Federal budget 2016: Trudeau's pledge of jobs for young Canadians
While supportive of skilled trades, Liberal government shows support for tech and innovation
Creating new opportunities and investing in the future of young Canadians is one of this Liberal government's top priorities.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau set the tone by appointing himself the Minister for Youth and spent his first day in office taking questions from young students from various classrooms across the country through a Google Hangout.
While the road ahead is paved with good intentions, it is clear that it won't come without challenges.
The truth is, 15 to 24 year olds are twice as likely to be unemployed than Canadians 25 years or older.
Trudeau's Liberals were elected on a pledge to create 40,000 jobs for young Canadians each year for the next three years, including 5,000 "green" jobs.
The prime minister, once a high school teacher at a private school in Vancouver, marked his first 100 days in office by giving a big boost to a program that helps students clinch summer jobs.
Last year, the federal government spent $106 million on the program to help create more than 34,000 summer jobs.
Last month, Trudeau announced new funding of up to $113 million each year for the next three years which would make it possible for the program to offer nearly 70,000 summer jobs to students between now and 2018.
While Trudeau has been supportive of skilled trades — a major area of focus for the previous Conservative government — his government has shown an interest in rebranding the country as a hub for technology and innovation.
"Innovation helps drive the economy," said Kirsty Duncan, Canada's new minister of science.
Young Canadians can expect to hear more about this when the Trudeau government tables its first budget on March 22.