Canada is facing what economists are calling a “youth-cession,” as youth unemployment soars to levels unseen since the mid-90s. This is compounded by the skyrocketing cost of living—a sign of the bleak future capitalism offers young people.
Youth unemployment now sits at 14.2 per cent, up from 10.8 per cent before the pandemic. For students relying on seasonal summer work, unemployment reached 17.4 per cent, the highest in a non-pandemic year since 2009. This does not even account for the many young people who have given up looking for work. The youth employment rate in July dropped to 53.6 per cent, the lowest it has been since 1998.
Albertan youth have been hit hardest, with overall youth unemployment reaching 20.4 per cent, while towns like Kamloops, B.C. and Windsor, Ontario are seeing traditional entry-level jobs in manufacturing, retail, hospitality, and food services disappear.
In July alone, Canada lost 44,000 jobs, with 34,000 of them held by workers aged 15 to 34. Further, the average duration of unemployment for young people has climbed from 18 to 22 weeks, leaving countless young people in a state of uncertainty. In a recent survey, insolvency trustee MNP found that 45 per cent of respondents aged 18-24 feel anxious or stressed about their financial situation, while 33 per cent said it feels like their lives are on hold due to financial stress.
Soaring youth unemployment is a warning sign of deeper economic troubles. As capitalists slash jobs to safeguard their profits, entry-level positions vanish first, stunting workforce development and keeping young people from gaining financial independence. But it is not just the youth that are affected.
Rising tuition, soaring student debt, and unaffordable housing are putting immense pressure on families, forcing many parents and grandparents to delay retirement to support their children. In fact, 40 per cent of parents and 65 per cent of grandparents say that helping cover education costs—a growing necessity—has hurt their ability to save for their own futures.
Instead of taking responsibility, the ruling class blames the trade war and the growing youth population for job scarcity. This is a deliberate attempt to divide workers and distract from the real cause of the crisis. While workers are told there is no money for jobs, Canadian corporations are recording record profits. In the first quarter of 2025 alone, corporate profits rose by $4.2 billion. Young immigrants and international students, whose numbers have surged in the past few years to meet business and university demands, are now being scapegoated as the cause of job scarcity even as they are exploited as a pool of cheap, insecure labour that benefits corporate profits.
The ruling class tells us we must “tighten our belts”, all while they continue to enrich themselves at our expense.
But this state of affairs is not sustainable. If current trends continue, the future workforce will be underdeveloped and underprepared, leaving countless young people trapped as the crisis deepens.
Entry-level jobs are disappearing, opportunities shrinking, and the richest Canadians keep getting richer. It’s no wonder that thousands of young people are rejecting a system that has failed them. Under these conditions, it is becoming increasingly clear that we need to fight to take back the future capitalism is trying to steal from us.
