NDP: Under the Liberal government, young Canadians are struggling to get ahead

Leader of Canada’s NDP Jagmeet Singh issued the following statement:

“Young people are worried about their future. Their salaries aren’t keeping up with the cost of living and that’s making it harder for them to buy food or pay their rent. On top of the rising cost of living crisis, many young Canadians are trying to pay off thousands of dollars of student debt—that means they can’t start saving for the life they want.

The Liberals aren’t helping young Canadians who are doing everything right but feeling like they just can’t get ahead. As the cost of renting or buying a house gets even more out of reach for young people, the government is standing by and failing to deliver solutions. Across this country, young people are giving up on their dream of owning a home.

While young people struggle with the high cost of living, rich grocery store CEOs are lining their pockets with millions of dollars in bonuses. The CEOs of big Telecom companies, big chain grocery stores and big oil and gas corporations are making huge profits while young Canadians are barely making rent each month, struggling to pay their cell phone bills or afford the food they need. The Liberals and the Conservatives are letting these rich CEOs off the hook without paying what they owe.

Young people deserve political leaders who stand up to the corporate greed that is driving up the cost of living for the rest of us.

Instead of taking urgent action to help young Canadians make ends meet, the federal government has collected billions of dollars in student loan payments since 2020. As a result, 65,000 Canadians have defaulted on their student loans.

The Liberals keep proving that they’re standing up to protect the profits of rich CEOs and corporations instead of having young Canadians’ backs – every single time.

It doesn’t have to be this way. The NDP is calling on the Liberals and Conservatives to tackle the corporate greed driving up inflation and make sure that consumers have more protection against high prices at the grocery store. We have called on the Liberals to cancel student loans so that young people can finally get ahead, and we’ll continue to push the government to end the financialization of the housing market that makes it hard for you and your family to afford a house.

New Democrats understand the struggle young people go through to build a better life for themselves. That’s why we will continue to use our power to pressure the Liberals to deliver the help young people need to get ahead.”