Recent Polls
We have been asking U-Reporters for their perspectives and opinions on various issues. Here are some of the results from the most recent polls.
Employment
Young people in Alberta and Ontario get paid a student minimum wage when they are under the age of 18. In Ontario it is ¢.75 less and in Alberta it is $2 less than general minimum wage. We asked U-Reporters what they think about getting paid less, how prepared they are to find employment, and how easy it is to find employment as a young person.
UNPLUG TO CONNECT
Unplug to Connect happened on June 7th. It is a day organized by the Boys and Girls Clubs of Canada to invite you to unplug from devices and connect with people around you, but you can do that any time, too. UNICEF Canada, Boys and Girls Clubs of Canada and Kids Help Phone created this poll. We asked U-Reporters some questions about how they are experiencing and using technology in their day-to-day lives.
PRIDE
According to the World Health Organization, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and intersex (LGBTQI) individuals often face high rates of physical and mental health issues and reduced access to medical and social services. We asked U-Reporters a few questions about pride, what it means to then, and how it affects them. These questions were developed with the Students Commission of Canada’s youth group.
RECONCILIATION
This poll was co-developed with First Nations Child and Family Caring Society and YMCA Canada. We asked U-Reporters about their understanding of Indigenous history and reconciliation. U-Reporters have a wide variety of definitions of reconciliation, and would like to see the government offering more support, better education, and more respect on working towards reconciliation.
NATIONAL YOUTH POLICY
Young people make up 1/3 of the Canadian population. The federal government recently the first ever National Youth Policy; a framework to help improve the lives of youth in Canada. It includes a commitment to creating meaningful opportunities for youth voices to be heard, and programs like Canada Service Corps to encourage and support youth to volunteer. U-Reporters felt that the government lacks in mental health services, post secondary accessibility programs and employment services. This poll was co-developed with the Students Commission of Canada to better understand if young people are aware of and understand the impacts of this policy.
CLIMATE CHANGE
Research is showing that Canada is warming much faster than the rest of the world. Young people have been speaking up on climate change and calling on government leaders to do more to combat climate change. We asked U-Reporters 11 questions to better understand how climate change is impacting their lives. U-Reporters were especially concerned about the affects climate change has on weather and air quality but have a variety of ways they are taking action to improve the environment. Here is what else they had to say...
PHYSICAL ACTIVITY
We asked U-Reporters five questions to help us understand the barriers and motivations to being physically active. Here is what they had to say…
FEDERAL BUDGET
The federal government released their budget on how they are going to spend money on programs and services. It includes new investments in children and youth. When we asked U-Reporters what the government was missing in this budget, they told us they wanted to see more support for youth and more for their future including more affordable housing and education. Here is what else they had to say…
YOUTH BELONGING
We asked U-Reporters a couple questions to better understand what makes young people feel like they belong in their families and in Canadian society. U-Reporters told us that feeling safe plays a big role in their sense of belonging. Here are some other things we heard...
BASIC NEEDS
In this poll, we asked U-Reporters about access to their basic needs. We used similar questions to the ones Statistics Canada is using in their Market Basket Measure (MBM) consultation to include young people's perspectives in the consultation. The MBM is a measure of low income based on the cost of a specified basket of goods and services representing a modest, basic standard of living.
CHILDREN'S RIGHTS
We asked young people how much they knew about children’s rights. Here's what they had to say…
YOUTH INCLUSION IN POLITICS
In Canada, young people represent a large constituency of citizens who don’t vote and who are rarely heard, but who are directly impacted by public policy. Leading into an election year, we asked young people to tell us how they felt included in political discourse. Here's what they had to say…
WHAT U-REPORTERS THINK ABOUT GOVERNMENT'S PROGRESS
Leading up to an election year, we asked young people for their thoughts on how government is working towards improving different areas. Here's what they had to say…
HOW MANY YOUTH WITH JOBS PAY TAXES
On June 11, we deployed our first U-Report Canada test poll. For this poll, we wanted to know how many youth with jobs pay taxes. We learned that 74% of young respondents are currently employed.
UNICEF Canada would like to extend our gratitude to our founding partner, The Students Commission of Canada, our Steering Committee members Boys and Girls Clubs of Canada, First Nations Child and Family Caring Society, Kids Help Phone, YMCA Canada, and to the RBC Foundation for their ongoing contributions and support aligned with RBC Future Launch.
