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Philip Cross: Governments caused the surge in youth unemployment in Canada

A flood of immigration put downward pressure on wages but hikes in legal minimums prevented them from falling. The result was unemployment

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In recent years in Canada youth unemployment has grown at an unprecedented rate for an economy not in recession. In 2025, 437,000 people aged 15 to 24 looked for but could not find a job, up 57 per cent from 290,000 in 2022. The unemployment rate for youths jumped from 10.0 per cent in 2022 to 13.8 per cent in 2025.

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