Madam Speaker, the member for Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan knows that for the country to succeed, it is crucial that young people secure a solid footing in the job market. I appreciate his ongoing interest in youth employment.
We need young people to keep Canada's economy strong and vibrant. The Canada summer jobs program, or CSJ, is one way we are preparing them for this generational opportunity. The CSJ has a proven track record of providing many young Canadians with their first job. I will bet it is how more than a few of us in this place got our first summer jobs.
Since 2019, more than 533,000 young people have gotten summer jobs because of the program. Each one of those jobs allowed a young person to gain valuable work experience, learn new skills and explore career interests, all while earning money to help pay for education and living expenses.
At a time when many young people are feeling anxious about their future job prospects, the Government of Canada announced that up to 6,000 more Canada summer jobs opportunities were available for youth this summer, on top of the 70,000 jobs already announced for the summer of 2025.
There is no one-size-fits-all solution to fixing Canada's labour shortages, but Canada summer jobs is continuing to set young people up for a lifetime of success in the job market and continuing to help thousands of small businesses that have staffing needs. Our current labour shortages pose a collective challenge for federal and provincial governments, unions and businesses. To keep Canada on course as the G7 leader, we must collaborate to ensure our workers have access to training, retraining and upskilling.
Let me tell members about a few programs that do just that. This year alone, the Government of Canada aims to support over 138,000 opportunities for youth and students under the youth employment and skills strategy program, Canada summer jobs, the Canada service corps and the student work placement program.
It is an unusual labour market. By 2031, 600,000 skilled trade workers will retire, and 400,000 new jobs will be created by the end of this decade. To build a pipeline of workers in the skilled trades for today and tomorrow, we also invest nearly $1 billion annually in skilled trades apprenticeship supports through loans, tax credits and employment insurance benefits during in-school training.
The skills for success program has provided training opportunities to over 10,300 young adults aged 18 to 34. This enhances their foundational and transferable skills, such as literacy, digital and social-emotional skills, to help them become more resilient and successful and get and keep good jobs in today's economy. We are also making sure individuals facing additional barriers have access to the supports needed to access education and training.
Each of these programs helps us show the world that Canada has a very deep pool of talent.
I thank the member opposite for his question. The Government of Canada will be there with opportunities for Canadians of all ages to grow the workforce of tomorrow. We will keep on working hard to strengthen Canada's economy.