More than a quarter of Canadian students are now skipping meals

More than a quarter of Canadian students aged 18 to 24 have been skipping meals to mitigate the cost-of-living crisis, according to a Food Banks Canada report.

Source: Wikimedia Commons

More than a quarter of Canadian students aged 18 to 24 have been skipping meals to mitigate the cost-of-living crisis, according to a Food Banks Canada report.

The report was presented to the Commons human resources committee to inform MPs about the effects of youth unemployment, which sat at 12.8 per cent in November, while the national average among students was 14.7 per cent.

The committee is also examining the impact of the Trudeau government’s 2023 decision to invite over one million temporary foreign students into Canada with no limits on their access to the national workforce.

The survey asked students what aspects of their employment situation contributed to their financial stress.

Forty-two per cent responded that the cost of living was the root cause, while 38 per cent blamed “low wages.”

Another cohort of 23 per cent said the “high cost of gas,” while 16 per cent reported that their spouse was “unemployed.”

“Twenty-eight per cent of young adults said they skipped a meal due to lack of money and 20 percent had accessed food from a community organization at no cost, nearly double the rate for the general population. These indicators point to a heightened level of economic strain among youth,” reads the Food Banks Canada Brief.

“Research conducted by Food Banks Canada shows financial insecurity faced by young people in Canada is closely tied to unstable employment and gaps in income supports. These barriers are not only limiting young people’s participation in the labour market but are also contributing to rising levels of material hardships.”

According to data from the Department of Immigration, 81 per cent of the 1,040,985 foreign students admitted into Canada in 2023 were hired into the work force, with 38 per cent of those working “more than 30 hours per week off campus.”

The federal government eventually responded by reinstating a 24-hour-per-week cap on foreign students during the winter months. However, no limit was placed on the number of hours permitted outside of the school year.

According to Statistics Canada, the youth employment rate hit its lowest point since November 1998 in August 2025, excluding the COVID-19 pandemic years of 2020-21.

“Young Canadians are being crushed by Carney’s failure to get our economy moving again. This was confirmed by July’s Labour Force Survey, which found that the youth employment rate has sunk to its lowest level in over 25 years,” said Conservative Shadow Minister for Employment Garnett Genuis at the time.

“Meanwhile, the unemployment rate for youth returning to school rose to 17.5 per cent. First jobs used to give youth experience that equipped them for their future, but this summer, students are facing an economic barrier.”