How Is Canada Faring In The 2016 Census?: Sean Speer For Inside Policy – MLI

August 4, 2017

Statistics Canada’s new 2016 Census data present an interesting socio-cultural picture of Canada. It gives us a new sense of the state of the country’s key civil society institutions, including marriage, family, and community. The trends set out in the data could have significant economic and social implications. Policymakers should review them closely.

We rarely talk about notion of “civil society” in public policy circles. The focus tends to be a false dichotomy between the individual and the state. It’s a funny omission. Most of everyday life occurs in the space between the two, as Yuval Levin has written. Most of us see ourselves as parents, spouses, siblings, neighbours, parishioners, or volunteers rather than abstractions about individualism. These civil society roles are ultimately what matters.

The state of civil society has nonetheless received limited attention in Canada. But it’s much more rigorously studied in the United States. Scholars from across the intellectual and political spectrum – including Robert Putnam from the Left and Charles Murray from the Right – have empirically documented the decline in civic engagement and social connectivity.

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