Question Period Note: Canada Summer Jobs – Investing in Youth, Strengthening the Workforce

How the Government of Canada is supporting youth to gain skills and experience through Canada Summer Jobs

Canada’s economic future depends on youth. Investing in their skills and experience today will create a stronger, more competitive workforce for tomorrow and drive long-term prosperity.

To support youth in gaining the work-ready skills and opportunities they need to thrive in the labour market, up to 100,000 summer jobs in Summer 2026 will be created as a result of as a result of an additional investment of $594.7 million over two years proposed in Budget 2025

Programs like Canada Summer Jobs not only empower youth with the valuable experience they need to succeed but also provide opportunities to build skills in key sectors to grow Canada’s economy, including construction, green jobs, and technology.

Current Labour Market Outlook

In September 2025, the unemployment rate for youth (aged 15 to 24) was 14.7% - the highest rate of youth unemployment since September 2010 (outside of 2020 and 2021, during the pandemic). 

For the Summer of 2025, the average unemployment rate for returning students aged 15 to 24 was 17.9%, the highest rate since the summer of 2009 (apart from the pandemic).  

New graduates are also having difficulty securing employment - in the first quarter of 2025, the unemployment rate was 11.2% for recent graduates under 25 years old.   

Canada Summer Jobs

Canada Summer Jobs, delivered by ESDC under the Youth Employment and Skills Strategy, supports employers from not-for-profit organizations, the public sector, and private sector organizations with 50 or fewer full-time employees, to create quality summer employment opportunities for youth aged 15-30, through wage subsidies.

The program provides opportunities for youth to develop their skills and, for many young Canadians, it is a first job experience that supports entry into the labour market and future career choices.

The program provided over 71,000 youth jobs in 2024, and approximately 76,000 youth jobs in 2025. Since 2019, the program has supported more than 530,000 job opportunities for youth.

Evidence shows that the program is having positive results in helping youth improve their employment prospects.

The 2024 evaluation found that the Canada Summer Jobs program had positive employment outcomes for youth post-participation, compared to non-participants - including better wages, lower reliance on income support and higher returns to work. 

The 2024 audit of the Canada Summer Jobs program by the Office of the Auditor General of Canada found that youth who participated in the Canada Summer Jobs program had better long-term earnings than non-participants.

Canada Summer Jobs Investment History and Current Status 

To maintain 70,000 job opportunities for Canada Summer Jobs 2025, $200.5 million was provided under Budget 2024.  

Given high unemployment rates, an additional 6,000 job opportunities were announced in June 2025, bringing the total to 76,000 jobs  

Budget 2025 proposes to provide $594.7 million over two years, which will support an increase to 100,000 jobs in summer 2026. 

Funding Allocation for Canada Summer Jobs

Canada Summer Jobs is uniquely structured, with funding allocated at the constituency level. The allocation formula for each constituency is based on a 2016 methodology that includes:

historic allocations on a base amount; and the use of labour market data on in-year funding enhancements (e.g., Canada’s Labour Force Survey provides provincial level data of unemployed youth aged 15 to 29 years during the summer months (May to August); and

2021 Census data provides constituency level data on unemployed youth.

Funding is allocated to constituencies that have the highest need (e.g. constituencies that experience higher youth unemployment). This means that year over year, the allocations may change in a constituency, requests may increase, and/or priority sectors may take precedence.

For the first time, Canada Summer Jobs 2026 allocations will reflect the new electoral map, adjusting for the increase to 343 constituencies. As boundaries shift, many constituencies will see a change to their allocations.

Launch of CSJ 2026

The 2026 Call for Applications opened on November 4 and runs until December 11, 2026. National Priorities identified for Canada Summer Jobs 2026:

Priority 1: Jobs that provide work experience related to construction,

Priority 2: Jobs that provide work experience related to green jobs and environmental protection

Priority 3: Jobs that provide exposure to technology and digital skills, including opportunities to develop foundational artificial intelligence skills in the workplac

Youth unemployment was 14.1% in October 2025, slightly lower than the September rate of 14.7%.The Government of Canada understands that youth are facing challenges in the labour market and is focused on supporting youth build skills and gain work experience through programs like Canada Summer Jobs.

Budget 2025 proposesan increased investment of $594.7 million over two years in Canada Summer Jobs to support the creation of 100,000 summer jobs in 2026.

These investments will provide young people in Canada with paid work experience over the summer months to help them improve their skills and help with affordability challenges.

Recent studies have found that youth who participate in Canada Summer Jobs benefit from better long-term earnings than non-participants.