Good morning. Thank you for the opportunity to speak today. My name is Kevin Muir. I'm the chief operating officer of YMCA Canada.
The YMCA in Canada is a federation of 37 associations serving over two million people across the country. Today I will focus on key recommendations for budget 2026 in three areas to support strong, resilient communities and strengthen local economies.
The first area is child care. The YMCA is Canada's largest not-for-profit provider, bringing high-quality child care to over 60,000 children. The Canada-wide early learning and child care system has already reduced child care fees across the country. It's also increased labour force participation, particularly for working moms. At the YMCA, we see first-hand the impact this program has had on children and families.
The system's working, but it's at risk without sustained long-term investment. We're starting to see cracks forming. Child care operators are facing workforce shortages, a direct result of low wages and retention challenges. They're seeing rising operating costs. In many provinces, they're faced with a funding formula that doesn't account for the true cost of operating child care. YMCA Canada recommends investing $20 billion over five years to cover the true cost of delivering child care and to expand the system to reduce wait-lists. This includes a $1.2-billion upfront investment to support a 25% wage increase for early childhood educators, reducing workforce challenges. An investment in child care is not just social policy; it's economic policy. Evidence demonstrates that child care investment can generate large economic returns through higher employment, higher incomes and increased tax revenues.
The second area is community infrastructure. YMCA centres of community represent approximately $2 billion in infrastructure in cities and towns all over Canada. Investments in this essential community infrastructure create complete communities, bringing positive social and economic outcomes. At the YMCA, demand for our community services continues to grow at a pace that exceeds our current infrastructure capacity. Many of our facilities are aging and require significant repairs. Others lack the space needed to respond to community growth. That's why we welcome the announcement of the build communities strong fund. So far, 11 YMCAs across the country have shovel-ready projects they intend to put forward.
Given the tremendous need and the associated benefit, YMCA Canada recommends doubling the current investment in the direct delivery stream of the building communities strong fund. In doing so, we further recommend two additional steps to support and accelerate readiness for not-for-profits. One, introduce targeted seed funding to support early-stage project development, including feasibility studies, design and pre-construction work. These start-up funds can be a significant barrier. Two, incorporate a simplified and more streamlined application process. At YMCA Canada, we believe this funding will not only support infrastructure but also create jobs, expand access to community services and build strong communities.
The third area is youth employment. The YMCA serves over 90,000 jobseekers annually through our employment programs. We support approximately 600,000 youth. Young Canadians are entering the most challenging labour market we've seen in over a decade. Youth unemployment is hovering at around 14%, more than double the national average. At the same time, Canada faces persistent labour shortages in key sectors, particularly skilled trades, construction and the community services sector, which includes early childhood educators and personal support workers.
This disconnect underscores a structural challenge. While many young people are struggling to find work, employers are struggling to find workers with the right skills. To address this, YMCA Canada recommends doubling the annual investments in the youth employment and skills strategy. This would mean an additional $400 million annually for five years for Canada summer jobs and $300 million annually for five years for the youth employment and skills strategy program. We further recommend committing to a minimum five-year funding cycle. That would improve program stability, reduce administrative inefficiencies and enable stronger outcomes through long-term planning and partnerships.
In summary, investments in these three key areas—child care expansion, community infrastructure and youth employment programs—will help build thriving communities and a strong economy while ensuring that Canadians have the supports they need to keep up with the cost of living.
Thank you. I look forward to your questions.