Smith says youth unemployment coupled with rising foreign labour is “alarming”

Smith was challenged by a grandmother who expressed frustration that her grandchildren were unable to find work despite the ongoing influx of temporary foreign labour by Ottawa.

Source: X

During a public panel on Wednesday, Premier Danielle Smith was challenged by a grandmother who expressed frustration that her grandchildren were unable to find work despite the ongoing influx of temporary foreign labour by Ottawa.

Speaking at the Alberta Next Panel in Lloydminster, the woman told Smith she believes federal subsidies for foreign workers are giving businesses incentives not to hire young Canadians.

“It’s really hard for my grandchildren to get jobs right now … they don’t have a shot at getting a job because they’re Canadian,” she said, drawing applause from the audience.

Smith acknowledged the concern, calling youth unemployment in Alberta “alarming.” She noted the jobless rate for young men aged 24 is around 19 per cent, well above the historic average of nine to 11 per cent.

“We probably have to create some kind of incentive program to give young people that opportunity to have a first job,” Smith said. “If we don’t give that kid a first job, then they don’t get their second job and their third job.”

The premier said her government will roll out a new policy next week aimed at helping young Albertans break into the workforce.

Smith also linked the issue to what she described as unprecedented federal migration levels, noting Alberta has taken in 450,000 newcomers in the past three years — far above what the province historically absorbed.

“If we were to get back to a more normal level of population growth, it would probably be about 50,000 newcomers a year,” she said.

“You’re seeing the pressure, higher housing prices, harder to rent, crowded schools, difficulty getting a doctor. These are why people are connecting those two things”.

Smith said Alberta will seek more control over immigration, similar to Quebec, to align newcomers with economic needs.

Currently temporary foreign workers account for nearly 19 per cent of Canada’s 16.5 million private sector workers. This comes as youth employment hit the lowest rate since 1998 in Statistics Canada’s July labour force survey.