Introduction

Over the course of their lives, Canadians engage in many types of civic and social activities. They donate their time and money to charity; they become members of organizations; they vote in elections and engage in other political activities; they attend religious services; and they establish social networks with friends, neighbours, co-workers and acquaintances.

These activities play a vital role in the health and vitality of our country. For example, evidence from the most recent National Survey of Giving, Volunteering and Participation underscores the importance of volunteer work and charitable giving (Hall et al. 2001). Canadians gave more than $5 billion in financial support to charitable and non-profit institutions in 2000, and over one-quarter of all adult Canadians had done some volunteer work over the previous year.

In terms of political activities, declining rates of voter turnout in Canada and elsewhere have raised concerns that some citizens are disengaging from a critical part of the democratic process. At the same time, the political activities that people are engaged in outside of the polling booth are garnering attention, as some analysts have argued that demonstrations, petitions, boycotts and other activities once considered 'unconventional' are now routine for many citizens (Inglehart 1990).

Civic and social engagement has certainly been pushed to centre-stage by widespread interest and discussion regarding 'social capital.' Although there is ongoing debate about how best to define and measure social capital, a common theme is that ".how we associate with each other, and on what terms, has enormous implications for our well-being" (Woolcock 2001). Robert Putnam has been a leading figure in this field (Putnam 2001). Drawing on American data from a variety of sources, Putnam argues that various forms of social engagement have declined markedly since the 1970s. Putnam argues that this is not without consequence as across the 50 American states there are strong correlations between social capital and various other indicators of well-being, such as child welfare, educational performance, violent crime, health and tax evasion.

There is now broad interest in social capital, as researchers and policy makers are keenly interested in developing a better understanding of how social networks and norms of trust and reciprocity may contribute positively to individual and social outcomes.

The purpose of this report is to provide an overview of survey highlights. Descriptive statistics are provided on various measures of social engagement, with variations highlighted across selected characteristics, such as age, province of residence and educational attainment. The report is intended to be illustrative, providing a broad snapshot of the outlooks and activities of Canadians in 2003.

The report is divided into three sections. In Section One, the attitudes and outlooks of Canadians are considered using three sets of indicators: (1) the extent to which individuals feel a sense of belonging to Canada, to their province, and to their community; (2) the level of confidence that individuals have in public institutions, such as the health care system and the federal parliament; and (3) the level of trust individuals have in other people.

In Section Two, the focus is shifted from the outlooks of Canadians to the activities in which they are engaged. More specifically, we consider (1) involvement in various types of organizations, such as fraternal orders, hobby groups, and sports organizations; (2) the political activities in which Canadians are engaged; and (3) participation in religious services.

In Section Three, a brief overview of the social networks in which Canadians are engaged is provided.