New report highlights "serious threats" faced by children in Canada
Children in Canada are facing increasing threats to their emotional, physical, and mental well-being, according to a newly released report.
The sixth annual Raising Canada report, published by Children First Canada, tracks the top 10 threats to kids across the nation and states that overall, many Canadian children are being deprived of the basic right to a safe and healthy childhood.
“This last year kids have experienced unprecedented challenges due to the ‘tripledemic’ of RSV, Influenza, and COVID-19, and they continue to bear the brunt of the pandemic with significant impacts to their mental and physical health,” said Sara Austin, founder and CEO of Children First Canada, in a statement.
“There is a persistent myth that Canada is one of the best places in the world to raise kids, but the facts show otherwise.”
The report was conducted with research from the University of Calgary, the University of Toronto, and McGill University, using existing data and conducting interviews with parents, youth, and experts.
The report notes that Canada ranked 81st out of 193 countries in the 2023 Global Kids Rights Index, which measures children’s right to life, health, education, protection, and a country’s overall environment for enabling child rights. This is a significant drop from placing 48th in 2022.
The report emphasizes that over the past two years, the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the top 10 threats to children in Canada as “school closures, social isolation, limited recreational and social activities, and increased social and economic pressures among families have been particularly detrimental to children and youth.”
These are the top 10 threats to children in Canada, according to the 2023 Raising Canada report.
Threat #1: Unintentional and Preventable Injuries
The report notes that unintentional and preventable injuries are the leading causes of death for children and youth in Canada, for children aged one to 14. It adds that injuries due to recreational drugs have increased by a third compared to pre-pandemic levels.
Threat #2: Poor Mental Health
The overall mental health of children declined due to the pandemic, notes the report. Specifically, 51% of youth aged 12 to 19 experienced depression and 39% experienced anxiety during the pandemic.
Threat #3: Violence against children and youth
The report states that 60% of Canadians report experiencing some form of child abuse before age 15. Sexual luring of children online has increased by 815% over the past five years. The report also states that Indigenous youth under 15 experience physical or sexual abuse by adult perpetrators (15.2%) at nearly double the rate of non-Indigenous youth (7.5%).
Threat #4: Vaccine-preventable illnesses
According to the 2021 National Immunization Coverage Survey, vaccination coverage for Canadian children aged two, seven, and 14 remains below the 95% coverage standard to prevent outbreaks.
Threat #5: Systemic racism and discrimination
There is a “disproportionate and pervasive” overrepresentation of Indigenous children in the child welfare system. As well, there was a 286% increase in reports of racist and discriminatory actions against Asian children in Canada in 2021, compared to 2020.
Threat #6: Poverty
Over one million children between the ages 0-17 in Canada live in low-income households, a 13.5% increase from 2020, according to data from the Census Family Low Income Measure, After Tax. Nearly 1.8 million children in Canada under 18 were impacted by food insecurity in 2022.
Threat #7: Infant Mortality
According to the UN, the current infant mortality rate in Canada in 2023 is about 3.943 deaths per 1,000 live births, a 2.76% decline from 2022. The rates of infant mortality are higher for Indigenous infants and infants from low socioeconomic status.
Threat #8: Bullying
Nearly seven in 10 young Canadian youth between 15 to 17 experience bullying. Indigenous youth, young people from low socioeconomic status, and youth who identify as gender-diverse are the target of identity-based bullying notes the report.
Threat #9: Limited Physical Activity and Play
Just 2.3% of Canadian youth meet Canada’s 24-hour movement guidelines, which outline the appropriate amount of healthy movement for individuals of all ages. During the COVID-19 pandemic, physical activity among immigrant communities decreased by almost 40% in comparison to non-immigrant communities.
Threat #10: Climate Change
Nearly half of Canadian youth (48%) between 16-25 expressed anxiety about pollution and climate change and 73% were fearful for their future because of climate change.
Calls to action
The report concludes that the past year has presented even more systemic gaps that exist for children and youth in Canada.
It also highlights three calls to action in order to improve the health and well-being of Canadian children.
The first is to lead for and with kids, and suggests that a federal commissioner for children and youth should be established, as well as a national strategy for children and youth.
The second call to action focuses on investing in children and states that a catalytic investment fund for children should be created over the next four years, as well as a children’s budget.
Lastly, the report says that children’s rights in education must be supported and they must be provided with the platform to exercise their rights.
“When the pandemic ended, we expected life for our kids to get better. It didn’t. The research shows that children’s well-being has continued to deteriorate, and far too many kids are in a state of crisis,” stated Austin.
“We cannot continue to ignore the serious threats that put children’s lives in jeopardy. Experts and advocates all agree that a better life for our kids is possible and we’re imploring all levels of government to take action now.”