'This program gives thousands of employers the opportunity to meet their staffing needs over the summer'
The federal government is making available over 70,000 job opportunities for youth across Canada under the Canada Summer Jobs (CSJ) program.
“The Canada Summer Jobs program is more than just an employment program, it’s an investment in the potential of young Canadians and the economic vitality of our communities,” said Marci Ien, minister for women and gender equality and youth.
“This program gives thousands of employers the opportunity to meet their staffing needs over the summer, and it gives youth valuable work experience that will set them up for a lifetime of success in the job market. It’s win-win for employers and for young people across Canada.”
CSJ-funded jobs are full-time (30–40 hours per week) and have a duration of 6–16 weeks (average duration being 8 weeks).
In Budget 2024, the federal government proposed to provide $200.5 million in 2025–26 for Canada Summer Jobs to provide well-paying summer job opportunities, including in sectors facing critical labour shortages, such as housing construction.
Ottawa officially opened the hiring period under CSJ 2024 in April.
Supporting Gen Z Canadians
The program is open to:
- Those between 15 and 30 years of age (inclusive) at the start of employment
- Canadian citizens, permanent residents, or persons on whom refugee protection has been conferred under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act
- legally entitled to work according to the relevant provincial or territorial legislation and regulations.
The program prioritizes projects that support youth who face barriers to employment. This includes youth with disabilities, Indigenous youth, as well as Black and other racialized youth.
One group that the federal government is focusing are Gen Z youth.
“Lifting up Gen Z by ensuring they have good opportunities to launch their career will be critical to Canada’s economic growth potential in the years to come,” Ottawa said. “As baby boomers are increasingly reaching retirement age, our younger workforce must be equipped with opportunities to build their skills and gain meaningful work experience. Gen Z needs the confidence of knowing they will find a good job that will help them get ahead.”
CSJ program’s success
Since 2020, CSJ has created more than 380,000 job opportunities for youth. Last year, CSJ surpassed its job creation target of 70,000 with over 74,200 jobs created.
Over nine in 10 (92%) of CSJ participants reported having more confidence in multiple skills needed for future employment than they had at the beginning of their CSJ work placement, according to a survey of CSJ youth participants for 2023.
Also, 89% indicated that they had developed a positive attitude about their future employment prospects.
Ottawa is also encouraging the youth to apply for jobs at Parks Canada.
The employer hires a large number of young people to work in a wide variety of occupations, including in visitor experience, heritage presentation, conservation, biology, finance and administration, human resources and more, noted the federal government.
Candidates can apply to up to 10 work locations at once through the Summer Jobs Inventory. More details are available here.
Overall, job postings related to summer employment dropped this year compared to the past two years, according to Indeed.