Editorial: Things must change if we are to avoid a lost generation of youth

Announcement

Editorial

Editorial: Things must change if we are to avoid a lost generation of youth

Canadian youth face a labor crisis with 14% unemployment, precarious work, and stagnant inflation-adjusted wages that fail to cover skyrocketing housing and education costs, risk a "lost generation."

Expositor Staff

Jun 22, 2026 - 4 min read

Photo by /

Editorial: Things must change if we are to avoid a lost generation of youth — Photo by /

Young Canadians today face significantly lower employment purchasing power than those in the 1970s or 1980s. While inflation-adjusted hourly wages for youth have largely stagnated, their actual buying power has collapsed due to skyrocketing costs for major life expenses, combined with near-recessionary youth unemployment rates of roughly 14 percent.

While it is now clear that the Canadian economy is not in recession, despite partisan claims and spin, that holds true unless you are a young worker under 24. Young workers (aged 15 to 24) are disproportionately struggling in the labour market, with the national youth unemployment rate sitting at roughly 14 percent. This is markedly higher than the pre-pandemic average and represents levels of joblessness usually unseen outside of severe economic recessions.