Raising Canada 2022 – Top 10 Threats to Children in Canada
Launched in 2018, Raising Canada is an annual series of reports that track the top 10 threats to childhood. The report sheds light on the reality that one-third of kids in Canada do not enjoy a safe and healthy childhood. For more than a decade, the state of childhood in Canada has been on the decline. According to UNICEF, Canada ranks 30th out of 38 affluent nations for protecting the well-being of children – a significant drop from 12th place in 2007. As a country, we have been going in the wrong direction for far too long.
Raising Canada 2022 underscores that children continue to feel the impact of the pandemic as it enters its third year. This report by Children First Canada explores how this moment in time is altering children’s lives, and the subsequent effects in the decades to come.
Raising Canada 2022 is the fifth in an annual series of reports that track the top 10 threats to childhood. This year, the report highlights how the pandemic has amplified and accelerated the top 10 threats facing kids across the country. The data also reveals that equity-deserving children and youth are facing the greatest impacts of the pandemic – including young First Nations, Métis and Inuit children, people from racialized communities, 2SLGBTQIA+ youth and young people with disabilities.
The top 10 threats to childhood in Canada
in 2022:
- Unintentional and preventable injuries
- Poor mental health
- Systemic racism and discrimination
- Child abuse
- Vaccine-preventable illnesses
- Poverty and food and nutritional insecurity
- Infant mortality
- Bullying
- Limited physical activity and play
- Climate change
The ordering above is based on the evidence
found related to each threat, from conversations
with and among child and youth contributors,
content experts, and the Children First Canada
research team, and from the Young Canadians’
Parliament Annual Report.
What’s inside:
- The latest data on the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on kids in Canada
- An equity, diversity and inclusion lens applied throughout the report
- An analysis of the interconnection between threats
- Artistic expressions and quotes from children across Canada
- Recommendations and calls to action for the Government of Canada
Responses