Unceded Anishinaabe Algonquin Territories [OTTAWA], 23 April 2025:
The political parties have now released their federal election platforms, and some have made specific commitments to establish a Youth Climate Corps (YCC), a new federal program to train and employ young people to respond to the climate crisis.
The Youth Climate Corps campaign – which is backed by Climate Action Network Canada, the Climate Emergency Unit and many other civil society groups –calls for the creation of 20,000 well-paid jobs that drive down emissions, strengthen our ecosystems and respond to climate disasters. The campaign has called for a start-up budget of $1 billion a year (with the intention that the budget would then grow with demand, as people 35 and under enroll in the two-year program). The YCC represents a compelling new program that addresses many of the challenges young people face in Canada including climate anxiety and youth unemployment.
CAN-Rac and the YCC campaign are pleased to see cross-party support, with the Liberal, NDP and Green parties each taking up the growing call for a Youth Climate Corps. The Liberals have proposed a 2-year pilot YCC with funding of $28 million each year. The NDP has proposed establishing a YCC with funding of $500 million. And the Greens have proposed an ambitious YCC that would train and employ tens of thousands of young people.
A backgrounder prepared by the Youth Climate Corps campaign offers additional details of each party’s YCC commitments along with our analysis and response.
Quotes:
Seth Klein, Team Lead with the Climate Emergency Unit
“Our next federal government will have to contend with the emergencies and disruptions brought on by the climate crisis. Our country desperately needs a new program that invites young people to meet this crisis at scale. A fully funded Youth Climate Corps will support communities most vulnerable to climate change, build local resilience, offer youth meaningful employment, seriously engage with the skilled labour shortage, and build a genuine and unifying national response in these anxious times. It’s gratifying to see some of the political parties vying for our support heed this call. Post election, we will need them all to ramp up the ambition.”
Juan Vargas, Co-Director of the Youth Climate Corps Campaign
“These political commitments are a testament to the years of campaigning from youth across the country. Even more so, they show the strong belief for a Youth Climate Corps that exists across party lines, and speak to the hard work of youth inside parties who have fought for this policy commitment.”
Caroline Brouillette, Executive Director, Climate Action Network Canada
“In this moment of economic turbulence, providing youth in Canada with an option for well-paid, stable, unionized jobs doing meaningful work is a no-brainer. The Youth Climate Corps provides all that and more, while keeping communities safe and supporting a Just Transition. Kudos to the parties that have committed to a YCC, which will give youth a role in building a better tomorrow.”
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Canada’s farthest-reaching network of organizations working on climate and energy issues, Climate Action Network – Réseau action climat (CAN-Rac) Canada is a coalition of more than 180 organizations operating from coast to coast to coast. Our membership brings environmental groups together with trade unions, First Nations, social justice, development, health and youth organizations, faith groups and local, grassroots initiatives.
The campaign for a Youth Climate Corps is a flagship program of the Climate Emergency Unit, a 5-year project of the David Suzuki Institute. The CEU seeks to move governments and leaders in Canada into true climate emergency mode, pressing them to adopt ambitious policies that align with what science and justice says we must do.
For more information or to arrange an interview, contact:
Vicky Coo, Communications Manager
comms@climateactionnetwork.ca, 613-806-3381
Juan Vargas, Co-Director of the Youth Climate Corps Campaign
juan@climateemergencyunit.ca, 403-928-4248
For a Backgrounder with details of each party’s YCC commitments and analysis from the Youth Climate Corps campaign, go to: www.goodgreenjobsforall.ca/blog/election-platforms