B.C. has lost 40,200 jobs in four months. The NDP has no plan, and young British Columbians are paying the price.

VICTORIA, B.C.: British Columbia is down 40,200 jobs over the first four months of this year — and the bulk of that decline, 31,500 positions, is in full-time work. These are not statistics. These are mortgages, rents, groceries, and futures. 

“As we head into summer job season, I am especially concerned about generationally high youth unemployment. Among young men, the rate has surged to 16.2 per cent. A whole cohort of British Columbians is being told there is no place for them in this economy. 

“The storefront small businesses that have always provided those first jobs are being hollowed out by a public safety crisis the NDP has refused to confront. At the same time, AI is reshaping the entry-level labour market faster than any technology in a generation. And yet seven months into his tenure as Minister of State for AI, Rick Glumac has not produced a plan. There is no youth employment strategy. There is no AI workforce strategy. There is no strategy at all — just press releases and photo ops while the job numbers collapse. 

“This is the predictable result of an NDP government whose inconsistent and incoherent position on land title has shattered investor confidence in British Columbia. When government cannot give a straight answer on the rules of the game, capital walks, projects stall, and working people lose their jobs. We are all paying the price for that failure. 

“There is a bright future ahead for B.C. through these storm clouds. But it requires a government that takes the economy seriously. This one doesn’t.” 

— Gavin Dew, MLA for Kelowna Mission, Official Opposition Critic for Jobs, Economic Development and Innovation