Statement from Bea Bruske: Canada’s unions must be at the table in trade talks

With trade discussions between Canada and Mexico underway this week, Canada’s unions are raising a serious concern: the very workers these deals affect have been excluded from the conversation.

With more than 240 organizations and 370 business and industry delegates participating in the Team Canada Trade Mission to Mexico, labour was not meaningfully included in shaping Canada’s trade strategy with Mexico, even as workers face significant economic instability and restructuring.

“Trade deals shape jobs, industries, public services and entire communities. Workers must have a seat at the table for any trade missions and negotiations to be truly meaningful,” said Bea Bruske, President of the Canadian Labour Congress. “Any trade strategy or deal Canada makes must benefit workers and support long-term growth through a worker-centred economic strategy. Trade must be a tool to build Canadian industry and good jobs, not an end in itself.”

Bruske added: “If a trade deal doesn’t put workers and Canadian jobs first, we are better off without it.”

Unions are calling on the federal government to anchor Canada’s trade approach in three core principles.

First, trade must be worker-centred and enforceable. Canada must insist on strong labour chapters with real penalties, including robust health and safety protections, safeguards for women and migrant workers, and clear measures to address gender-based violence at work. Labour standards cannot be symbolic: they must be enforceable and backed by real penalties.

Second, Canada must preserve its policy and regulatory space. Trade negotiations must strengthen—not restrict—our ability to build domestic manufacturing, expand value-added production, tax multinational corporations fairly, regulate artificial intelligence in the public interest, meet climate commitments, and expand public services.

“Government investments must come with clear conditions: good union jobs, community benefits, Buy Canadian procurement policies, and guarantees that jobs stay in Canada,” said Bruske. “Canada must not trade away economic sovereignty for market access.”

Third, public services must be protected. Trade agreements cannot undermine public health care, child care, housing, transit, clean energy, or employment insurance. Strong public services are strategic assets that help communities weather economic uncertainty.

As Canada and Mexico deepen economic integration across advanced manufacturing, clean energy, critical minerals and AI, any partnership must benefit all workers in Canada and Mexico, not just corporations.

“Canada’s workers built this country’s prosperity. They expect their government to advance worker-centred, worker-first trade, and labour must be at the table,” said Bruske.