The ACTEW Blog

A Labour Market Development Agreement (LMDA) is a contract that the federal government signs with individual provinces and territories. It assigns responsibility for the design and delivery of programs that train and help people find employment.

LMDA agreements were created in an effort to

• reduce duplication between federal and provincial employment services,


• improve client services, and


• meet the needs of local labour markets.

Ontario signed an LMDA in November of 2005, and was the last province to do so. The Canada-Ontario LMDA transfers responsibility for the design and delivery of programs and services to the Government of Ontario, beginning January 1, 2007.

A couple important things to know about the LMDA:

• The Ministry of Training, Colleges, and Universities is the provincial Ministry responsible for integrating these new programs and services.
  
  
• The total amount of funding that will be transferred to Ontario through the LMDA each fiscal year is approximately $525 million.
  
  
• The LMDA is a transfer of already existing programs and services to be integrated into Ontario’s present employment and training services programs
  
  
• The money comes from Canada’s Employment Insurance fund, which places restrictions on who can access these employment programs and services.

And that’s a very brief introduction to a very complicated policy shift happening here in Ontario.

Still confused? Post a question in the comments of this blog and we’ll be happy to investigate for you.

And please look at ACTEW’s two-page overview of the LMDA, available in English and French.

The agreement itself is available on the HRSDC web site: http://www.hrsdc.gc.ca/en/epb/lmd/lmda/ontario/index.shtml

Labels: LMDA