Ukrainians fleeing war help ease Manitoba's labour shortage

As a long-time musician on cruise ships, Konstantin Rolyk was more used to holding a saxophone in his hands than a cement drill. But on this day, as the temperature hovers around -25 C in Winnipeg, Rolyk is working hard to get ready for the cement trucks scheduled to arrive and pour the foundation for the new residential apartments he is helping to build. 

"The job here is a chance to start your life again," said Rolyk, 36, who arrived in Canada from Ukraine in November last year with his wife and two children. "It's a new step. I've never worked this kind of position before."

As the only breadwinner in his household, Rolyk said his job with S&J Construction means he and his family can survive in a new country. 

But what's surprising is how high the stakes are for his foreman, Fillipo Rizutto, as well. 

"With the pandemic and everything, in the last few years we've had a labour shortage here in Winnipeg – especially with trades," he said. 

Rizutto explained that a regular crew should have 20 workers, but in recent years he's typically been working with half that number. 

That is until now. 

"I have 12 Ukrainians working with us right now," Rizutto said. "If we didn't have them here, I don't know what we would be doing as far as the schedule and keeping the site up and making targets."

John Garcea started S&J Construction with his father – who came to Canada from Italy in 1968 – and grew it into one of the biggest construction companies in Manitoba. He said the difficulty he's had finding workers over the past few years has meant lost revenue.

"We were given projects that we could have started, and just because of a shortage of labour I wouldn't be able to promise you the finish date or the start date," Garcea said. "So I'd have to give a contract back."

Garcea believes that the 50 recently arrived Ukrainians his company has hired will change that. 

"It's sad, in that they had to be forced to come to Canada and into Manitoba because of a war," Garcea said. "But it feels good to employ them, because we would have never had a chance — and in a short period of time — to employ 50 people to actually come and be willing to train and work in our field."

Since the start of 2022, more than 175,000 Ukrainian nationals have come to Canada. Roughly 12 per cent of them have settled in Manitoba, according to the provincial government – per capita that's more than any other province. 

Ukrainian nationals can apply for an open work permit which allows them to work for up to three years. As for the special emergency program that allows Ukrainians to come to Canada and stay for the same period of time, it is set to expire at the end of March and the federal government hasn't announced if it will be extended.