Ontario saw the largest unemployment rate increase in the country for the second year running, according to its financial watchdog, which also found that new jobs are still being created in the province.
A new report from the Financial Accountability Office of Ontario found job creation slowed in 2025, with 80,900 jobs created last year.
That figure is a drop from the year before and the slowest pace of job creation since 2015, excluding the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Job creation did not keep pace with the increase in the number of people looking for work, causing Ontario’s unemployment rate to increase to 7.7 per cent in 2025, up from 7.0 per cent in 2024 and the highest since 2012 excluding the pandemic,” the report found.
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The FAO found that unemployment increased in every part of the province except for St. Catharines-Niagara. Guelph saw the sharpest decline in employment, with a 5.3 per cent drop.
“This report is one more clear sign — from an independent office — that the plans of the grandstanding Doug Ford Conservative government are failing to protect the people of Ontario,” Ontario Liberal MPP Stephanie Bowman said in a statement.
“Unemployment is rising faster in Ontario than it is in every other province in the country, and it was getting worse long before U.S. tariffs. Ontario accounts for 45 per cent of Canada’s unemployed workers, even though the province is home to only 39 per cent of Canada’s labour force.”
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The FAO found that eight of Ontario’s 16 major industries saw an increase in employment; the most gains came in sectors with below-average wages.
Job losses came in sectors most impacted by tariffs like manufacturing, agriculture and warehousing.
A spokesperson for the Ministry of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade pointed to the money the government has said it will spend on tariff relief.
“We will continue to ensure support is there for businesses and workers facing tariff-related disruptions, while creating the conditions to make Ontario the most competitive place in the G7 to invest, create jobs, and do business.”
What’s the problem? Our highschool dropout premier has given countless billions of taxpayer money to profitable foreign corporations so they’ll provide jobs. If unemployment went up that means that Ford has presided over the largest theft of taxpayer dollars in Ontario history. Ford is doing capitalism perfectly! Before you start thinking you can vote your way out of this, you can’t. They’re all capitalists! Good luck with that, losers!
So liberals allowed millions of immigrants into the country , and now we are surprised that we have an unemployment problem? Come on
We don’t even get oil from Iran, any excuse to charge us more
ElbOwS up.. ya’ll
Typical Liberals , blame their Canada wide policies which have ruined and bankrupted Canada on someone else , it’s never the Liberals fault that they doubled the federal debt in 10 yrs of governence by stupid , we all know who that is .
But, but, but… Mr. Carney says everything is going well in Canada. He would not lie would he?
Unemployment is mainly for hite Canadians and who became canadians after immigrating a decade ago, not for temporary forien workers and students. They all have jobs and students have already applied for asylum and getting the benefits. The worst part is students dependent visa people are also on the job force pushing Canadians to outer rim of job market. There are jobs, but corporates only need temporary forien workers. I don’t understand how much a company gets benefits by selecting TFW people. Trudeau is a magician.
Another failing Conservative.
Thanks Dirtbag Dougie
If we had let Sugar Daddy Doug keep his $30 million jet plane to meander across Canada and the U.S. to moan about Trump, the job losses would have never happened.
This attack on the Ford government is B.S. everyone knows it’s the liberals fault.
DOFO MUST GO! DOFO MUST GO! He is destroying Ontario! Protest! Write your MPP! Complain! Fight back! VOTE NEXT TIME!
More proof Ford needs to go. What exactly has he done for us?
What do you expect when prices for everything has skyrocket people can’t afford and many aren’t spending
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