Western Canada's energy sector could require nearly 70,000 new hires by 2035 as growing production and a wave of retirements put pressure on the industry's workforce, according to a new labour market forecast.Careers in Energy (CIE), a division of Energy Safety Canada, released updated regional labour market outlooks this week covering Western, Central and Atlantic Canada through 2035.The reports forecast workforce needs, hiring requirements and labour trends across Canada's energy sector and follow the organization's recently released national outlook.Western Canada remains by far the country's largest energy-producing region, employing approximately 175,900 energy workers.CIE projects the region will add 19,750 direct energy jobs by 2035. When retirements are included, the industry could need to make 69,400 hires over the forecast period.The outlook points to expanded oil and natural gas production, pipelines, LNG exports, carbon capture and storage and low-carbon hydrogen development as areas expected to support employment."As energy security becomes an increasingly important global priority, Canada's energy workforce will be central to maintaining our position as a reliable energy supplier," Energy Safety Canada President and CEO Vineeta Maguire said."But a reliable workforce starts with a safe one. These regional outlooks reinforce the importance of attracting, developing and retaining skilled workers, ensuring they have the training and support to work safely, across both established and emerging energy sectors."The forecasts are based on a "Current Measures" scenario reflecting energy production and carbon sequestration projects considered most likely to proceed based on government policies, programs and announced plans in place as of March 2026..Central Canada, which includes Ontario and Quebec, is expected to maintain relatively stable direct energy employment of about 7,800 workers.However, retirements are expected to create more than 1,800 net hiring requirements through 2035.Ontario and Quebec also support an estimated 101,600 indirect jobs connected to energy activity across Canada, including petroleum refining, energy storage and transportation, manufacturing, spending and innovation.Atlantic Canada is forecast to add more than 3,500 positions between 2026 and 2030 as new offshore oil and low-carbon hydrogen production ramps up.After 2030, growth in low-carbon hydrogen could help compensate for job losses as existing offshore oil projects mature, according to the report.Retirements are expected to be one of the largest sources of hiring demand nationwide, meaning energy companies will need workers to replace experienced employees leaving the industry in addition to filling newly created positions.Engineering, skilled trades, facility and field operations, transportation and technical occupations are among the areas expected to experience the strongest demand."The energy landscape is changing rapidly," said Lisa Stephenson, director of industry impact and development at Energy Safety Canada."These outlooks provide a benchmark for understanding today's workforce requirements while helping industry, governments, educators and workforce development partners track the trends and indicators that could significantly influence future workforce needs."CIE said it will monitor policy and regulatory changes, project approvals, spending decisions, export infrastructure, technology adoption and changing workforce requirements as it prepares its next labour market forecasts, scheduled for 2027.The regional outlooks were funded in part through the federal government's Sectoral Workforce Solutions Program.
