Federal Summer Employment Programme Discriminates Against White Youth
Juno News
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The youth unemployment rate in Canada for March was at 13.8%, just slightly lower than it was in February when it was over 14%. But in Toronto, Canada’s largest city, youth unemployment in 2025 was at over 20%. According to TD Bank, roughly one in five young Canadians who live in Toronto we’re out of work.
Now all of this paints a bleak picture. One you are no doubt aware of and you probably don’t need a reminder of it as well. Which is why the federal government has launched the Canada Summer Jobs Program just in time to help resolve this situation. Such a great initiative from the federal government to ensure that all young
Canadians can find a way to enter the job market. Right? Well, not if you happen to be a young white Canadian who lives in or around a city. That’s because employers with the Canada Summer Jobs Program are literally deprioritizing the applications from white Canadians who are not gay and who are not disabled.
Sounds like a joke, but I’m going to show you the receipts. They are openly advertising that they will prioritize applications for quote, youth who face barriers to employment. We are almost at the stage in Canada where we are going to have notifications on job applications that say white man need not apply.
Can I say that now in Canada? Or is that considered hate speech? Nothing quite like breaking down barriers to the job market for youth, quite like putting up barriers for just one set of job applicants. We’re dealing with youth unemployment here. And the federal government is playing identity politics with this.
Canada Summer Jobs program discriminates against white Canadians
On today’s episode of Ratio’d, Harrison examines the Canada Summer Jobs program and how “equity-seeking” priorities blatantly sideline work-ready youth amid a brutal jobs crisis
Harrison Faulkner
Youth unemployment in Canada is at 13.8 percent. In Toronto, the youth unemployment rate in 2025 was over 20%. But the Canadian government-sponsored Canada Summer Jobs program is blatantly discriminating against White Canadian youth who aren’t gay or disabled.
Young Canadians who don’t qualify as “equity seeking youth” will have their applications deprioritized. How can this be allowed? No young Canadian should be disadvantaged in a youth employment crisis because of the colour of their skin or their sexual orientation.
At a time when young people are already struggling to find work, programs like Canada Summer Jobs should be focused on expanding opportunity, not narrowing it.
The federal government is playing identity politics on the backs of struggling youth in Canada. This should shake Canadians to their core