Who We Serve: 20 Facts About Today’s Youth

We’re exploring Statistics Canada’s youth data to better understand the demographic we serve. Take a look at these 20 interesting facts about today’s youth…

Source Note: The data shared in this article largely comes from Statistics Canada’s archived content which is not altered or updated once archived. Data may be outdated. Please see sources listed.

Content Warning: Discussion of cyberbullying, mental illness, suicide. and addiction.

 

20 Facts About Today’s Youth

 

1. There are over 7 million Canadians between the ages of 15 to 29.

The youth of Canada are a larger demographic than you might think; made up of a wide variety of backgrounds (ethnicity, social class, fluency in official and non-official languages, heritage, etc.) 1 Compare to other age groups, youth are more likely to publicly identify as LGBTQ2S+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, two-spirit). 2

2. More potential than any generation of young people before them.

The youth of today are not only more connected due to their high level of digital literacy, but they are also more educated than any generation of youth before them. 97% of 15 year olds attend school, 5% of 21 year olds enroll in apprenticeship programs, 24% of 19 year olds are in college, and 36% of 21 year olds are in university. 3

3. A fast growing Indigenous youth population.

The fastest growing population of young people in the country come from First Nations, Inuit and Métis communities. 4 The number of Indigenous youth aged 15 to 30 increased by 39%, compared to just over 5% for non-Indigenous youth from 2006 to 2016. 5

4. Higher number of Black youth than previous generations.

The number of youth in Canada who identify as Black has grown to 5.4%. 6 Despite the demographics growing numbers, anti-Black racism remains a major obstacle to well-being. Today’s Black youth have reported negative experiences with law enforcement agencies, educational institutions, private companies, child services agencies, the judicial system and other public services. 7

5. Growing importance of education among Black young people.

It’s been reported that this generation of Black youth have a higher desire to achieve a university degree compared to other, non-Black youth (94% vs 82%). 8

6. Most unsatisfied age group in Canada.

Sadly, it’s been found that for youth aged 15 to 29, self-reported “life satisfaction” has not only decreased between 2018 and 2020, but it is the lowest among Canadian youth than any other age group in Canada. 9

7. More digitally connected than any other generation.

Nearly 100% of youth aged 15 to 30 use the Internet on a daily basis or own their own smartphone – broadly similar across all provinces and across all household income groups. In addition…

  • 77% of youth aged 15 to 30 use the Internet to follow news and current affairs.

  • One half of youth aged 25 to 30 conduct transactions on the Internet at least weekly – almost twice that of older Canadians.

  • 93% of youth aged 15 to 30 use social networking sites. 10


8. Higher rates of cyberbullying among today’s youth.

With higher uses of technology, comes new challenges. 17% of youth aged 15 to 30 report having cyberbullied or been cyberbullied in the past 5 years. This includes cyberstalking. 11


9. More socially and civically engaged.

It’s been found that youth aged 15-30 are more socially and civically engaged (i.e. giving, volunteering and participating). 67% of 15 to 30 year olds are members of a group, organization or association, compared to 65% for the overall Canadian population. Additionally…

  • 48% of youth aged 15 to 30 volunteer.

  • 71% of those aged 15 to 30 said they gave to a charitable or non-profit organization. 12


10. More dissatisfied with their government, but less likely to vote.

Though the voting rate among young people has grown from 2011 to 2015 (38.8% - 57.1% for youth ages 18 to 24), it is not enough. Youth age 18 to 24 are actually the least active voting demographic (by age) in Canada. Meanwhile, less than half (45%) of youth aged 15 to 30 have confidence in Canadian Parliament, compared to 38% for the general population. 12

11. Big on volunteering.

Youth aged 15 to 30 actually contribute 23% of all volunteer hours in Canada. 12

12. Smartest age group when it comes to literacy and mathematics.

Literacy and numeracy scores are higher among 15 to 29 year olds than any other age group. 13

13. Growing population of young women (and declining population of young men) in the workplace.

In contrast to young men, young women have significantly increased their annual hours of work and moved to better-paid occupations, resulting in higher cumulative earnings. The percentage of young women employed full-time rose because of their growing labour force participation. Notably, there are fewer young men in full-time or permanent jobs; resulting in lower earnings at the middle and lower end of earnings distribution. 14


14. More educated than their workplaces require.

There is a large portion of youth aged 25 to 34 with university degrees, working in occupations requiring high school education or less (17.7% of men, 18.3% of women). Those numbers climb even higher for those who have immigrated to Canada…

  • 34.8% of immigrant men with a degree from outside Canada or the U.S

  • 43.0% of immigrant women with a degree from outside Canada or the U.S 15

15. Higher rates of reported discrimination.

Youth aged 15 to 30 are more likely to report that they experienced discrimination. This could be largely impart to the growing population of disabled youth. Over 880,000 youth aged 15 to 30 (13%) report that they have a disability; whether that be physical, sensory, cognitive, or mental health-related. 16

16. Less tobacco and weed consumption than other generations.

Despite the increased popularity of vaping, today’s young people consume less marijuana and tobacco than other generations of youth. Smoking rates for both young men and women have dropped significantly since the early 2000s. While cannabis use is still generally higher among youth compared to older Canadians, it has generally decreased for youth. Interestingly, heavy drinking by young men has also declined. Whereas, the over consumption of alcohol among young women has increased. 17

17. Opioid-related hospitalization rates rising fastest among youth.

Rate of hospital based opioid events increased by 27% in the last 5 years. 18

18. Suicide is the second leading cause of death among youth.

15.7 deaths per 100,000 for young men (age 15-29)

6.7 deaths per 100,000 for young women (age 15-29)

19. Willing to seek mental health support.

Approximately half (53%) of youth with depression or suicidal thoughts have sought out professional support.

20. More likely to be diagnosed with serious mental illnesses.

Rates of mood disorders are highest among youth aged 15 to 30 compared to other age groups; young women in particular have the highest rate (12%). Additionally, approximately 60% of youth who have experienced symptoms of (or been diagnosed with) a mood disorder have also had suicidal thoughts in their lifetime. 19

 

    1. Statistics Canada (2016). “Ethnic Origin.” 2016 Census Data Tables

    2. Statistics Canada (2019). A Portrait of Canadian Youth: March 2019 Updates

    3. Statistics Canada (2016). “Language Highlight Tables: Mother tongue by Age,” 2016 Census Data Tables

    4. Statistics Canada (2017). “Aboriginal peoples in Canada: Key results from the 2016 Census,” The Daily

    5. Statistics Canada (2019). “Chart 9,” A Portrait of Canadian Youth: March 2019 Updates

    6. Statistics Canada (2019). “Chart 5,” A Portrait of Canadian Youth: March 2019 Updates

    7. This was heard from Black youth through various engagement sessions related to the development of Building the Foundation for Change: Canada’s Anti-Racism Strategy 2019-2022 and the Government of Canada’s Black Canadian Youth Approach.

    8. Martin Turcotte (2020). “Results from the 2016 Census: Education and labour market integration of Black youth in Canada,” Insight on Canadian Society

    9. Statistics Canada (2019). “What matters to Canadian youth?,” (PDF format) A Portrait of Canadian Youth: March 2019 update

    10. Statistics Canada (2019). “Chart 11,” Virtually all youth aged 15 to 30 use social networking sites

    11. Statistics Canada (2019). “Chart 11,” Virtually all youth aged 15 to 30 use social networking sites

    12. Statistics Canada (2019). “Chart 11,” Virtually all youth aged 15 to 30 use social networking sites

    13. Statistics Canada (2019). “Chart 17,” Change in major fields of study undertaken by university students aged 15 to 29 years, 1992/93 to 2016/17

    14. Statistics Canada (2019). “Chart 20,” Percentage of youth population employed full-time

    15. Statistics Canada (2019). “Chart 24,” Proportion of youth aged 25 to 34 with a university degree working in occupations requiring high school education or less

    16. Statistics Canada (2019). “Chart 28,” Proportion of individuals who reported that they experienced discrimination in the past 5 years, 2014

    17. Statistics Canada (2019)

    18. CIHI, 2018

    19. Statistics Canada, 2015-2017 Canadian Community Health Survey, 2011 National Household Survey; and CIHI 2011-2016 Discharge Abstract Database.

 
Madison B.