With construction well underway, the new International Brotherhood of Boilermakers Local 128 training centre is expected to be completed by the end of the year.
Located at 771 Chalmers St., the training centre and offices will replace the organization’s current building at 2413 Lasalle Blvd. and roughly double its size to 17,000 square feet.
Whereas the current building has eight welding booths in which prospective welders practice their skills, the new facility will have 16.
Their rationale for expansion?
“All the potential work in the mining industry, all the work that’s coming up,” Local 128 business representative Ray Leclair told Sudbury.com, also citing hydroelectric projects as a major driver of anticipated growth.
“There’s boilermaker work throughout the province, and we want to communicate to Northern Ontario people that we have a training centre that can meet the needs of us in the North … so we don’t have to struggle to train or retrain.”
The province supported this notion in their 2025 budget released earlier this month, in which $5.2 million was announced to support their expansion plans.
“Over the next five years, more than 400 workers will benefit from enhanced training, ensuring a robust and skilled workforce ready to meet industry demands,” according to the provincial budget document.
“This capacity increase will address critical needs in growing sectors like energy, manufacturing and construction. The investment will enable the construction of a new, state-of-the-art training facility tailored specifically to regional employer and occupational demands.”
Leclair pointed to the government’s commitment to opening up such major mining projects as the Ring of Fire in Northern Ontario as fuelling a projected future need for boilermakers.
During an election campaign stop in Sudbury in February, Ford said, “We’re moving” on the Ring of Fire. “Enough’s enough; it’s been 20 years.”
Since that time, the province has promoted Bill 5, the Protect Ontario By Unleashing Our Economy Act, which proposes to “cut red tape” to get developments rolling. The bill passed second reading and has been criticized by environmentalists throughout the province’s public consultation process.
Best known for their freehand welding skills (“the best in the world,” Leclair said), International Brotherhood of Boilermakers Local 128 members are busy throughout the mining industry working on furnaces, roasters, scrubbers and other infrastructure. They’ve also had members at the Superstack in Copper Cliff for almost four years removing its metal liner in preparation for its impending deconstruction.
International Brotherhood of Boilermakers Local 128 encompasses all of Ontario and their membership totals almost 2,000 people. Members go through weeks of training to receive basic certifications, enter apprenticeships during which they must attend school for three two-month stints prior to earning their Red Seal. For more on the organization, click here.
Tyler Clarke covers city hall and political affairs for Sudbury.com.
