KELOWNA, B.C.: Under the NDP, B.C. has lost thousands of young workers from the job market. A Business Council of British Columbia report shows B.C.’s youth labour market has deteriorated more severely than any other province. To turn the page on the NDP’s youth jobs crisis, the Conservative Youth Jobs Plan will help give young British Columbians a fair shot at their first job and a real stake in the future of this province.

Gavin Dew, MLA for Kelowna-Mission and Conservative Critic for Economic Development, is responding to today’s new Statistics Canada Labour Force Survey  and calling for a focused Youth Jobs Plan.

The new Statistics Canada report shows that over the last year public sector employment in B.C. grew by 16,200 to a record high of 636,000, while private sector employment fell by 22,500 and self-employment fell by another 17,400.

“That is not a healthy balance,” said Dew. “We need strong public services, but we cannot pay for them unless we grow the private-sector economy that funds them.”

Key private sector industries are sending mixed but worrying signals: construction lost 3,000 jobs in June despite remaining up 6,000 year over year, while wholesale and retail trade is down 31,600 jobs from a year ago. That matters because construction drives private-sector growth, while retail is one of the first places young people get work experience.

Despite modest improvement this month, youth unemployment remains stubbornly high, especially for high school students looking for their first summer job. In B.C., 15 to 16 years olds are facing a 26.4% unemployment rate, with 17 to 19-year-olds are at 20.9%.

“The summer job is a rite of passage,” said Dew. “The first rung on the ladder is still missing for far too many young people.”

“The NDP will point to one slightly better monthly unemployment number and declare victory,” said Dew. “But the deeper trend is harder to spin: B.C. has 16,900 fewer young people than a year ago, 5,000 fewer young people working, and 5,600 fewer young people in the labour force. That is not a healthy youth labour market. That is a warning sign for the future of the province.”

Youth Jobs Plan

The Conservative Youth Jobs Plan will help put young people back on the path to opportunity by making it easier to get that first job, build skills and take the next step toward a career. The plan includes a First Job Tax Credit for employers, 10,000 new paid work placements, more control over how temporary labour is used in B.C., and new pathways to help young people build careers here at home.

According to the Business Council of British Columbia, since 2019, B.C.’s youth employment has fallen by 14 per cent, the worst decline in Canada. The number of employed young workers in B.C. has fallen by 51,000, while the number of young people not in the labour force has increased by 85,000. B.C.’s youth labour force participation rate has fallen from one of the highest in Canada to the lowest, and youth unemployment has returned to levels last seen outside the pandemic during the global financial crisis.

“Young people are heading into the summer without a fair shot at getting their first job, their first reference or their first step onto the career ladder,” said Dew. “The first rung of the economic ladder is disappearing, and the NDP is asleep at the switch. That is why we are putting forward a Youth Jobs Plan that gives young British Columbians a fair shot at their first job, their first opportunity and their future in B.C.”

Business Council of British Columbia analysis found that B.C.’s youth employment losses are concentrated in the very sectors that traditionally provide first jobs. Accommodation and food services lost 20,600 young workers between 2019 and 2025, a decline of 26 per cent, while retail lost another 9,600, a decline of 10 per cent. Together, those two sectors lost more than 30,000 young workers.

“These are exactly the storefront small businesses, restaurants, tourism operators and service businesses where young people learn to show up, serve customers, work with others and earn a first reference,” said Dew. “When those employers are struggling, young workers are the first to pay the price.”

Conservative Party of B.C. Leader Kerry-Lynne Findlay said the plan shows the Conservative team is focused on the issues that matter most to British Columbians.

“Our Conservative Youth Jobs Plan is about the fundamentals: safer communities, a stronger economy, and good jobs, including first jobs for young people,” said Findlay. “British Columbians deserve a government-in-waiting that is serious, practical and focused on rebuilding opportunity.”

Dew said the NDP government continues to respond to questions about youth employment by re-announcing trades training commitments, while failing to create new entry level opportunities across small business, retail, tourism, hospitality, services and the emerging AI economy.

“Premier Eby found $241 million for a trades announcement the day before his leadership review,” said Dew. “What he still has not found is a plan for the broader youth jobs crisis. Trades training is important, but it is not the same thing as a youth employment plan. It does not help the 17-year-old trying to get a summer job, the 20-year-old trying to build a resume, or the young worker trying to get their first opportunity in a small business. The NDP has no serious plan for the broader youth jobs crisis.”

A recent Canadian Federation of Independent Business report also warned that small businesses remain the “training ground” for many young people entering the workforce, but weak demand and rising payroll costs are leaving business owners with fewer resources to hire and train inexperienced youth.

“Employers would prefer lower payroll costs and a stronger economy over another government program,” said Dew. “But after years of NDP cost increases, small businesses need practical relief. If government has made it more expensive to hire, then government should help make it easier for employers to take a chance on a young person.”

Dew is proposing a six-point Youth Jobs Plan focused on rebuilding the first rung of the economic ladder. The plan includes:

1. A B.C. First Job Tax Credit

B.C. is one of only three provinces without a broad, direct and accessible small-business incentive supporting youth employment. Conservatives will implement a fully refundable tax credit for small businesses that create net-new jobs for young British Columbians aged 15 to 24. The credit would cover 50 per cent of eligible wages, up to $5,000 per worker, and include eligible training, supervision and onboarding hours.

2. A Made-in-B.C. Workforce Agreement

British Columbia should demand a binding role in determining when and where temporary foreign labour is used in the province.

“Ottawa should not dictate what works for B.C.’s labour market,” said Dew. “If Quebec can negotiate greater control over immigration, B.C. and the West deserve the same deal. Temporary foreign labour should be targeted to genuine shortages, including agriculture, food production, seasonal industries and remote communities, not used as a standing substitute for hiring and training young people who already live here.”

3. Safer Main Streets for Workers and Small Businesses

The plan would reverse the NDP expansion of the seven per cent PST onto taxable security services and support practical security improvements for storefront small businesses, where many young people get their first job.

4. AI-Savvy Youth as Small Business Productivity Partners

The plan would help small business hire young workers who can support AI adoption, digital tools and productivity improvements across the economy. Young people who understand these tools can help employers modernize, while employers provide mentorship, judgement and real-world experience. After nearly a year with Rick Glumac as Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence and New Technologies, the NDP still has no AI plan.

5. Direct Pathways from Education into Careers

The plan would create 10,000 additional paid youth work placements over three years, expand apprenticeships and work-integrated learning, strengthen B.C.’s college system and reward post-secondary institutions for helping graduates succeed in the workforce.

“Young people should not have to guess whether their education will lead to a job,” said Dew.

6. Reconnecting Youth Falling Out of the Labour Market

A Youth Pathways to Work Initiative would support young people facing prolonged unemployment, disability, housing instability, recovery, mental-health challenges, justice-system involvement or other barriers to work.

Dew said the youth jobs crisis requires a broader response than training announcements and press releases.

“A job is still the best social program, said Dew, “and a first job is more than a paycheque. It is where a young person learns to show up, work with others, solve problems, take responsibility and earn their first reference. It is also where an employer becomes a mentor.”

“B.C. has lost tens of thousands of young workers from employment while more and more young people have stopped looking altogether,” Dew added. “That is not normal. That is not acceptable. And it demands a real plan.”

“The goal should be simple: a safe place to work, a fair chance to be hired and the skills to succeed in a changing economy,” Dew said. “British Columbia should be the best place in Canada to get your first job and build your future. Under a Conservative government, it will be.”

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Media Contact:
Nikki Bal
Conservative.Communications@leg.bc.ca
+1 (672) 922-0948