YCL-LJC May Day Statement 2026

The Young Communist League-Ligue de la jeunesse communiste extends a red salute to workers and students around the world struggling for a better future amidst threats of imperialist war, and capitalist plundering of the earth. The capitalist class has placed youth in its crosshairs as their pursuit for profit comes at the expense of imperialist ‘forever’ wars, poverty, and ecological disaster. We salute the fearless resistance of the Palestinian youth facing brutal zionist aggression. We salute the determination of the Cuban youth in defying Washington’s “Donroe doctrine” while demonstrating what true internationalism looks like. We salute the university and high school students across Canada who participated in class walkouts in defiance against austerity budgets and young workers standing on picket lines demanding better contracts and better pay. In the fightback against such conditions more young people are realizing that the struggle for better wages and jobs is one and the same for the fight for peace and sovereignty. Socialism is the only solution out of capitalism’s crisis, and is desperately needed to institute peace and prosperity for the international working class.

On this May Day we say yes to stable, secure, and good paying jobs! Youth are the first fired and last hired. Young workers across Canada continue to be disproportionately affected by the lack of job prospects and a stagnation in wages, making up about half of all job losses since May of 2025, despite representing just 14 per cent of the labour force. In the fight against job cuts and privatization, the YCL-LJC applauds the struggles fought by CUPW against Canada Post engaging in a multi-year prolonged struggle to defend Canada’s public postal service from being privatized despite significant repression from the federal government through the use of the strikebreaking law, section 107 of the labour code. In order to build strength in the labour movement a resurgence of working class militancy and unity must be built. This can be done through the organization of workers in defense of their immediate interests, and through independent political action demanding public ownership and control of industries where they work to fight against mass layoffs, an expansion of labour rights including a livable minimum wage of $25/hr, a shorter work week with no loss in pay, and a guaranteed right to a job.

The YCL-LJC demands that education is a right! The fight for free education is more urgent every day as funding is squeezed out of the public system by profit driven governments. Privatization in education is not limited to the list of private endowment funds in postsecondary colleges and universities. It is now being thrust onto all levels of education with charter schools being aggressively implemented in primary and secondary education creating a ‘two-tiered’ system across Canada. In the past year serious cuts to OSAP in Ontario have been felt and have been met with a sizable resistance from students and campus workers that will likely continue to build. These cuts reflect the general trend of slashing post-secondary education budgets across the country. The creeping cuts are experienced by students through an overall rise in average cost of tuition, and the cutting back of courses and programs.

On this May Day the YCL-LJC demands that Canada must get out of NATO! This is not an unrelated demand, but is essential in tying together the fight for jobs with the fight for peace and sovereignty. Canada has adopted a war budget through pledging 5% of our GDP on NATO spending, tying Canada to an offensive alliance that is the root cause of global instability that we are witnessing unfold today. With these NATO targets, every level of our economy is currently being converted into tooling for the next imperialist war. The expansion of health care, access to education, socially useful manufacturing, and building affordable homes cannot be achieved with our NATO commitments. Therefore, our participation with NATO must come to an end. The YCL-LJC calls on Canadians young and old to take up the banner of peace, calling for the tooling of our industries for people’s needs, and not endless wars.

The success of the struggles that the working class wages will be determined by the unity and organization of our class around our own interests. Therefore the YCL-LJC calls on all progressive minded people, student organizations and working class youth to align themselves against the ravaging of capital’s interest to be subdued by the interests of working-class power. Our fight is against the imperialists plotting the next global catastrophe not our brother building roads. Our fight is against the capitalist ‘rigging’ the system against our neighborhoods, not against workers stowed away in work camps and office cubicles. The YCL-LJC on this May Day calls on unity of workers and students against the imperialists and against the monopolies that are destroying our future.

Long Live the International Working Class!

The Youth are the future, the future is socialism!

Militant greetings on International Working Women’s Day

On this International Working Women’s Day, the Young Communist League of Canada extends a militant greeting to women struggling for bread and roses in the face of growing threats to safety and security for women around the world and in Canada.

International Working Women’s Day was brought forward through the struggles for improvement in working and living conditions fought for by women, often at the front of the charge in working class struggles such as the hunger marches of the 1930s and the struggles for the rights of women to vote and to work. Gender-based violence, workplace harassment, and unsafe working conditions continue to be front and centre issues for women entering the workforce, especially in sectors such as health care and education.

In Canada, we salute the militant women who have led the struggles within the labour movement through the needle trades and garment workers who fought for an 8-hour workday. We recognize the struggles waged by Dorise Nielsen who fought for women in the needle trades and salute the women fighting today for much of the same struggles: equal pay and equal representation in the workforce. The struggle for justice for missing and murdered Indigenous women is led by the mothers and sisters calling for justice, searching landfills, rivers, and communities, for the thousands of women and girls who have been left by the Canadian state and law enforcement to suffer without answers.

We remember women such as Celia Sanchez Manduley and Pastorita Nuñez who galvanized the women’s struggle in the July 26th movement that overthrew Batista and brought lasting change for Cuban women. We remember the long fought struggles of the Sudanese Women’s union, who fought for the independence of the Sudanese people from British rule. Today these women are fighting on the front lines against the genocide in Sudan.

Indeed, peace is a requirement for equality. Women are always a victim of war, their rights are ignored and delayed as their homes and their families and their communities are destroyed. Therefore this International Working Women’s Day we emphasise the importance of the struggle for peace. To fight for peace and disarmament is to fight for equality.

It is clear to us as Young Communists that the main force sustaining patriarchy and male chauvinism today is capitalism. The drive to produce new generations of working people has always fallen on women, who, in modern capitalist society, are forced to work the “double burden” of both the regular work day and unpaid domestic labour, including cleaning, child-rearing, cooking, and other household duties. The patriarchy and the capitalist system rely deeply on each other and mutually reinforce one another. Communists have always taken up the call for increased gender equality, and have continuously fought for accessible childcare, reproductive healthcare, truly equal pay rates, and higher rates of education for women and gender-oppressed people.

Today and tomorrow, the YCL-LJC remains committed to the fight against all forms of oppression. Oppression strengthens and reinforces the exploitation of one class over another.

Solidarity with Ontario students organizing against cuts to OSAP and cuts to public education

“I wish them all the best, run it like a business.”
– Premier Doug Ford in response to job cuts at Humber Polytechnic.

The Young Communist League of Canada – Ligue de la jeunesse communiste condemns the most recent attacks against students and workers by the Doug Ford government. This is part of a wider series of austerity measures meant to sell off public post-secondary education to the highest bidder.

On February 12th, 2026 the Ford government announced an end to the multi-years long tuition-freeze by hiking tuition fees by 2% each year, and a drastic change in OSAP that reduces grants to a maximum of 25% and loans to a minimum of 75%. This saddles students with more student debt.

The Ford government’s injection of $6.4 billion dollars into post-secondary education has done little to stave off the years of chronic underfunding. Even after the announcement, colleges like Fanshawe, Algonquin, and Humber announced more job and program cuts, adding to the 10,000 academic and non-academic staff already laid off.

These cuts are not new strategies being implemented by Ford’s government but rather in line with the ongoing attacks subsequent governments have taken against the institution of public education across the country. The difference with these cuts is that these OSAP changes aim to reduce the working class’ ability to access post-secondary education and to appeal to the corporations that benefit from alternate job training, such as the corporations who have been awarded job-training funds via the Skills Development Fund, including many of Doug Ford’s election campaign supporters.

These cuts and tuition hikes come right after the Ford government rammed through Bill 33, which attempts to stifle student organizing and the existence of democratic student unions on campus through “right-to-work” style policies. This is the playbook of the Ford government – try to crush opposition and then push through austerity measures. It also comes after a series of heavy cuts from the federal government, with Carney seeking to undermine public services and public education to the tune of rapidly expanding and investing 5% of Canada’s GDP into the NATO military budget.

The ruling class in Canada, represented by the various monopoly interests who sit on boards of governors across the country will benefit from the privatization of education as well as the increase of student debt. Representatives from Canada’s big five banks have representatives on several boards of governors at colleges and universities across the country, the same banks that make a profit off of private student bank loans. We have seen the Liberal government blame migrants and international students for the housing and cost-of-living crisis that Liberal policies and corporations have exacerbated. This scapegoating has resulted in the caps on international students, leading to the funding crisis in post-secondary education, which has been exploiting international students for their tuition fees to fund colleges and universities in the absence of public funding for education. The root cause of this crisis is capitalism in decline.

The YCL-LJC supports the Canadian Federation of Students-Ontario in their recent mobilization against the tuition fee increase and changes to OSAP. We call on students and student organizations to mobilize in every faculty, department, and with campus workers.

The YCL-LJC demands:

Public post secondary education must be fully funded. Stop Privatizing our Universities!
More grants not loans!
Free, democratic, accessible quality education for all!
Reverse the OSAP cuts, cancel student debt!
Stop the attacks on student unions and organizing on campuses!

Solidarity with the Cuban people!

Hands off Cuba!

Following its imperialist intervention in Venezuela, the Trump administration, with
sheer audacity, is further escalating its aggression against Cuba, resorting to
absurd arguments and pretexts. In this context, it is planning a new operation to
economically and commercially suffocate the Island of the Revolution by
imposing tariffs and sanctions on states that supply Cuba with oil and other vital
commodities, while even raising the possibility of a “naval blockade” of Cuba.

These measures come on top of the criminal blockade that the USA and its allies
have imposed on Cuba for decades, subjecting the Cuban people to severe
deprivation and shortages, as well as other actions by the Trump administration —
continuing the policies of previous administrations— such as the reinstatement of
Cuba on the despicable list of so-called “state sponsors of terrorism”.
We condemn the new threats of US imperialism against Cuba!

We express our solidarity with the Cuban people, the Communist Party of Cuba,
and the Union of Young Communists of Cuba, who, drawing on their revolutionary
traditions, can and will succeed in repelling this attack!

We call on the youth of every country to intensify their struggle and express their
solidarity with the Island of the Revolution, demanding an end to the threats and
the barbaric blockade of the island.

Cuba is not alone!

We march forward until the final victory of the peoples!

……..

The Communist and Anti-imperialist Youth Organizations that have signed the Joint
Statement so far are as follows:

Communist Youth of Austria
Youth Front of the Party of Labour of Austria
Union of Communist Youth, Brazil
Young Communist League of Britain
Young Communist League of Canada
United Democratic Youth Organization, Cyprus
Union of Young Communists, Cuba
Communist Youth Union, Czech Republic
Union of Communist Youth, France
Socialist German Workers Youth
Communist Youth of Greece
Tudeh Youth Organization, Iran
Connolly Youth Movement, Ireland
Workers’ Party Youth, Ireland
Front of the Communist Youth, Italy
Front of the Communist Youth, Mexico
Communist Youth Movement, Netherlands
Democratic Students Front, Pakistan
Democratic Youth Front, Pakistan
Palestinian Communist Youth Union
Paraguayan Communist Youth
Revolutionary Communist Youth League (Bolsheviks), Russia
Collectives of Young Communists, Spain
Socialist Youth Union, Sri Lanka
Socialist Students Union, Sri Lanka
Communist Youth of Sweden
Swiss Communist Youth League
Communist Youth of Turkey
Communist Youth of Venezuela

La Fédération mondiale de la jeunesse démocratique marque ses 80 ans

Le 10 novembre 1945, il y a 80 ans, la Fédération mondiale de la jeunesse démocratique prenait vie !

De même qu’il y a 80 ans, la Fédération mondiale de la jeunesse démocratique, avec sa devise « Jeunesse, unissez-vous ! En avant vers une paix durable », continue d’être le principal front anti-impérialiste mondial qui rassemble et unit les organisations progressistes, révolutionnaires, communistes et anti-impérialistes autour d’un seul objectif : la lutte pour une paix durable et la défaite de l’impérialisme.

Alors que l’impérialisme et le fascisme, ainsi que leurs alliés, cherchent à détruire les aspirations des jeunes à une vie meilleure, à l’éducation publique et à un travail digne, à l’accès aux loisirs et aux sports, ou encore à la satisfaction de leurs besoins fondamentaux et au droit à la vie et à leurs propre pays, la Fédération mondiale de la jeunesse démocratique avec ses organisations luttent dans chaque état et chaque région du monde pour les droits de la jeunesse ainsi qu’à la construction d’un monde de paix et de progrès social.

Aujourd’hui plus que jamais, il est essentiel de renforcer la Fédération mondiale de la jeunesse démocratique et son combat, de renforcer l’unité anti-impérialiste ainsi que la solidarité internationaliste avec les peuples et les jeunes du monde entier.

Vive la solidarité internationaliste !

Vive la lutte anti-impérialiste !

Vive la Fédération mondiale de la jeunesse démocratique !

80 Years of the World Federation of Democratic Youth

Eighty years ago, on November 10th 1945, the World Federation of Democratic Youth was born!

Today, as eighty years ago, the World Federation of Democratic Youth, with its motto “Youth Unite! Forward for Lasting Peace”, continues to be the worldwide anti-imperialist front that brings together and United progressive, revolutionary, communist, and anti-imperialist organisations under a single goal: the struggle for lasting peace and the defeat of imperialism.

When imperialism and fascism with their allies seek to destroy the aspirations of youth for a better life, for public education and work with rights, access to leisure and sports, to basic needs and the right to life and to their country, the World Federation of Democratic Youth, together with its organisations, asserts itself in every country and region in the struggle for the right of youth, and the construction of a world of peace and social progress.

Now more than ever, strengthening the World Federation of Democratic Youth and its struggle, strengthening anti-imperialist unity and internationalist solidarity with the peoples and youth of the world, remains essential.

Long Live Internationalist Soldarity!

Long Live the Anti-Imperialist Struggle!

Long Live the World Federation of Democratic Youth!

Solidarité avec la grève nationale en Grèce

Comité exécutif central

La Ligue de la jeunesse communiste du Canada exprime sa solidarité sans équivoque avec la grève nationale en Grèce aujourd’hui, à l’occasion de l’anniversaire du crime d’État de Tempe qui a coûté la vie à 57 personnes, dont la majorité étaient des jeunes.

Nous reprenons le slogan entendu aujourd’hui à travers la Grèce, crié par les travailleurs et les étudiants : « Leurs profits ou nos vies! »

Nous saluons les immenses efforts déployés dans les préparatifs de la grève nationale par nos camarades de la Jeunesse communiste de Grèce (KNE) et du Mouvement de coopération pan-étudiante (Panspoudastiki KS). La force de ces organisations, aux côtés du Parti communiste de Grèce (KKE) et du Front militant de tous les travailleurs (PAME), a été essentielle pour mobiliser les travailleurs à travers le pays en vue d’une grève générale historique.

Pour nous, jeunes communistes au Canada, la leçon la plus importante que nous pouvons tirer de la grève nationale en Grèce aujourd’hui est que cette grève était de nature politique. Avec le slogan de la KNE, « Les profits des capitalistes “étouffent” les besoins du peuple. Notre souffle de vie est la lutte pour notre juste cause : renverser ce système! », il s’agit non seulement de s’opposer aux politiques du gouvernement actuel, mais aussi au système capitaliste lui-même.

Nous sommes aux côtés de nos camarades et de tous les jeunes travailleurs et étudiants qui se sont mobilisés en masse aujourd’hui dans tous les coins de la Grèce. Nous savons que nous avons plus en commun avec nos pairs en Grèce qu’avec nos exploiteurs au Canada. Non seulement nous partageons un ennemi commun dans la classe dirigeante, mais nous partageons également un objectif commun : le socialisme-communisme.

Vive l’internationalisme prolétarien!

Solidarity With the Nationwide Strike in Greece

Their Profits or our Lives!

28 February 2025

Central Executive Committee

The Young Communist League – Ligue de la jeunesse communiste extends its unequivocal solidarity with the nationwide strike in Greece today on the occasion of the anniversary of the state crime of Tempe which took the lives of 57 people, most of whom were youth.

We echo the slogan heard today across Greece shouted by the workers and students “their profits or our lives”!

We salute the immense efforts in the preparations for the nationwide strike carried out by our comrades of the Communist Youth of Greece (KNE) and the All Student Cooperation Movement (Panspoudastiki KS). The strength of these organisations alongside the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) and the All Workers Militant Front (PAME) were essential to mobilizing workers across the country for a historic general strike.

For us young communists in Canada the most important lesson we can draw from the nationwide strike in Greece today is that this strike was political in nature. With the slogan of KNE “The profits of the capitalists “suffocate” the needs of the people. Our breath of life is the struggle for our just cause to overthrow this system!” directly confronting not just the policies of the current government but rather the capitalist system itself.

We stand with our comrades and all young workers and students who mobilised en masse today in every corner of Greece. We know that we have more in common with our peers in Greece than we do with our exploiters in Canada, not only do we share a common enemy in the ruling class but we share a common goal in Socialism-Communism.

Long Live Proletarian Internationalism!

Solidarité avec la jeunesse communiste syrienne

La Ligue de la jeunesse communiste dénonce avec la plus grande fermeté l’interdiction des organisations de jeunesse communiste en Syrie. L’ensemble de nos membres exprime sa solidarité avec nos organisations sœurs en Syrie.

Le 29 janvier, les islamofascistes au pouvoir en Syrie ont suspendu la constitution et interdit plusieurs partis et organisations politiques, y compris les deux partis communistes et leurs organisations de jeunesse affiliées, l’Union de la jeunesse démocratique syrienne – Khalid Baghdash et l’Union de la jeunesse démocratique syrienne. Ces deux organisations sont des membres actifs de la Fédération mondiale de la jeunesse démocratique et ont mobilisé la jeunesse syrienne dans la défense patriotique contre l’intervention impérialiste et dans la lutte contre l’ancien gouvernement Baas.

L’interdiction a été promulguée par les groupes militaires jihadistes, qui étaient autrefois qualifiés de terroristes par l’État canadien avant de prendre Damas et d’arriver au pouvoir en décembre.

Les organisations de jeunesse communiste ont été interdites car elles étaient des combattants intransigeants contre le sectarisme, la réaction et la capitulation face aux intérêts du capitalisme monopoliste – c’est-à-dire l’impérialisme. Les nouveaux dirigeants de la Syrie ont déjà démontré leur soumission aux diktats du capitalisme mondialisé à travers leurs promesses à Israël et à la Turquie, membre de l’OTAN, ainsi que les garanties données pour mettre en œuvre la « libéralisation du marché ». La décision d’interdire les jeunesses communistes montre au monde la véritable nature de classe des anciens affiliés d’Al-Qaïda qui dirigent désormais la Syrie.

Cette attaque dangereuse contre les droits démocratiques doit être condamnée avec la plus grande fermeté. Des efforts de solidarité parmi la jeunesse et les étudiants au Canada doivent être organisés. Certes, ce n’est que la première étape avant de futures attaques contre la classe ouvrière et les masses opprimées en Syrie.

Comme le dit la première ligne du poème de mise en garde de Martin Niemöller : « Quand ils sont venus chercher les communistes, je n’ai rien dit, je n’étais pas communiste. »

La YCL-LJC est solidaire de nos camarades, tout comme nous l’avons été lorsque l’État canadien a imposé des sanctions et largué des bombes sur le peuple syrien. Nous appelons toutes les organisations de jeunesse et d’étudiants amoureuses de la paix au Canada à condamner cette attaque dangereuse contre la jeunesse en Syrie.

Vive l’internationalisme prolétarien !

Solidarity With the Communist Youth of Syria

The Young Communist League – Ligue de la jeunesse communiste denounces in the strongest terms the ban on Communist Youth Organisations in Syria. Our entire membership stands in solidarity with our sister organisations in Syria.

On January 29, the ruling islamofascists in Syria suspended the constitution and outlawed several political parties and organisations including the two communist parties and their affiliated youth organisations, the Union of Democratic Youth Syria-Khalid Baghdash and Syrian Democratic Youth Union. Both organisations are active members of the World Federation of Democratic Youth and have been conduits for the young people of Syria in the patriotic defence against the Imperialist intervention and in the struggle against the previous Ba’ath government.

The ban was enacted by the jihadist military groups, who were once labelled terrorists by the Canadian state before taking Damascus and coming to power in December.

The Communist Youth Organisations were banned because they were staunch fighters against sectarianism, reaction, and capitulation to the interests of monopoly capitalism – that is imperialism. The new rulers of Syria have already demonstrated their submission to the dictates of globalised capitalism through their promises to Israel and NATO member Turkey, and the guarantees made to implement ‘market liberalisation’. The move to outlaw the young communists shows the world the true class nature of the former Al-Qaeda affiliates now calling the shots in Syria.

This dangerous attack on democratic rights must be condemned in the strongest terms. Solidarity efforts among the youth and students in Canada must be organised. Surely, this is only the first step before future attacks on the working class and oppressed masses in Syria.

As the opening line of Martin Niemöller’s cautionary poem goes, “First they came for the Communists and I did not speak out. Because I was not a Communist.”

The YCL-LJC stands in solidarity with our comrades, just like we did when the Canadian state dropped sanctions and bombs on the people of Syria. We call on all peace-loving organisations of youth and students in Canada to condemn this dangerous attack on youth in Syria.

Long live proletarian internationalism!