Canada's NDP

Skip to main content

July 12th, 2019

NDP: Let’s Create Good-Paying, Lasting Local Jobs

WELLAND – On Friday, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh, along with NDP candidate and former MP Malcolm Allen (Niagara Centre), NDP candidate Brian Barker (Niagara Falls) and NDP candidate Denis Van Meer (St. Catharine’s), presented the NDP’s plan to build an advanced low-carbon manufacturing economy to create and maintain good paying jobs in the Niagara region – all while fighting climate change and creating products that save people money.

“Manufacturing helped build Canada – and it should continue to build Canada’s future. But as we’ve seen again this week in Thunder Bay, the Liberals and Conservatives’ approach is failing: Canadian manufacturing jobs are disappearing,” said Singh. “New Democrats know that green manufacturing and the good jobs that it creates are vital for so many communities across the country. We are committed to fighting for a strong and robust future for Canadian manufacturing.”

In the Niagara region, multiple manufacturing companies working on green products closed shop due to a lack of strategy and investment by the government. The Liberal and Conservative focus on no-strings-attached corporate tax cuts is putting the interests of powerful CEOs and rich shareholders ahead of communities – and it’s led to the loss of hundreds of thousands of manufacturing jobs over the last two decades.

“Niagara Centre is a great place to do business, but too often good green jobs are disappearing because Justin Trudeau has given up on manufacturing – he has even said that the Liberal government is ‘transitioning away from manufacturing-based employment’,” added Allen. “These jobs are important for our community, but are also important for our fight against climate change and in helping families save money. Niagara Centre deserves a government who will fight for manufacturing. We will make different choices for better results.”

"I became interested in working in the green manufacturing industry because I care about the environment but also want a good union job in the trades. I've had difficulty finding work because the job market in the Niagara region is tough. I also have a young daughter I need to support. It's upsetting to see so many companies I could have worked for in green manufacturing that have left the region,” said Thomas McAllister-Dorricott, a young adult in the Niagara region. “I am excited that Jagmeet is putting forward a plan that will help create green manufacturing jobs in Welland and in the rest of the country."
Instead of giving handouts to the richest companies, the federal government should be investing in companies that manufacture products to make our municipalities more sustainable and more resilient to the impacts of climate change. This is the way of the future – and it is what New Democrats will deliver.