The YLC is composed of Provincial and Territorial Boards (PTBs) in all ten provinces and clubs on almost 50 post-secondary campuses and in most of Canada's 338 ridings.

Chrétien, who joined during law school at Université Laval, was elected president of the uLaval Young Liberals in 1958 (no one else wanted the job, as everyone else was too afraid of drawing the ire of the Union Nationale.)

Trudeau went on to win the party leadership, and YLC was allocated guaranteed number of delegate spots in each riding association and in accredited campus Liberal clubs.

Under the leadership of president (and future MP) Greg Fergus, the YLC began to push for the legalization of same-sex marriage in 1994, the first group in the Liberal Party to do so.

Young Liberals mobilized against Canada's proposed entry into United States Missile Defence System in 2005, helping convince the Martin Government to say no to the Americans.

This popularity, coupled with the YLC's efforts, helped ensure a record youth turnout[5] in the 2015 election, which made the difference in securing a majority government.

In many policy areas, Young Liberals have been more progressive than the party as a whole, taking a pro-same sex marriage position as early as 1994.

[16] Other initiatives during this period included the "Red Revolution" campaign (focusing on "taking Canada back" by improving youth involvement in politics), the "Go Green, Vote Red" initiative (to appeal to environmentally-minded voters and promote the party's "Green Shift" program) and the "End the Crisis" campaign (to increase the admission of Middle Eastern refugees displaced by the Syrian Civil War).