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Unifor National President Lana Payne presented to the Standing Committee on Finance on June 2, as part of the 2026 pre-budget consultation. Payne’s testimony focused on the measures the federal government must take to protect Canadian jobs.
“Canada’s economy and labour market are showing cracks, with private sector industries and workplaces facing mounting pressure. These pressures are converging on Canadian workers from different directions,” said Payne.
Outlining the pressure of Trump’s trade war paired with issues like privatization, unchecked automation and AI use, and long-standing issues that undermine good jobs, Payne urged the importance of charting a new course.
“If we want an economy built on good jobs, fair wages and growing productivity, we need to put Canada on a new track.”
Unifor’s recommendations for the 2026 federal budget build on the three policy pillars of the Protect Canadian Jobs campaign:
- Sell Here, Build Here: Companies that sell in Canada must build and source from Canada.
- Worker-Centred Industrial Strategies: Comprehensive industrial strategies that prioritize workers, job quality, and transitional skills.
- Promoting Good, Union Jobs: The federal government must strengthen labour standards and improve conditions for free and fair collective bargaining, not water down labour rights and attack the right to strike.
Payne’s address to the committee outlined measures to strengthen the federal government’s Buy Canadian procurement policy and improve worker supports and protections.
She also strongly urged government to refrain from making amendments to the Canada Labour Code that would undermine the right to strike or freely bargain collective agreements in the federally regulated private sector.
Support Unifor’s plan to Protect Canadian Jobs by emailing your MPP: https://www.protectjobs.ca/message_your_mp.
Learn more about the campaign at protectjobs.ca.
