Former premiers, Indigenous leaders, military voices, business leaders and community builders support Engage Canada proposal to strengthen skills, resilience and civic readiness among young Canadians
TORONTO, July 7, 2026 /CNW/ - A diverse group of prominent Canadians, including former Québec Premier Jean Charest, former British Columbia Premier Christy Clark, Rick Hansen and Chief Wilton Littlechild, have joined leaders from across the country in calling on the federal government to support the development of a modern national youth service program for Canada.
In an open letter to the Prime Minister published this week in The Globe and Mail, Engage Canada is calling for federal support to develop a voluntary, competitive, structured and paid national service program for Canadians aged 18 to 25.
The proposed program would give young Canadians the opportunity to serve in areas of urgent national need, including emergency preparedness, defence and national security, climate resilience, housing and infrastructure, health and community support, environmental stewardship, Arctic and Indigenous communities, and national resilience.
"At a time when Canada is focused on nation-building, we believe the country must invest not only in physical infrastructure, but in the human infrastructure required to build, protect and strengthen Canada," said Michael Burns, Chair of Engage Canada. "A national youth service program would give young Canadians a practical pathway into service, leadership, skills development and civic life."
Engage Canada is calling for a distinctly Canadian model that would be voluntary, paid, nationally coordinated and locally delivered, with clear standards, strong governance, fair compensation and measurable public value.
The open letter argues that Canada faces a convergence of challenges: natural disasters, labour shortages, defence and emergency readiness needs, declining civic trust, productivity concerns and growing disconnection among many young people from traditional pathways into work and community life.
"Nearly 400,000 Canadians turn 18 each year," the open letter states. "Many are eager to contribute to something larger than themselves but find too few pathways into service, work, leadership or civic life."
Canada would also be building on international experience from more than 60 countries that have adopted some form of national service. Engage Canada is not proposing that Canada copy any one model, but that it does the serious design work required to determine what a practical, voluntary and distinctly Canadian approach should look like.
Engage Canada has submitted a proposal to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance requesting federal support for the first phase of work required to build a serious national blueprint. That phase would include consultation with young people, Indigenous communities, provinces and territories, municipalities, educational institutions, employers, community and non-profit organizations, emergency management partners and public-sector leaders.
The goal is not to launch a full national program overnight, but to develop an implementation-ready plan based on research, consultation, international examples, cost analysis, delivery partnerships, governance and pilot design.
"Young Canadians are ready to contribute, but we need to create the right pathways for them to do so," said Burns. "A modern national service program would give them a serious opportunity to serve Canada, gain confidence and be part of something larger than themselves."
The full open letter, list of signatories and additional information are available at www.engagecanada.ca.
About Engage Canada
Engage Canada is a non-partisan civic initiative focused on strengthening citizenship, national service, leadership and civic participation in Canada. Through research, public engagement and policy development, Engage Canada works to advance practical ideas that help Canadians contribute to the future of the country.
SOURCE Engage Canada
Media Contact: Michael Burns, Chair, Engage Canada, [email protected], 416.898.2428
Share this article