The Canada Summer Jobs program, which cost taxpayers $285.6 million last year, is under scrutiny after a federal audit revealed it has not demonstrated its impact on job creation. Blacklock's Reporter says despite funding 74,527 summer positions in 2023, the Department of Employment has no data to confirm whether the program created new jobs or merely subsidized existing roles.“Despite the program being described as a job creation program, the Department of Employment does not collect data to know how many summer jobs the funding created,” the audit stated. Furthermore, employers are not required to prove that their positions would not exist without the subsidies.Auditor General Karen Hogan criticized the program's design during testimony to the Commons public accounts committee. “Right now the department just reports on the number of jobs funded instead of the number of jobs created. How do you know if the program is achieving its objectives without measuring exactly that?” she said. Hogan called for clearer alignment between the program’s goals and its evaluation metrics, emphasizing the need for data to assess its effectiveness.The program, intended to support youth employment, is highly competitive, with only 26,060 of 46,017 employer applications approved last year. Critics noted that some funding may go to employers who would have hired summer staff regardless.“It is like free money,” said New Democrat MP Richard Cannings (South Okanagan-West Kootenay, B.C.), who said he routinely rejects applications from large employers during his vetting process. Canada Summer Jobs is the only federal program that involves MPs in evaluating grant applications.Youth Minister Marci Ien defended the program, describing it as “desirable and meaningful,” and pledged to address the audit’s findings. “This work is already underway. I am confident we will make improvements before the start of the hiring season in 2025.”However, the audit raises broader questions about accountability and transparency in one of the government’s key youth employment initiatives, which has seen applications for the 2025 season already close on November 19.
