Hire Canadian
High youth unemployment has more than just an economic impact, it also harms the growth and development of our country’s future leaders.
Canada’s current youth unemployment rate has been described by the media as “approaching a boiling point,” “the worst in decades,” and a “deepening emergency.”
It is a serious problem, with Canada having the largest increase in youth unemployment of the world’s 25 largest OECD economies in Q1 of 2025, according to the Financial Post.
High youth unemployment has more than just an economic impact, it also harms the growth and development of our country’s future leaders. Working in and of itself can have tremendous positive benefits for young men and women by encouraging the habits and attributes that contribute to long-term success.
Academic research has documented the social and cultural benefits of having a job. Evidence suggests that workplaces can uniquely help young people learn to avoid or manage interpersonal conflicts, develop improved self-regulation and social skills, and improve decision-making processes. This is in addition to the ways working can strengthen a person’s sense of responsibility and time management.
The academic research reflects long-standing wisdom concerning the dignity of work. Having a job carries with it an inherent value and helps individuals live up to their full potential as a member of a community. In 1981, Pope John Paul II wrote a letter making this very point.
These truths about the importance of youth employment are especially crucial for students and recent graduates who might struggle in school. For many kids, school can be a challenging place to be their best selves, but the workplace opens up new possibilities to learn and grow.
Twenty years ago, I was an example of a young Canadian who struggled in school. As readers familiar with my background may recall, I failed the Ontario public school literacy test and did not perform well as a high school student. But, while I may have struggled in school during the day, I did learn the value of work on nights and weekends.
In my final year of high school, I worked as a dishwasher at Red Lobster. It was not the most glamorous job, scraping seafood off pans and plates, but I was grateful for the paycheck. In retrospect, I gained a lot more at Red Lobster than minimum wage. It was the only part of my life where I felt responsible to show up and make an effort. And I worked alongside grown men in the kitchen who carried the weight of substantial family obligations and priorities.
I may not have graduated from high school if not for what I learned while working. This is important to share, because it highlights the opportunity cost of Canada’s current youth employment rate. Canadian kids need job opportunities in order to live up to their potential, and leaving them out of the labour market is not in the best interests of our country.
Thank you to every employer who is hiring Canadian this summer. You are appreciated.