QUESTION PERIOD — Employment and Social Development
Youth Employment
February 10, 2026
Senator Moreau, if there is any indictment of the failure of a government, it is when the youth — the future of this great country — face a 17.9% unemployment rate, which is what they faced in the summer of 2025 when they were trying to find work. Talk about giving a generation no cash and no hope.
The unemployment rate has been fluctuating throughout the year of 2025 from 13% to 14%, almost doubling the unemployment rate for the average Canadian.
Enough with the semantics, enough with the slogans. We see the end result of a government that has indebted future generations of Canadians. Not only has it indebted them about $60,000 per head — that’s the debt load of every Canadian — but you’ve given them no hope, as these young people leave universities and their homes, seeking employment so they can provide a better future for their children.
The 134,000 jobs created over the last year is not a slogan; it’s a reality, Senator Housakos.
The government has plans to build the strongest economy in the G7. The Prime Minister is opening access to 2.2 billion new customers for Canada.
For almost two years, inflation has remained within the Bank of Canada’s target. It was at 2.4% recently, and interest rates are stabilized at 2.25%.
Government leader, with all due respect, how many of those jobs have been part-time jobs? Furthermore, no one will deny that Canada’s unemployment rate is hovering around 6.5% to 7% now, depending on which statistic you look at, which is the highest level it has been over the last decade. That’s reality.
Particularly, my question is about young people, who are facing 14% unemployment, young people who, last summer, had almost 20% unemployment when looking for summer jobs. It’s a critical situation for those young people. They feel hopeless in the country that was once a beacon of hope.
What will your government do specifically —
Thank you, Senator Housakos.
You remind me of my answer to Senator Cardozo’s question on youth employment and the fact that the government is investing more to ensure that young people will work over the summer.
Now, again, if you don’t want to recognize that over the last year we have increased employment by 134,000 jobs, I think that you are not facing reality, because the figures are there, and the jobs have been created.
