Can I answer that question? I am from Winnipeg, so I am originally a westerner, too.
My parents and my extended family were all immigrants who came in the fifties. Most of them went into the trades. Growing up, most of my friends' fathers were in the trades. It's a different culture. We're talking now of the greater Toronto and Hamilton area; we're not talking about the rest of Canada.
You raise a very valid point. The problem is that parents aren't encouraging their sons and daughters to get into the trades because they really don't understand how good they are.