Canadians support community involvement

We, as Canadians, have been through a lot in recent years.

We had the COVID pandemic to navigate with many becoming ill, some losing their lives to the disease, and our society having to shut down many of its regular activities, such as gathering in groups or with family, shopping and travelling. We had the re-arrival of the U.S. president, who has challenged the assumptions of what good government is, and has — at least in our minds — targeted our country for economic attack. And, as a third “highlight,” we had a recent election, closely fought and resulting in a minority parliament. The world, out there, isn’t so great either, with destructive and heartbreaking wars in Europe, the Middle East, Africa and elsewhere.

So, it is not surprising that our population may feel downtrodden, cynical and just plain tired. Some provinces, like Alberta and Quebec, continue to make demands or want to change things, focusing more on their own province and culture than on our country as a whole. A recent map that appeared on Facebook showed that most Europeans, despite the high profile of the European Economic Community and NATO, continue to think of themselves as citizens of their own country or even of their own regional portion of that country. Some polls report that at least a third of Canadians think our country is “headed in the wrong direction.”

The pandemic, the wars and the economy have created an uptick in social tension, hate crimes, street demonstrations and division among neighbours and inside families. Stephen Marche, a Canadian political observer, has written in his recent book, “The Next Civil War,” that the U.S. may well break up over these issues, and that this would have implications for other countries around the world. A poll dated back a few months stated that 80 per cent of Canadians during the election avoided certain situations or persons to avoid arguments about politics. What a mess!

But, there are also signs of hope. The Angus Reid Institute, in an early December press release, reported on polling it had done with over 10,000 Canadians and Americans about their involvement in community and their trust in our institutions. Overall, it is interesting that figures for the two countries are very close — despite what we hear about the U.S. and our own country, well over half on both sides of the border believe that we can overcome our difficulties and divisions.

At this time of year, when many in society “give back” during the holiday season, here is what Angus Reid found out in their surveys. They asked Canadians how involved they are in their community, ranging from Very High down to Low. Community involvement includes donating money, volunteering time, participating in activities, socializing with neighbours and attending religious services. The Very High category stood at 9 per cent, so basically one in ten Canadians are very involved in their local community. High, still quite an admirable position, stood at 27 per cent; Medium at 34 per cent and Low at 29 per cent. So, only three in 10 Canadians are not really contributing to community life. Not bad!

A related learning from this survey is that the more involved citizens are in their community, the more confidence they have in our institutions (police, media, politics). One example of Canadian involvement and generosity is what happens on Giving Tuesday, which took place this year on Dec. 2. This is a day that charities geared up for to promote their need of financial support, a kind of “Black Friday” or “Cyber Monday” for the non-profit sector. This year, records for donations were shattered as CanadaHelps reported that some 44,000 donors raised almost $17 million to support over 10,000 charities. And the giving season isn’t over yet, as many will make donations by Dec. 31 to get charitable tax receipts.

As governments and businesses may pull back from some funding in our current economy, it will become more important that individual citizens give what they can. Many international development, environmental, cultural, and anti-poverty organizations are already sounding that alarm.

So, the message today is that despite all the challenges that Canadians face, all is not lost and the future may be brighter, especially if citizens rally, as their best selves, to support their communities, near and far. Like the old Participaction program that told us to be active to be healthy, this citizen participation ethic will keep our country, province, towns and neighbourhoods healthy in the broadest sense.

» Zack Gross is president of the Marquis Project, a Brandon-Westman-based international development organization.