Blue collar blues? By Steve Brearton Concern over the future of manufacturing in Canada has intensified with greater globalization and more formalized ties with our closest trading partners. The booming economy of the late '90s silenced talk of a declining manufacturing sector, but whispers have again started. Are job losses tied to a rising loonie and weakness in the US? Or are manufacturing jobs really going, going, gone? HOLDING ON The 1970s and '80s are a dark period for industrial workers in Canada. In 1967, almost 24% of Canadians work in manufacturing. By 1980, the figure is less than 20% and the sector is still shedding jobs. Toronto economist Arthur Donner says Canada will be lucky to hold on to existing jobs in manufacturing industries.  JOBS APLENTY By early 1987, Canada's manufacturing sector is finally prospering and freer trade is expected to give it an extra boost. Statistics Canada fig-ures reveal manufacturing is among the job growth leaders in the country. Edward Neufeld, chief economist of Royal Bank of Canada, claims larger markets will increase Canadian production runs, lower costs and increase jobs. LOSS LEADER In the months following the 1988 implementation of the Canada-US free trade agreement, there are an estimated 25,000 fewer manufacturing workers. Over the following three years, 540,000 more jobs are lost. TRADING UP With an expanded trade pact in 1992, both the Canadian economy and prospects for manufacturing jobs brighten. That year manufacturing ac- counted for 18.6% of GDP; three years later it was 20%. More important, there is growth in employment. 15 AND COUNTING Between November 2002 and May of this year, 89,000 manufacturing jobs are lost — a 3.7% decline. Marc Levesque, senior economist of TD Bank, suggests the layoffs are part of a continent-wide trend whereby low-paying positions in the service sector are replacing choice manufacturing jobs. Today, slightly more than 15% of jobs in Canada are in manufacturing.