Ottawa announces adding 6,000 more jobs to the Canada Summer Jobs program amidst high youth unemployment.

On June 6, Minister of Jobs and Families Patty Hajdu announced that the federal government is creating up to 6,000 more Canada Summer Jobs (CSJ) opportunities for youth aged 15 to 30, adding to the 70,000 openings planned for CSJ this year. The Canada Summer Jobs program helps subsidize wages for businesses and organizations to provide work opportunities for young people each summer, with the hiring period lasting from April 21, 2025 to July 21, 2025 and jobs running up to August 31, 2025.

The additional jobs come from reallocating $25 million of funding within Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) in response to the rising unemployment rate. Statistics Canada reported a 7 per cent unemployment rate, the highest it has been since 2016. For Canadians aged 15 to 24, the unemployment rate is almost triple that number, at 20.1 per cent as of the end of May, a peak not seen since May 2009.

Students can look for opportunities through the CSJ program’s Job Bank website.