(Update: Media coverage in the Western Standard, Toronto Sun, and on Newstalk 1010, Zoomer Radio, and Toronto Today.)
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
National Citizens Coalition Urges Businesses to "Hire Canadian" Amid Record Youth Unemployment and Largely Unchanged Broken Liberal Immigration Policies
Toronto, ON – June 2, 2025
The National Citizens Coalition (NCC) and Director of Communications Alexander Brown are calling on Canadian businesses and stakeholders to not just "Buy Canadian," but prioritize HIRING Canadian workers in response to the worst summer job market for young Canadians in two decades, record-high youth unemployment, and the federal government’s continued failure to reform a broken immigration system.
With Canada’s Q1 2025 immigration data reporting over 817,000 newcomers when tallying up permanent and non-permanent streams, the NCC warns that unchecked immigration levels are exacerbating economic challenges for Canadian youth.
"At a time when 89% of Canadians under 34 have been demoralized into believing that “owning a home is only for the rich” (Ipsos poll), along comes the worst summer job market in two decades to match the continued Liberal failure to course-correct on the mass-immigration, replacement-caste grift," says the NCC's Alexander Brown.
The Temporary Foreign Worker (TFW) Program, in particular, has grown significantly since 2016, with a 634% increase in TFWs in restaurants and 456% in retail—sectors traditionally employing young Canadians. Despite promises to reduce immigration, the Liberal government has left the TFW program largely untouched with admittance slightly up in Q1 2025 over Q1 2024.
“The Liberal government’s inaction on immigration reform is locking young and working-age Canadians out of both the job and housing market,” says Alexander Brown. "Businesses must step up and hire Canadian talent to address this crisis of leadership and this abandonment of any responsibility to our citizens and our communities. Canadians deserve opportunities to build their careers and to provide for their families, not to compete with an endless influx of temporary workers. This abuse has gone on for too long."
The NCC points to the Liberal government’s supposed immigration reform targets, which would reduce permanent residents to a still-unsustainable 395,000 in 2025, but offers little to address the millions of temporary workers and foreign students straining Canada’s labor market and infrastructure. This comes amid warnings from analysts, including former Bank of Canada Governor David Dodge, that the continued rapid increase in low-skilled workers is depressing wages and distorting labor shortages.
The NCC urges businesses to:
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Prioritize hiring Canadian youth and recent graduates from legitimate institutions for entry-level and skilled positions.
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Advocate for reforms to the TFW program to ensure it is used only when no qualified Canadians are available, and to call out bad actors and the companies who continue to abandon the Canadian workforce.
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Support training and upskilling programs to prepare young Canadians for the workforce.
- To walk the talk after years of TFW and foreign-student excess: if businesses are going to ask for customers and consumers to "Buy Canadian," they must Hire Canadian.
And the NCC urges the federal government to:
- Abolish the TFWP.
- Close the 'Diploma Mills.'
- Close Asylum Loopholes.
- Lower annual P.R. Targets.
- Strengthen Deportations.
- And introduce 'Country Caps,' to name just a few.
“We cannot allow another generation of Canadians to face economic scarring due to deliberate policy sabotage,” Brown adds. “It’s time for businesses to urgently invest in our youth and for Carney's minority government to fix an immigration system that is failing everyday Canadians.”
The NCC calls on all stakeholders to join the Hire Canadian movement to restore opportunities for young Canadians, strengthen the nation’s economic future, and to help reclaim the Canadian dream.
"All Canadians deserve a return to Responsible Immigration. If they share our alarm, I hope they join us in this push."
For more on Canadians for Responsible Immigration.
Media Contact:
Alexander Brown
Director of Communications
National Citizens Coalition
Email: [email protected]
About the National Citizens Coalition: Founded in 1967, the National Citizens Coalition is Canada’s longest-serving conservative non-profit advocacy group. The NCC fights for policies that prioritize Canadian taxpayers and champion conservative values.