QUESTION PERIOD — Employment and Social Development
Rate of Unemployment
June 19, 2025
Government leader, the recent Labour Force Survey has come out in Canada, and we’re in the grips of an unemployment crisis. The national unemployment rate has gone above 7% — the highest since 2016, with the exception of COVID. That is the third consecutive monthly increase.
Particularly alarming is the spike in youth unemployment. Over one in five returning students are jobless — the highest rate since 1999, outside of the pandemic.
The crisis is real, and it’s touching young people. We can’t afford to say to them, “We’re looking into it,” or try to attach this to some veiled legislation that is disconnected from reality. We have to realize that struggling students and young workers who face these rising costs and vanishing opportunities need the government to act now.
This government is acting now. We heard it in the Committee of the Whole. This government is very aware of the impact of the current economic circumstances on our economy. Part of it is — to be blunt, and we know this — due to the unjustified, illegal tariffs and the disruption to the world economy caused by a change of direction to the most powerful economy and most powerful country in the world.
That’s why this government is seizing the moment. That’s why we will soon be seized with Bill C-5. That’s why people like former minister Lisa Raitt, former premier Brian Gallant and others have encouraged us — and all Canadians — to take the bold steps forward so that we can build the prosperity and the resilience we need not only in the short term. But it is, indeed, immediately necessary to provide relief.
However, what is equally and more important is that we build for the future of these young people who are facing these challenging times.
Senator Gold, food prices have now outpaced inflation in three straight months. Essentials like milk, eggs and bread are still up nearly 4% from last year. At the same time, food banks have hit record levels, even among working families and students. Over 8 million Canadians, including 2.1 million children, face food insecurity.
Senator Gold, you now refer to Bill C-4, Bill C-5 and other initiatives that I have stood on this floor asking the government to implement for almost a decade, yet now all of a sudden they’re being implemented but they are going to take a year to come into force.
Thank you for your question. And thank you for your advocacy and for reminding this chamber of privileged senators — not that we need reminding — of the difficult challenges that our fellow citizens are facing.
This government is acting with unprecedented speed to address the affordability issues and the economic issues that we need in Canada to prosper.
