April 17, 2024
The federal budget tabled yesterday makes progress towards tackling youth mental health, employment, and poverty. As Canada’s largest dedicated child and youth serving charity, BGC Canada applauds these investments and looks forward to working with government to implement them.
BGC Canada is increasingly concerned by rising inequalities among youth. Our Clubs report increased demand for food supports, amid a cost-of-living crisis. We see increased mental health struggles from the youth we work with, amidst ongoing concerns about the impact of social media use on youth mental health. Latest data from Statistics Canada suggests that the youth employment rate has been dropping steadily, meaning that youth are not getting the first jobs they need to launch their careers.
“For this budget, we called for significant investments in children and youth,” says Owen Charters, President & CEO, BGC Canada. “Young people and their families continue to struggle with the cost-of-living crisis, and this budget will help them get by while also creating national programs that will benefit generations to come. We are excited to partner with all levels of government to expand the Canada Wide Early Learning and Childcare system, implement a national school food program, and support youth mental health and employment.”
Highlights from Budget 2024 include:
- Renewed funding for youth employment and skills development, including through Canada Summer Jobs, the Youth Employment and Skills Strategy, the Student Support for Learning Program, and CanCode
- $500M for a new youth mental health fund
- $52M in new funding to keep youth safe online
- $1B in funding for a national school food program
- $15M for support community sport programming
- Significant funding for new childcare spaces, and for a workforce program for the sector
About BGC Canada
For 125 years, BGC Canada has been creating opportunities for millions of Canadian kids and teens. As Canada’s largest child and youth serving charitable organization, our Clubs open their doors to young people and their families at more than 600 locations nationwide. During out-of-school hours in small and large cities, and rural and Indigenous communities, our trained staff and volunteers provide programs and services that help young people realize positive outcomes in self-expression, academics, healthy living, physical activity, job readiness, mental health, leadership, and more.
