VICTORIA, B.C.: While Canada posted modest job gains in July, warning lights are still flashing in British Columbia. Youth unemployment remains stubbornly high, leaving too many first-time jobseekers shut out of the workforce.
Since 2019, youth employment in B.C. has fallen by 51,000 workers, a 14 per cent decline and the worst of any province in the country.
“B.C.’s jobs divide remains stark. Unemployment is far higher in business-driven communities like Kelowna (9.3%) and Abbotsford-Mission (8.3%) than in Victoria (5.0%). Government should be focused on creating the conditions for private-sector investment and job growth,” said Gavin Dew, MLA for Kelowna-Mission and Shadow Minister for Economic Development. “Instead, we see a continuous stream of de-industrialization, with the shuttering of bedrock industries like forestry.”
This comes as B.C. faces five consecutive quarters of more businesses closing than opening, alongside an NDP cabinet rift over job-creating projects like Tilbury LNG.
With youth labour force participation at its lowest point in a quarter century, the Conservatives recently released a Youth Jobs Plan.
Adding to investor uncertainty, NDP Minister Kelly Greene publicly opposed the Tilbury LNG expansion on the same day Energy Minister Adrian Dix confirmed it would proceed. When businesses also face rising costs and risks from sweeping land claims, it sends a clear signal: B.C. is becoming more confusing and harder to invest in.
“When cabinet ministers can’t agree on major job-creating projects, investors take notice,” said Dew. “This kind of dysfunctional inconsistency stalls investment, drives away capital, and costs young British Columbians opportunities.”
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