QUESTION PERIOD — Employment and Social Development
Unemployed Youth
June 4, 2026
Government leader, with youth unemployment now at 14.3% and continuing to rise, many young Canadians are approaching the summer months with growing anxiety about their ability to find work. In British Columbia alone, there are 51,000 fewer young people employed today than there were in 2019. At the same time, Canada’s food service industry, which provides one in six jobs held by young Canadians, is facing approximately 70,000 vacant positions.
Given these troubling realities, why has the government failed to bridge the gap between young Canadians seeking meaningful employment and an industry that is desperately searching for workers? Please help me understand.
Thank you for the question.
The government is acting to answer the concerns of young Canadians — because the government is speaking with young Canadians through its engagement program — by having published 100,000 Canada Summer Jobs on the Job Bank as of April 20, expanding the Student Work Placement Program to 55,000 for work-integrated learning opportunities for post‑secondary students, expanding the Youth Employment and Skills Strategy to 20,000 and facilitating careers in Red Seal trades with a $75-million expansion of the Union Training and Innovation Program in Budget 2025.
The government is also increasing Canada Student Grants by 40% and the Canada Student Loan limit from $2,000 to $3,000 per week of study.
We are trying to solve the problem. It is one that the Government of Canada is facing, but it is also a worldwide problem.
Yes. I appreciate the statistics that you have given before and those that you are giving today.
However, small businesses, particularly in rural and regional tourism communities, are struggling to grow because they cannot find enough workers to fill essential positions; yet, true economic resilience and dynamism rely on these communities to grow.
What concrete measures will the government take to connect young Canadians with these opportunities and help employers address the labour shortages that are holding back their communities and local economies?
The initiatives that I mentioned earlier are certainly helping small- and medium-sized businesses, but we are doing more than that to help them. Many times, I have spoken in this chamber about the fact that the government is well aware that small- and medium-sized businesses are the backbone of our economy.
We are reducing red tape, notably by the introduction of the new regulatory sandbox. We are increasing the financing cap for small- and medium-sized businesses to $5 million through the Business Development Bank of Canada.
We are providing $500 million to —
Thank you, Senator Moreau.
