Toronto, ON (April 30, 2026) – WoodGreen Community Services welcomes the federal government’s Spring Economic Update – Canada Strong For All, and its additional investments and commitments in advancing employment opportunities for youth skilled trades, supporting community tax clinics, accelerated construction for new housing and reduction of food security barriers.
WoodGreen is encouraged to see the launch of Team Canada Strong, an initiative to recruit, train, and hire 80,000 to 100,000 new Red Seal skilled trades workers by 2030–31. This effort will help strengthen pathways for young Canadians into critical sectors.
The proposed $2 billion investment over five years to support job-ready placements is a meaningful step toward helping young people enter the workforce. We look forward to learning more about how community employment service providers can contribute to this ambitious goal and collaborate with the government to connect youth with skilled trades opportunities.
WoodGreen is pleased to see the $18.7 million over three years, starting in 2026-27, to the Canada Revenue Agency to renew and expand the Community Volunteer Income Tax Program (CVITP) Grant. This grant is critical for the sustainability of local tax clinics that provide vulnerable Canadians with modest incomes with access to trained volunteers to help file their income tax returns and receive their benefits. CVITP tax clinics play a key role in improving financial stability by helping people access income supports and this recognition is appreciated.
We also support further commitments to accelerate homebuilding including the $7 billion in low-cost loans under the Apartment Construction Loan Program to support the construction of up to 16,500 new rental homes. This program has been instrumental in unlocking rental supply. CMHC found that 88 percent of rental starts nationally were supported by ACLP or MLI select.
To further support the development of mixed income communities, WoodGreen recommends a streamlined framework that allows for projects to co-stack Build Canada Homes investments in non-profit deeply affordable housing with CMHC’s - ACLP and MLI select - loans. This will enable more partnerships between non-profit and private developers to jointly build mixed-income affordable housing at scale using modern industrial construction methods. WoodGreen looks forward to the report’s announcement of the launch of Canada Rental Protection Fund in Spring 2026 to support the acquisitions of thousands of homes within the next five years. WoodGreen emphasizes that acquisition funds should include capital repair dollars to ensure that purchases of older building stock are retrofitted to healthy livable and green standards.
Finally, we are encouraged to see the federal government’s commitment to a National Food Security Strategy aimed at combatting rising food insecurity. This is an important step, as addressing food security issues is essential to improving health outcomes, reducing inequality, and ensuring that vulnerable community members have reliable access to nutritious, affordable food.
Overall, these commitments signal meaningful progress. WoodGreen looks forward to our continued collaboration with the federal government to turn these priorities into tangible outcomes in our community and nationwide.
ABOUT WOODGREEN COMMUNITY SERVICES (woodgreen.org): WoodGreen is one of the largest social service agencies in Toronto, serving 40,000 people each year. We offer over 75 programs and services tackling the social determinants that affect the health and well-being of individuals in our community.
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For more information or to arrange an interview, please contact: For more information or to arrange an interview, please contact: Jon Reed, Senior Communications Manager; [email protected];.