In this episode of the Future Skills Podcast, we turn to the care economy—one of Canada's most essential yet complex labour market sectors. Host Jeremy Strachan is joined by Anita Khanna, Vice President of Government Relations and Public Policy at United Way Centraide, who explains why care work—from long-term care to community services—operates differently from other sectors, facing persistent challenges with worker retention, job quality, and wage disparities. We then hear from Tyler Downey, President of SEIU Healthcare, who outlines how unions are helping to build pathways into the care economy—particularly through targeted training and supports that enable internationally educated nurses to enter and thrive in Canada's healthcare workforce. We close with Sean Chilton, CEO of Health Workforce Canada, who highlights the critical role of high-quality, integrated data in understanding workforce gaps, improving planning, and driving better health workforce outcomes across the country. Together, this conversation explores what it will take to stabilize, strengthen, and grow the care workforce at a time of rising demand and system-wide pressure.

Guests

Anita Khanna, Vice President, Government Relations and Public Policy, United Way Centraide

Sean Chilton, President and CEO, Health Workforce Canada

Tyler Downey, President, SEIU Healthcare

Host

Jeremy Strachan, Manager, Education & Skills, Signal49 Research

Links

Future Skills Centre Homepage: https://fsc-ccf.ca/

Future Skills Centre LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/fsc-ccf

Future Skills Centre Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/fsc-ccf.bsky.social

Signal49 Research Homepage: https://www.signal49.ca/

Signal49 Research Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Signal49Research

Signal49 Research X: https://x.com/S49Research

United Way Centraide Canada: https://www.unitedway.ca/ 

Announcement of United Way Centraide Canada's National Labour Force Strategy: English | French

SIEU Healthcare Union: https://seiuhealthcare.ca/ 

Health Workforce Canada: https://healthworkforce.ca/ 

Health Workforce Canada's Pan-Canadian Health Workforce Data Strategy: English | French 

Pathways for International Educated Health Care Professionals (Insights Report): English | French