

Employment index by age group
Date	15 to 24	15 to 19	20 to 24	25 years and older
February 20	58.7	43.2	71.8	62.7
March 20	48.9	33.9	61.5	59.9
April 20	38.4	26.1	48.9	54.2
May 20	38.6	27.3	48.2	55.3
June 20	45.2	34.4	54.4	58
July 20	48.1	36.9	57.7	59
August 20	49.7	38.1	59.5	59.6
September 20	53.3	41	63.7	60.5
October 20	52.9	39.8	63.9	60.8
November 20	52.8	39.6	64	60.9
December 20	51.8	38.6	63	60.7
Jan-21	49.7	35.4	61.9	60.4
February 20	52.2	38.2	64.2	60.9
March 20	54.9	39.8	67.7	61.4
April 20	53	38.9	65.1	60.9
May 20	51.7	38.3	63.1	60.9
June 20	55.5	42.6	66.5	61.1
July 20	56.9	44.4	67.7	61.2
August 21	58	45.7	68.6	61.2
September 21	58.6	46.1	69.4	61.7
October 21	58.7	46.2	69.5	61.7
November 21	58.9	46.4	69.7	62.1
December 21	59	45.9	70.3	62.3
January 22	56.5	42.9	68.3	61.9
February 22	59.5	45.9	71.4	62.6
March 22	59.6	45.7	71.6	62.6
April 22	59.6	46.5	71.1	62.7
May 22	59.4	45.6	71.5	62.8
June 22	59.2	44.9	71.6	62.5
July 22	58.9	45.3	70.8	62.6
August 22	58.8	45.7	70.2	62.4
September 22	57.7	45.1	68.7	62.5
October 22	58.2	45.5	69.2	62.6
November 22	58.3	45.4	69.6	62.6
December 22	59.4	46.1	71.1	62.6
January 23	59.4	45.4	71.6	63
February 23	59.5	45.5	71.7	62.9
March 23	59.6	45.8	71.7	62.8
April 23	59.6	45.4	71.9	62.8
May 23	57.6	43.3	70.1	62.9

Figure 8: description follows — **Figure 8: Seniors**

Figure 9: description follows — **Figure 9: Service Canada is the face of government for millions of Canadians**

Figure 10: description follows — **Figure 10: Transforming service delivery while renewing technology**

Minister's mandate letters

Footnotes

Footnote 1

If the Canada Pension Plan expenditures - not consolidated in the federal public accounts - are excluded, ESDC's expenditure represent 30% of total federal government expenditures in 2021 to 2022.

Return to footnote 1 referrer

Footnote 2

$178.3B is comprised of statutory payments made directly to Canadians as well as programs providing benefits to Canadians through grants and contributions.

Return to footnote 2 referrer

Footnote 3

This includes administrative costs related to Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, administrative costs of other federal departments related to delivery of Employment Insurance benefits, Employment Insurance doubtful accounts and Workers Compensation

Return to footnote 3 referrer

Footnote 4

The Canadian Transportation Agency and the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission administer their respective regulations under the Accessible Canada Act.

Return to footnote 4 referrer

Footnote 5

Total does not include transfers to provinces and territories.

Return to footnote 5 referrer

Footnote 6

Labour Market Development Agreements are funded by Employment Insurance premiums and governed by Part II of the Employment Insurance Act.

Return to footnote 6 referrer

Footnote 7

In 2021 to 2022, ESDC managed a budget of $4.35 billion in grants and contributions, which included about 37 programs and 66 streams. Total does not include transfers to provinces and territories.

Return to footnote 7 referrer

Footnote 8

If the Canada Pension Plan expenditures - not consolidated in the federal public accounts - are excluded, ESDC's expenditure represents 30% of total federal government expenditures in 2021 to 2022.

Return to footnote 8 referrer

Footnote 9

If $178.3 billion is comprised of statutory payments made directly to Canadians as well as programs providing benefits to Canadians through grants and contributions.

Return to footnote 9 referrer

Footnote 10

The transfers to provinces and territories include Labour Market Development Agreements (Employment Insurance-funded), Workforce Development Agreements, and Early Learning and Child Care.

Return to footnote 10 referrer

Footnote 11

Return to footnote 11 referrer

Page details

Date modified:: 2024-02-05

Welcome binder for Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development, Paul Thompson - 2023

On this page

Employment and Social Development Canada departmental overview

In this section

The ESDC portfolio - Mission

Employment and Social Development Canada's core responsibilities

How we carry out ESDC's mandate

Legislative framework

Organizational structure

Biographies of deputy ministers

Lori MacDonald, Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development and Chief Operating Officer for Service Canada

Kristina Namiesniowski, Senior Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Sandra Hassan, Deputy Minister of Labour and Associate Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development

Cliff Groen, Associate Deputy Minister, Benefits Delivery Modernization

Andrew Brown, Associate Deputy Minister, Employment and Social Development

Departmental branches and regions

Employment and Social Development Canada Program and Policy Branches

Income Security and Social Development Branch

Learning Branch

Skills and Employment Branch

Strategic and Service Policy Branch

ESDC Enablers

Internal Audit and Enterprise Risk Management Branch

Chief Data Officer

Chief Financial Officer

Corporate Secretariat

Human Resources Services Branch

Innovation, Information and Technology Branch

Legal Services Branch

Public Affairs and Stakeholder Relations Branch

Labour Program

Policy, Dispute Resolution, and International Affairs Branch

Compliance, Operations and Program Development Branch

Strategic Integration and Governance Directorate

Service Canada Branches

Citizen Service Branch

Integrity Services Branch

Program Operations Branch

Temporary Foreign Worker Branch

Benefits and Integrated Services Branch

Benefits Delivery Modernization programme

Service Canada regions

Atlantic Region

Ontario Region

Quebec Region

Western Canada and Territories Region

Commissions, Tribunals, Councils and Committees

Canada Employment Insurance Commission

Members

Services and information

EI policy and regulations

Financial transparency/rate setting

EI appeals

Financial profile

Accessibility Standards Canada

Social Security Tribunal of Canada

Canada Industrial Relations Board

Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety

National Seniors Council

National Advisory Council on Poverty

National Advisory Council on Early Learning and Child Care

Policy Horizons Canada

Federal-Provincial/Territorial Relations

Forum of Labour Market Ministers

Federal-Provincial/Territorial Ministers Responsible for Social Services

Federal-Provincial/Territorial Forum of Ministers Most Responsible for Early Learning and Child Care

Forum of Federal-Provincial/Territorial Ministers Responsible for Seniors

Federal-Provincial/Territorial Ministers Responsible for Labour

Annex A

ESDC programs and initiatives

Grants and contributions

Statutory programs

Transfer payments

Other initiatives

Other initiatives led by Finance Canada with support from ESDC

Senior management organization chart

Alternate format

Our Ministers

Our Deputy Ministers

Employment and Social Development