Youth

The Government and Youth

In collaboration with Martin Durand, Canadian Heritage

Below are some of the results from an analysis based on two Ipsos-Reid public opinion surveys conducted for various federal departments, including Canadian Heritage. Over 2,000 young Canadians aged 12 to 30 participated in the survey.

Young people's main concerns:

  • Francophones outside Quebec are twice as concerned about crime, violence and street gangs than other young Canadians. They believe that it is the second biggest problem they face.
  • For young Anglophones living in Quebec, the biggest problem they face is unemployment and difficulty finding jobs.
  • For young Anglophones living outside Quebec, the second biggest problem is education and tuition fees. Compared to minority youth and Quebec youth, twice as many of them identified this problem as a major issue.
  • For young people in Western Canada and the Yukon, the biggest problem is alcohol, smoking and drugs. This is higher than the overall average for young Canadians.
  • For young people in Quebec, while education and tuition fees are their second biggest concern, they are well below the overall average for young Canadians.
  • For young Atlantic Canadians, more than for other young Canadians, unemployment and difficulty finding jobs was one of the biggest problems they faced.

Linguistic duality

  • For almost all of the statements, minority populations supported public policies, linguistic duality and bilingualism more strongly than majority populations. Overall, Quebec Anglophones support the statements less than Francophones outside Quebec.
  • Over 90% of young people in minority communities believe that knowing both English and French improve their chances of finding a job.
  • Nearly 70% of young people in majority communities are or would have been interested in taking part in school language exchanges to meet other young people from official-language minority communities.
  • Over 80% of young respondents in minority communities believe that their primary/high school education gave them a good opportunity to learn their second official language. The percentage is lower, at 63.6%, for young people in majority communities.
  • For nearly all of the statements, the proportion of young people who agree with them decreases the further west they are.
  • Young bilingual Anglophones from the rest of Canada are more in favour of the various statements than their unilingual Anglophone counterparts. They are among those who most agree with the economic benefits of knowing both official languages.
  • In Quebec, a very large proportion of young people believe that all high school graduates should have a working knowledge of English and French.
  • More than 9 out of 10 Francophones living outside Quebec believe that the federal government has an important role to play in promoting and protecting French in Canada.
  • Over 80% of young people believe that government services should be provided in both English and French throughout the country. In the West, three out of four young people agree with this statement.

For more information, please contact Martin Durand at 819-994-1917.

Connecting with Young Canadians

In collaboration with Mercedes Morin, Canadian Heritage

The Canadian Heritage program Exchanges Canada connects young Canadians with one another through a variety of means and develops Canadian identity and a sense of belonging to Canada by helping youth appreciate both the diversity and the shared aspects of the Canadian experience. Exchanges Canada is expressly designed to support activities that foster bilingual exchange experiences and assist youth in the development of proficiency in their second official language. The program has two components: Youth Exchanges Canada and Youth Forums Canada.

Youth Exchanges Canada

By providing funding to support two-way exchanges for groups of young Canadians, participants from different regions of the country are twinned according to their age and interests. Participants take turns hosting their twin in their home, and play an active role in planning the exchange. They also communicate regularly with their twin, conduct research on the exchange communities and participate in fundraising. Exchanges are usually one week in duration and can take place anywhere in Canada. In 2006-2007, close to 9,000 young people took part in this program.

Youth Forums Canada

Eligible projects include national forums for young people, post-secondary study sessions in another region of Canada and projects such as workshops, thematic exchanges of interest to young Canadians, and other exchange-related experiences that meet the objectives of the Exchanges Canada Program. Forums are usually one week in duration and can take place anywhere in Canada. In 2006-2007, close to 5,600 young people attended events supported by this program.

An example of the projects funded in 2007 is the National Debating Seminar. This annual event, organized by the Canadian Student Debating Federation (CSDF), aims to expose students to the art of debating while providing an opportunity for cultural exchange among young people from all regions of the country. The seminar is held in a different location in Canada every year. The CSDF offers students the opportunity to attend the Seminar as English, French or bilingual delegates. This component of the Seminar involves delegates switching from one language to another during their speeches and debates in true recognition of Canada's bilingual nature.

Premier Choix helps young Manitobans find work

In collaboration with Louise Hébert-Rahemtulla, Service Canada

Managed by the not-for-profit organization Premier Personnel Corp., Premier Choix is a bilingual project funded under Skills Link, a program of Service Canada's Youth Employment Strategy in Manitoba. From February 2007 to February 2008, 75 Francophones will have participated in the project aimed at helping young Manitobans facing barriers find employment by giving them access to coaching services and various resources enabling them to increase their employability. Premier Choix maintains close ties with the community's Francophone organizations, including the Collège Louis-Riel, the Franco-Manitoban School Division, the Economic Development Council for Manitoba Bilingual Municipalities, the Catholic Health Corporation of Manitoba and Accueil francophone. Furthermore, the project earned a recognition award from the Franco-Manitoban School Division for its contribution regarding young people.

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