Section 2: The Activities of Canadians

We now turn from the views and attitudes of Canadians to the activities in which they are engaged.

Organizational involvement

Canadians were asked about groups, organizations, networks or associations to which they belong, including ".formally organized groups or just groups of people who get together regularly to do an activity or talk about things."

Overall, 61% of Canadians belonged to at least one such group or organization, while 38% did not (Chart 16).⁸ Sports and recreational organizations, such as hockey leagues, health clubs or golf clubs, were mentioned most often (29%), followed by unions and professional associations (25%), cultural, education or hobby groups (e.g. bridge club or book club), religious-affiliated groups (e.g. church choir or youth group⁹) and school, neighbourhood or community-associated groups (e.g. block parents or alumni). 8% of Canadians belonged to a service club or fraternal organization.

Chart 16. Number and type of organizations in which Canadians are involved, Canada, 2003

Among the non-elderly population, there was relatively little variation in the overall incidence of organizational membership/participation across age groups, with this ranging between 60 and 64% among persons aged 15 to 64. The incidence was lower among seniors, due in part to less involvement in sports and recreational organizations and in unions and professional associations.

Organizational involvement was strongly associated with education and household income (Chart 17). Among individuals aged 25 to 54, 78% of those with a university degree were involved in at least one organization, while this was the case for 56% of those with high school and 40% of those with less than high school. Similarly, individuals residing in households with higher incomes were more likely to be involved in at least one organization than individuals residing in lower income households. And finally, immigrants who had arrived in Canada since 1980 were less likely than earlier arrivals and Canadian-born persons to have been involved in at least one organization.

Chart 17. Percentage of individuals aged 25 to 54 who were involved in at least one organization, by selected characteristics, Canada, 2003

In terms of organizational involvement in different provinces, the most noticeable fact was that the incidence of involvement ranges between 60 and 65% in most provinces, but was somewhat lower in Quebec (at 53%) (see Chart 18).

Chart 18. Percentage of individuals who are involved in at least one organization, by province, Canada, 2003

Of those individuals who were involved in at least one organization or group, 40% participated in activities or meetings at least once a week, 20% participated a few times each month, and 18% participated at least once a month. The remainder participated once or twice a year (15%) or had not participated at all in the past year (6%).

Overall, about one-half of Canadians (48%) belonged to a group or organization and participated in meetings or activities at least once a month.

About one-quarter of individuals who were involved in at least one organization or group (23%) conducted at least part of their involvement through the internet.

All GSS respondents, regardless of whether or not they were involved in an organization, were asked if their involvement in organizations had increased, decreased or stayed the same over the past five years. Just over one-half of Canadians (55%) said their level of involvement had stayed the same over that period, 20% said their involvement had increased and 23% said their involvement had decreased.¹⁰

As one might expect, individuals who were involved in groups or organizations were more likely than those who were not involved to say that they felt a sense of belonging to their local community¹¹. This relationship was not evident in terms of belonging to Canada or their province of residence.

Top of Page

Political Involvement

Over the last 15 years there has been a steady decline in the rate of voter turnout in federal elections, declining from 75% in 1987, to 67% in 1997 and to just over 61% in 2000 (Elections Canada, cited in Seidle 2001). Younger people are far less likely to vote than older Canadians, and evidence suggests people are continuing to abstain from voting as they grow older (O'Neill 2001).

Some analysts have suggested that the decline in voter turnout rates does not signal a decline in civic participation, but rather is part of a shift in civic participation away from 'traditional' forms of political engagement, such as voting, to more 'unconventional' activities, such as participating in petitions, boycotts and public demonstrations (Barnes and Kasse 1979).

GSS respondents were asked if they had participated in specific types of political activities over the previous 12 month period (Chart 19). Over one-quarter of Canadians (28%) had signed a petition or had searched for information on a political issue (26%), while about one-in-five Canadians had attended a public meeting or boycotted / chosen a product for ethical reasons. About one-in-eight Canadians (13%) had expressed their views on an issue by contacting a newspaper or a politician, while 6% had participated in a march or demonstration.

Chart 19. Percentage of Canadians who engaged in selected political activities over the previous year, 2003

The proportion of individuals who had participated in certain political activities in the previous year varied across age groups. As shown in Table 5, individuals under 30 were more likely than those in older age groups to have searched for information on a political issue and to have participated in a march or demonstration. Individuals aged 65 or older were less likely than others to have signed a petition or to have boycotted or chosen a product for ethical reasons.

Table 5. Percentage of Canadians who participated in selected political activities in the previous year, by age group, Canada, 2003

Educational attainment and household income were also associated with participation in political activities. For example, among individuals aged 25 to 54, 31% of those with a university degree had attended a public meeting in the previous year while this was the case for 19% of those with a high school diploma (Table 6). The same pattern was evident for all the political activities shown. Furthermore, the likelihood of having engaged in political activities was generally higher among individuals who resided in households with higher incomes.

Participation in political activity differed between immigrants and persons born in Canada . More specifically, immigrants (aged 25 to 54) who had arrived in Canada since 1990 were less likely than Canadian-born persons to have signed a petition, boycotted or chosen a product for ethical reasons or attended a public meeting.

Table 6. Percentage of persons aged 25 to 54 who participated in selected political activities, by selected characteristics, Canada, 2003

Participation in political activities was associated with whether or not individuals said they had voted in the most recent federal and provincial elections¹². For example, among individuals aged 25 to 54, 36% of those who said they had voted in both the most recent federal and provincial elections had signed a petition in the previous year, while this was the case for 18% of those said they had not voted in either election (Table 7). Similarly, individuals who said they had voted in both elections were about twice as likely as those who had not voted in either election to have attended a public meeting as (at 27 and 13% respectively).¹³

Table 7. Percentage of persons aged 25 to 54 who participated in selected political activities in the past year, by whether or not they voted in most recent federal and provincial elections, Canada, 2003

Finally, one might expect that individuals who express less confidence in major institutions may be more likely than others to voice their concerns through political activities such as petitions or public meetings. There is modest support for this interpretation. As shown in Table 8, individuals who expressed confidence in eight or nine of the institutions about which they were asked (out of a total of nine institutions) were less likely than others to have boycotted or chosen a product for ethical reasons, signed a petition or to have expressed their views by contacting a newspaper or politician in the past year. However, differences in the level of participation in other types of political activities were modest or non-existent.

Table 8. Percentage of persons aged 25 to 54 who participated in selected political activities in the past year, by number of institutions in which they have confidence, Canada, 2003

Top of Page

Religious involvement

The majority of Canadians said that religious or spiritual beliefs were very important (36%) or 'somewhat important' (33%) to the way that they live their life¹⁴. However, while most Canadians attached importance to religious and spiritual beliefs, far fewer were regular participants at religious services.

Aside from special occasions, such as weddings or funerals, just under one-third of Canadians (30%) had attended religious services or meetings at least once a month over the previous year¹⁵, while about one-quarter had attended services at least once or a few times during the year. 18% of Canadians had not attended a religious service or meeting and 25% identified themselves as agnostic, atheist or said that religious or spiritual beliefs were not at all important to them. Individuals in this latter group were not asked about how often they had attended religious services.¹⁶

Frequency of attendance at religious services was greatest among individuals in the Atlantic region - particularly in Newfoundland and Labrador and Prince Edward Island where about one-half of adults¹⁷ had attended religious services at least once a month. Frequency of attendance was lowest in Quebec and British Columbia , where less than one-quarter of adults had attended services at least once a month. The share of individuals with little or no involvement in religious services was highest in British Columbia (at 57%). This includes individuals: (1) who said that they had not attended a religious service in the past year, (2) who identified themselves as atheist or agnostic or (3) who said that religious and spiritual beliefs were not at all important to how they live their life (see Chart 20).

Chart 20. Frequency of attendence at religious services over the past year, by province, Canada, 2003

Frequency of attendance at religious services or meetings was strongly associated with age. While almost one-half of seniors had attended religious services at least once a month over the previous year, this was the case for less than one-quarter of individuals between the ages of 15 and 35 (see Chart 21).

Chart 21. Frequency of attendence at religious services over the past year, by age group, Canada, 2003

Among individuals aged 25 to 54, those who were born in Canada were less likely than immigrants to have attended religious services in the past year. Indeed, 39% of immigrants who arrived in Canada during the 1990s had attended services on a monthly basis in the previous year while this was the case for 22% of Canadian-born persons (Chart 22).

Chart 22. Frequency of attendence at religious services over the past year among persons aged 25 to 54, by immigration status, Canada, 2003

Overall, while places of worship were central to community life in years past, most Canadians today do not have a long standing attachment to a place of worship. Only 37% of all Canadians attended religious services or meetings at least once in the previous year and had attended the same place of worship for more than five years.