Latest news with #CanadianYouth
CTV News
18-06-2025
- Sport
- CTV News
Midfielder Kianz Froese returns to his Manitoba roots, signs with Valour FC
Newly signed Valour FC midfielder Kianz Froese, who grew up in Brunkild, Man., is shown in this handout photo at Princess Auto Stadium in Winnipeg, on Monday, June 16, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-Ashley Chomyn/Valour FC **MANDATORY CREDIT** After nine years in Germany, Kianz Froese was working on the family's coffee plantation/farm in Cuba when he got a call from Josh Carabatsakis, Valour FC's director of football operations. The message was simple. '(He) told me I should come play,' Froese recalled. 'And then presented me the opportunity to come home and play.' The 29-year-old attacking midfielder said yes, agreeing to a one-year contract with the Canadian Premier League side, plus a club option for 2026 It's a homecoming for Froese, who was born in Cuba but came to Manitoba with his family when he was one. 'It feels good,' he said. 'It's been a while since I've been back in Winnipeg. So (I'm) happy about it.' A former Canadian youth international at the under-17 and under-20 ranks, Froese was 19 when he won senior caps for Canada against Ghana in October 2015 and the U.S. in February 2016 Froese was born to a Cuban mother and Canadian father. They met in Cuba, where his father was involved in a project bringing solar ovens to Cuba. His mother returned to Cuba after Froese's father died. Froese joined the Whitecaps residency in September 2011 after a training stint with FC Edmonton, making the move from his hometown of Brunkild, Man. He was named the Whitecaps' Most Promising Player for 2015, after a productive year that saw him make his MLS debut, score his first MLS goal and make his senior international debut. He left for Germany and the second division club Fortuna Duesseldorf in early 2017. He had the option of staying in Vancouver, but wanted to experience playing in Europe. In December 2017, he was promoted to the Duesseldorf first team. In July 2019, he switched to FC Saarbruecken before moving to TSV Havelse and SV Wehen Wiesbaden, which he helped gain promotion to the German second division before leaving in July 2024. Froese set a record in the DFB-Pokal (German Cup) for assists by a lower-division club while with Saarbruecken, which was promoted to the German third-tier while he was there. Froese, who also won promotion to the second tier while playing in Germany, says after the first few years, life in Germany started becoming normal. 'And now I'm maybe more German than Canadian,' he said with a laugh. Froese didn't speak any German before arriving. That has changed, especially with a German girlfriend. She will be joining him 'for a bit' in Winnipeg before she heads to China to study He wasn't sure about his football future after Germany, saying he was 'looking but passively' for a new club. 'Some things did come up, opportunities, but I decided not to take them,' he said. Time went by, and he began to think about a return to soccer. He chose Winnipeg over several other offers from Europe. 'I made a decision more for the soul … I wanted to do something different,' he explained. 'Come back home and experience being back here.' Valour is delighted to land Froese, who will wear No. 80 'This is a big moment for our club,' Valour GM and head coach Phillip Dos Santos said in a statement. 'Kianz adds quality and versatility to our group of attackers with a high level of experience. He's a local guy with ties to the community who brings a competitive edge to compete and win for this city.' Also Wednesday, Valour announced that midfielder Dante Campbell has been placed on the inactive list with a season-ending knee injury. The CPL club will receive cap relief on the compensation owed to Campbell for the remainder of the year. Valour (2-6-2) currently stands seventh in the eight-team CPL, two points ahead of cellar-dwelling Vancouver FC. After a 0-4-1 start to the season, Valour has gone 2-2-1, losing 3-0 at league-leading Atletico Ottawa last time out. Valour has conceded a league-worst 21 goals while scoring only nine, tied for second-worst. Only Pacific FC, with eight goals, has scored fewer. Valour hosts second-place Forge FC (5-0-5) on Sunday at Princess Auto Stadium. --- This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 18, 2025 Neil Davidson, The Canadian Press
CBC
12-06-2025
- Health
- CBC
After 25 years helping young adults fight cancer, YACC and its founder are still going strong
A group that's helped more than 6,000 young Canadians fight cancer is celebrating a victory of its own. Young Adult Cancer Canada is turning 25, an anniversary that coincides with founder Geoff Eaton's own cancer recovery. Today, Eaton is grateful that he and the organization are both still here.
CTV News
05-06-2025
- Business
- CTV News
Summer job postings in Canada down sharply from last year: report
Canadian youth heading into summer are facing a chill in seasonal job searches as recently released data suggests a steep decline in postings traditionally aimed at students and entry-level workers. According to Indeed Hiring Lab, which examined job postings on its host website, their numbers revealed that as of early May, Canadian summer job postings were down 22 per cent compared to last year. Brendan Bernard, senior economist with Indeed Hiring Lab, told CTV's Your Morning on May 30 what's driving this downturn. 'We're seeing a real pullback in hiring appetite since the pandemic,' he said, adding that what was once a job seeker's market in 2022 has transformed into a challenging landscape for employment, particularly for younger workers. The slowdown is backed by Statistics Canada's April 2025 Labour Force Survey, which shows that youth aged 15 to 24 experienced a net employment loss of 28,000 jobs in April alone, with most of those losses concentrated among young women and in part-time roles. According to StatCan, the youth unemployment rate sat at 11.3 per cent in April, up from 10.4 per cent the previous month. Their data also revealed that 14.1 per cent of youth within this age group were without work in April, which is more than double the Canada-wide unemployment rate of 6.9 per cent. Sectors hit hard According to Indeed's data, postings in early May were down 32 per cent compared to 2024 for summer camp roles, including counsellors, managers and leads, which accounts for 10 to 15 per cent of summer postings. Other jobs like painters, lifeguards and customer service representatives also saw a dip in the same time period as 2024. 'The Canadian youth job market has been weakening pretty steadily over the past two years, and so we need a turnaround in the economy to get things goings,' Bernard said. But Bernard says there may not be a turnaround anytime soon, with more students off and looking for work. Data showed that while the number of people aged between 15 and 24 employed in July 2024 was roughly the same as the year before, the employment rate dropped. That's because the population in that age group grew by 7.2 per cent, but job growth didn't keep pace. The job market is experiencing what Bernard describes as a 'traffic jam' of employment opportunities, as experienced workers are holding onto seasonal roles and not jumping at the next opportunity, while new entrants struggle to find their first foothold. A recent report from CTV Toronto captures the human toll as several Ontario youth describe applying to dozens of jobs with no callbacks, while others said they lowered their expectations or took unpaid positions just to gain experience. One youth described it as a 'make-or-break summer.' Hope for the future Despite the challenging landscape, Bernard offers some advice. 'A down summer job market doesn't mean no summer job market,' he emphasized, suggesting that job seekers should ask themselves what they want out of a job. 'What's the goal for this job search and what kind of job both fits the person's interests and skills? What are you good at?' he said, adding that he encourages job seekers to explore job search platforms and learn on their personal networks – like friends, classmates and family – not just to find openings but to gather advice and insights. If landing a job proves difficult, he suggests using the time to build valuable experience in other ways, such as volunteering and learning new skills. With files from CTV Toronto's Alex Arsenych
