TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - Dec. 17, 2015) - "TransCanada's Energy East Pipeline project has the capacity to really make an impact on the lives of Ontarians with careers in construction, including many of our highly trained tradespeople who live adjacent to the pipeline," said Patrick Dillon, Business Manager of the Ontario Building Trades. "We're talking about a project that will result in meaningful employment opportunities, including construction apprenticeships for Aboriginal communities, young people, women and underemployed Ontarians," added Dillon, commenting on TransCanada's supplementary filing earlier today, with the National Energy Board (NEB). "We have a real opportunity to make a positive impact in developing the future workforce in consultation and partnership with communities across the province. In so doing, we also want to make sure that safety and environmental protection are safeguarded."

In its filing with the NEB, TransCanada also included projected labour market statistics citing an updated Conference Board of Canada report which forecasts the creation of 14,000 direct and indirect jobs from the Energy East project.

"Building Energy East will require the most experienced tradespeople in their craft, using the most advanced technologies, to impart their skills and knowledge to the next generation of workers: apprentices," noted Dillon.

The Conference Board of Canada forecasts a $5.4 billion boost to Ontario's GDP for the construction phase of Energy East. Canada-wide, this number is projected to total $16.7 billion in addition to the project's 20 year operational phase which exceeds $38.6 billion.

Every year, Energy East will create and sustain 2,148 direct careers in the development and construction phase of the project. "These are substantial investments in building up our communities and for that reason, I look forward to Energy East moving forward," concluded Dillon.

The Provincial Building & Construction Trades Council of Ontario is an organization that represents 150,000 construction workers.