Teens’ Question for Candidates
“Getting started is hard enough for the average person, let alone an inexperienced teenager. With rising costs of living and hard competition, and as AI changes the workplace, what would you prioritize on the next City Council to help open more job opportunities to the public, especially young people?”*
This question was developed by youth across Toronto through workshops hosted by Toronto Public Library Teen Councils. Learn more and view the full list of questions.
What candidates say
As a young person, I understand how difficult entering today's job market can be. If elected, I would prioritize skill development, networking, and mentorship opportunities. Today's employers increasingly value multidisciplinary skills, and I want to help residents develop them through workshops, partnerships with local businesses, and hands-on experience. As AI reshapes the workforce, I believe we must prepare our youth to adapt and succeed. Everyone deserves a fair opportunity to gain experience, regardless of their connections or background.
Nearly one in six young people looking for work in Toronto cannot find it. The City already has the tools. Its Youth Employment Charter asks employers to commit to first jobs and mentorship. I will take it to every BIA in Ward 3 and ask our local businesses to sign. The City writes hiring and apprenticeship requirements into its major contracts, I will see they are met and the results published. As AI changes the workplace, the trades and our main streets are where first jobs remain. No one should need experience to get experience.
I invented a program called "For Every Toronto Graduate" that will meet the goal of offering employment within the City of Toronto to every graduate from an educational institution within the City of Toronto including every university, college, high school and pre-high-school. I know how to reliably get both government and non-government sectors on board. So - elect me and every graduate from any Toronto educational institution will receive 1+ offers for employment. Timeline for the reliable implementation of my program is 12 months.
I would require major City contractors to provide paid apprenticeships and entry-level opportunities for young people. As experienced workers retire, we must ensure their knowledge is passed to the next generation through mentorship. I would partner with colleges, unions and employers to expand training in trades, AI, robotics and electrification. Every public investment should not only build infrastructure but also develop Toronto's future workforce.
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I will support creating Youth-owned cooperatives to tackle these challenges. A cooperative business pools resources to cut cost of operating a business, and build collective power in an AI-disrupted economy. Youth co-ops generate real income—170 run annually across Canada, reaching 2,000 youth and producing $500K in sales. Co-ops also offer what young people want: meaning, agency, and decision-making power rather than token participation. For North Etobicoke, I'd use the "Cool Rexdale" roofing apprenticeship model to develop youth employment.
I would initiate a program whereby students can obtain on-the-job experience through brief (1 to 2 weeks) job-shadowing programs partnered with businesses across the riding, as well as within Toronto City Hall and Toronto City programs. I would look to fund short term (2 to 6 months) paid internships at City Hall and in cooperation with corporate partnerships across the city, providing real-life experience and opportunity for teens just starting out. I would support this with a job board in my office, prioritizing youth employment.
As a professional recruiter and business leader, I have spent years helping people find work, hiring and developing staff, and building teams as operations expanded. I know how hard it is to get that first opportunity. I would push for more internships, apprenticeships, co-ops and employer partnerships, while preparing young people for an AI-shaped economy with practical skills, real experience and clear pathways into jobs.
I want my office to host a number of advisory groups, with a focus on youth voices. In my previous work with youth, I know how creative they can be with problem solving. I will work hard to help young people develop skills in leadership, entrepreneurship, and project management which could lead to job creation and small businesses.
They deserves paid co-op placements for students in their final year of high school, giving them essential work experience & hands-on skills before entering the workforce. They also need guidance, purpose, & confidence to plan their future. City leaders have a duty to help provide resources such as résumé-writing workshops, interview preparation, and one-on-one career coaching. these are life skills that empower young people to set goals, discover their potential, and take their next steps with confidence. Equal fair opportunity to succeed.
Over the past eight years, I've hired many students and recent graduates through Canada Summer Jobs. I've seen firsthand how important that first opportunity can be. On Council, I'd push to expand City-funded youth employment programs and work with federal and provincial governments, BIAs and non-profits to create more paid jobs, internships and apprenticeships. I'd also support AI literacy and digital skills training through libraries and community programs. City Hall can play a real role in helping young people get their foot in the door.
As your Mayor I will, with every fiber of my being, introduce a motion to not have AI Data Centres within the city limits. For the amount of space these places will occupy how about returning factory lands that have either been mothballed or to designate lands with city approval for factory jobs instead?. I will call to task council members, the Province and the Federal Government to spur private investment not conglomerates not multinationals either. Think of it as a Mom and Pop small business on a factory producing scale that will help many.
As Mayor, I would build bridges between education, community service, and paid employment. Through Care Bank, which I founded in 2010, I have seen how sharing skills across generations builds confidence and opportunity. I would expand paid first-job pathways, AI training through libraries, and mentorship for young entrepreneurs. No teenager should be rejected simply for lacking experience. A city succeeds when young people are not just prepared for the future—they help create it.
Young residents are being hit hard by the cost-of-living crisis which has resulted in them leaving the city, sapping Toronto of creativity, energy, and new ideas. Building upon the City's commitment to work with local partners and the private sector to develop greater employment opportunities for young residents, I will push to establish an employment grant for local businesses to specifically hire teenagers. I will also fight to expand the TTC's free fare program for youth up to 19 years old as part of the push towards fare-free transit.
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I would push to create an employer partnership network and ask each participating employer to offer one or more of the following: Workplace tours and career talks. Job-shadowing opportunities. Mock interviews. Short-term paid placements. Part-time jobs and summer employment. Mentorship and references for participants who perform well. I would also explore available government wage subsidies and youth employment funding to reduce the cost and risk of hiring inexperienced workers.
Each department would create an internship program to foster real life work experience during the summer months. I would also want to create "A Week in the Life as a . . ." Program. Departments would include sector the city hires from. Administration, businesses, community leadership, emergency services, transit ect. Similar to how parents take their children to work in grade 9 for the day, the city will take its youth to work for a week+. It will broaden youths perspective on the different types of jobs that are available.
First, teenagers should be living at home with their parents, doing chores at home, attending school and/or vocational skills training, working part-time after school hours (flipping burgers/stocking shelves/etc.), saving their money, and keeping their nose clean. Employers that offer good positions with good pay do thorough background checks. Second, I would keep taxes down. Businesses pay property tax. Tenants pay property taxes indirectly and landlords can apply for an Above Guideline Increase in rents when taxes increase.
I would champion a City Youth Works Program that creates paid jobs year-round, not just in the summer. Young people deserve opportunities to earn, learn and build careers. I would work with employers, unions, colleges and other governments to expand paid internships, co-ops and apprenticeships, including in emerging industries. As AI transforms the workplace, I would prioritize accessible digital skills training and career mentorship so young people can gain experience and succeed in a changing economy.
Here's the problem; creating jobs that didn't exist before means the government spending money it doesn't have or providing goods and services that nobody is willing to otherwise purchase. Neither of which is sustainable in the long run. The only sustainable option is to stop the over-growth of the labour supply, which means stopping the over-growth of the city as a whole, as per my other policies. While the business world prefers labour surpluses, people are better off when there is a labour shortage. I support the people in this regard.
The onset of artificial intelligence is concerning, with its implementation happening in unaccountable ways compromising our privacy. The future of work requires respect and dignity for young workers and students in our City. We tackle youth unemployment by creating good jobs with fair wages for young people, as well as pathways to job security by building on the Mayor’s Youth Employment Strategy. Students should be meaningfully engaged through groups like the Toronto Youth Cabinet to ensure youth are prioritized in City decisionmaking.
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Young people need real pathways into good careers. I would prioritize partnerships that connect youth with apprenticeships and training in skilled trades like construction, electrical, plumbing and HVAC. I’d also support youth entrepreneurship and careers through city mentorship, business training and easier access to city programs. As AI changes the workplace, we also need to equip young people with practical skills and help them create opportunities of their own as well.
Young people deserve jobs, fair wages, and opportunities to succeed. As Councillor, I will prioritize neighbourhood beautification and investment to attract businesses and create local jobs. I will host quarterly Mazri Career Networking Forums connecting youth directly with employers, mentors, and entrepreneurs. I will champion Community Dividend Agreements from data centres for youth to start their own businesses. I will fight for a $20/hour minimum wage at Queen's Park and support AI skills
Part of my platform prioritizes expanding hours and programming at community and recreation centres — and this means more good, unionized jobs for young people. Youth unemployment is nearly 20% in the City of Toronto, and the quality of jobs — meaning decent, full-time, stable, supported, and with good wages — is declining. The City of Toronto should model what great employment can look like, and prioritize more jobs for youth by strategizing with CUPE 79, who represent 30,000+ city workers, to develop a youth employment strategy.
Paid Municipal Apprenticeships, AI Integration. targeted impacts meaning allowing teenagers to earn while learning skills, by expending apprenticeship programs through out the municipal sectors such as IT, public works, transit By Subsidizing Training& localizing AI resilience to tech hubs. for start being partner with libraries, universities, colleges, budget allocation to prevent long term youth unemployment costs, motivate local l Businesses to hire and work pipelines within growing industries.
I’ll work to create more job opportunities for young people by expanding direct municipal hiring, leveraging major City-sponsored events. I’ll prioritize partnerships between the City and private employers, like big corporations, to create more jobs for young people that focus on essential employment and leadership skills.
Another way to resolve high unemployment among young people, in Toronto, is to give city tax break to encourage private corporations to hire and retain youths for a period of 2 years. A task force will be set up and a special budget scheme will be created to fund youth's employment in Toronto. I will create about 5 vocational schools to train or help young people to acquire new skills like carpentry plumbing and other skills. I will solicit provincial and federal funding for these projects.
Youth unemployment is the highest it’s been in decades. Now more than ever, young people need opportunities to grow and develop skills in safe, healthy environments in the communities where they live. As Councillor, I plan to forge partnerships between the City and school boards to open up existing facilities after-hours for free, public recreation programs, cutting down the waitlists. I’ll also pair these spaces and programs with job opportunities for local youth, so they can gain valuable work experience while earning an honest wage.
I would prioritize creating more opportunities for young people to get their first job. I would organize regular local job fairs connecting residents with employers like the City, TTC, Metrolinx, and local businesses. I would also push for more paid internships, apprenticeships, and training in AI and emerging technologies through partnerships with colleges. Young people shouldn’t need years of experience to get their first opportunity. We need to open doors for them, not just tell them to keep applying.
I want prioritize the city to encourage the businesses and employers to give our youths a chance to work and cut out the temporary foreign workers. Also I do not want foreign students to work in Canada as they take away jobs from our own citizens.
As a teen, I was a cashier/pizza maker at Domino's, a Page at the local Toronto Public Library branch, a dog-walker and a babysitter. These experiences were invaluable for my professional development, and it is a priority of mine to ensure the teens of today can pursue these same opportunities. I would continue to invest in and expand the Youth Job Seekers program and Youth Employment Services (YES). I want to create incentives for businesses to hire more apprentices and interns so we can invest in the future. You are not alone!
I believe part of the problem is that there are too many people for too few jobs as Toronto's population increased. I believe that we should make it easier for people to create businesses by dramatically cutting down the paperwork/red tape. We should also encourage businesses from other countries to set up factories and manufacturing and businesses of any kind that CREATE MANY JOBS. Toronto was once a manufacturing hub for many things, including cars, and can be that again. Once you create the right environment for business they will come!
It’s tough out there but City Hall can definitely help make it better. That includes working with local businesses and training programs to expand paid internships, apprenticeships and first-job opportunities. Teens need a foot in the door, not another unpaid opportunity to add to their résumés. We will also create more opportunities right in City Hall. The sooner we get teens interested in our city the brighter the future will be for all.
We must hire young people into appropriate jobs with the city. This will allow them to get experience and a reference from the city for their job search. The TTC must be completely covered by government (with taxes we are already paying to the city and especially the province). This will make getting to school and job interviews without the stress of the cost. More tourism will result in more business which will result in more hires. Summer tourism will require many students on summer break to fill those jobs (ones that AI cannot do).
Show career options – job boards, job fairs, job shadowing. Teach essential job skills – Eg resume writing, interview prep, workplace communication, conflict resolution. Mentorships – Match youth with workers or retirees in their field of interest; help them find work and to succeed in their first 90 days. Expand apprenticeships, internships, co-op programs. Quick upgrades – Short courses, certifications, or workshops that improve employability. Expand youth hubs – Safe spaces with short and long-term peer and coach support.
As candidate for Beaches-East York (Ward 19), Mohammad Shabani will fight youth unemployment by expanding the Toronto Youth Employment Strategy to secure 10,000 job placements. His platform addresses rising costs and AI automation through three pillars: • Mandatory Job Charters: Forcing city-funded developers to hire local youth. • Direct Sponsorship: Subsidizing and matching young talent into open roles and co-op programs. • Modern Skills: Updating city training to focus on AI literacy and irreplaceable human skills.
One of the biggest frustrations is being told you need experience to get a job, but you cannot get experience because nobody will give you that first opportunity. I would support expanding paid internships, summer employment, and entry-level opportunities through the City and its agencies, while removing unnecessary barriers that keep qualified young people from being considered, helping them build useful skills, and connecting them with real jobs that let them build a better future.
Without a dignified universal basic income (DUBI), the future can only be written with anxiety. I don't want youth facing the kind of risk this question asks, and adding a few jobs can't change that. We live in a consumption economy: the purpose of the economy is to produce firms and customers. With a DUBI, we can live in a human development economy, where each person has sufficient support to maximize their potential through education, entrepreneurship, family making, knowledge production, and creativity. The opposite of risk is hope.
I'm 27, so I don't need a workshop to understand this question — I'm living it. Every entry-level job wants 3 years of experience, rent eats half your paycheque, and AI is coming for the jobs that are left. On Council I'd prioritize two things: slash the permits, fees and red tape that make it impossible for a young person to start something in this city, and force the city itself to hire young people — paid internships and apprenticeships tied to real city work, not unpaid "exposure" gigs. City Hall shouldn't be a wall. It should be a door.
Thank you for this question since young voices are imperative for these types of discussions! I hope your curiosity leads you to being a more engaged and informed voter when your time comes to vote. As the youngest candidate in this ward, I can vividly recall the time I shared the same insecurities. Add AI into the mix and I can only imagine the anxiety you might experience thinking about future employment. I landed my first job at Old Navy through Tropicana Community Services. I will propose more youth-based employment services like Tropicana.
The federal Student Work Placement Program’s 2020 employer exit survey found 73% would consider hiring their student long term. That supports expanding paid placements through Toronto’s youth programs. I would work with businesses, non-profits and City departments to link placements to vacancies, with supervision, job-specific training and paths to continued employment. I would also seek funding to fill gaps in transit, phone, internet and computer access so young people from lower-income families can participate.
As your City Councillor, I will ensure our local economy creates real pathways for young people facing high costs and an AI-driven job market. I will partner with libraries and community centres to provide free digital, AI, and workforce training, mandate youth and apprentice hiring quotas on city-funded infrastructure projects, expand paid city internships and entry-level placements and support local businesses that hire and mentor first-time job seekers.
*Note: We made a small change to the selected question based on feedback from our advisory group. The original question raises an important concern about AI and the difficulty young people face when trying to get their first job, but asking Council to “reduce the use of AI” assumes a particular solution and may go beyond what the City can directly control. The revised version keeps the teens’ core concern about AI, competition, and getting started, while giving candidates more room to explain what they would actually do to help young people find jobs and gain work experience.