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 . Youth unemployment was 13.8% in March 2026. This is similar to March 2025, and slightly lower than the February 2026 rate of 14.1%.

The Government of Canada understands that youth are facing challenges in the labour market and is focused on supporting youth to build skills and gain work experience through programs like Canada Summer Jobs.

Budget 2025 announced an increased investment of $594.7 million over two years for 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.

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 an additional investment of $594.7 million over two years announced in Budget 2025.

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

IF PRESSED

Employer Eligibility and Assessment Criteria

The Canada Summer Jobs program uses clear, publicly available eligibility and assessment criteria to ensure fairness, transparency, and alignment with program objectives.

All applications are screened against mandatory requirements and assessed on the quality of the work experience, including opportunities to build skills and support youth facing barriers.

Eligible projects are reviewed within each constituency, and Members of Parliament can provide input based on local needs and priorities.

Final funding decisions are made using this consistent, transparent process to ensure that public funds support high‑quality opportunities for young people across the country.

Current Labour Market Outlook

Youth unemployment (aged 15 to 24) was 13.8% in March 2026. This is similar to March 2025, and slightly lower than the February 2026 rate of 14.1%.

During 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 (with the exception of the pandemic).  

Among young adults aged 20 to 29 years who had a bachelor’s degree or higher and were not students, the unemployment rate was 8.1% in September 2025, up from 2022 (6.4%) and the pre-pandemic level observed in 2019 (5.9%).

Canada Summer Jobs

Canada Summer Jobs, delivered by Employment and Social Development Canada 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.

In 2024, over 72,000 youth accessed the employment opportunities offered by the program, and in 2025, it was over 75,000 youth.

Since 2019, the program has supported more than 600,000 job opportunities for youth.

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

The 2024 horizontal evaluation of the Youth Employment and Skills Strategy 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 incidence of employment. 

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.

Due Diligence and Oversight of the Program

All employers participating in the Canada Summer Jobs program are required to provide a safe, inclusive and respectful work environment that upholds individual human rights and complies with all applicable laws and rights legally protected in Canada.

As part of the application process, employers must attest that they have read, understood, and will comply with the terms of the contribution agreement, including compliance with applicable laws, labour regulations and workplace safety.

Employment and Social Development Canada applies rigorous due diligence measures to safeguard the integrity of the Canada Summer Jobs program. This includes verification of applicant information, assessment of organizational compliance, and screening for potential conflicts of interest in accordance with departmental directives.

In addition, a selection of approved employers is monitored each year to ensure that project activities, financial practices, and results align with the terms of their agreement. Monitoring may include reviewing documentation, validating activities, and confirming that youth were employed as reported.

Where an employer fails to demonstrate compliance with the terms of the contribution agreement, Employment and Social Development Canada will not reimburse the associated youth wages, ensuring accountability and responsible stewardship of public funds.

Canada Summer Jobs Investment History and Current Status 

Budget 2025 proposes to provide $594.7 million over two years, to support an increase to 100,000 jobs in Summer 2026 and up to 70,000 jobs in 2027.

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

Given the high unemployment rates, an investment was announced in June 2025 to support an additional 6,000 summer jobs in 2025.

Funding Allocation for Canada Summer Jobs

Canada Summer Jobs is uniquely structured, with funding distributed at the constituency level.

For the first time, Canada Summer Jobs 2026 allocations will reflect the new electoral map, adjusting for the increase to 343 constituencies instead of 338.

As a result, Canada Summer Jobs 2026 allocations have been determined using a balanced combination of labour market information related to the number of unemployed youth (using Labour Force Survey and Census data), demand for Canada Summer Jobs funding, and consideration of previous year funding.

As allocations reflect current labour market realities for youth, constituencies may experience fluctuations in future years.  

Launching Canada Summer Jobs 2026

The Call for Applications for Canada Summer Jobs 2026 ran from November 4 to December 11, 2025. The identified national priorities are:

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 workplace

Jobs for Summer 2026 will run between April 20 to August 29, 2026.

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