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Social Inclusion and Community Connection

1 no poverty
5 gender equality
8 decent work and economic growth
10 reduced inequalities
11 sustainable cities and communities

Community members feel valued and connected, have opportunities to participate in society and culture, care for and support each other, and live in harmony.

“I call her at nine o’clock at night, ‘I’m making chilli in my crock pot overnight. How many bay leaves do I add?’ [Laughs] ‘This is an emergency.’ But we all need that person, right.” -Winnipeg, MB

“Be celebrated for your purpose, no matter what that purpose is […] Everyone has value.” -St. Stephen, NB

“This is one of the richest and most diverse groups of people I’ve ever lived amongst. The kids are great, you know what I mean? They’re active. They’re involved.” – Halifax, NS

“If you know somebody that goes out fishing, they’ll bring you fish. It’s a really big community thing to share what you already have.” -St. John’s, NL

“It’s cultural poverty. I’m deprived of my shamanism. I’m deprived of my language literacy. I’m deprived the traditional knowledge that should have been brought down to me from my parents, but they weren’t there, they were conditioned to be Christian. So they lost their traditional values.” -Ottawa, ON

“My ideal world is having the time to grieve. Never mind having to pay for gas. Never mind having to pay for a phone bill.” -Ottawa, ON

“Because I go through a lot of loneliness, just stepping out my back door and looking at the mountains and being surrounded by trees alleviates whatever struggles I’m going through.” -Carcross, YK

“Every family in that community got fish. Because if someone did good there was that sharing, there was that building.” -Whitehorse, YK

“Supporting each other, lending a hand to others so that we can all rise and no one is left behind.” -Vancouver, BC

MeasureIndicatorData Source
Everyone can participate in their communityProxy: Proportion of the population reporting membership or participation in selected types of groups, organizations and associations in the past 12 months; Proxy: Percentage of 11-15 year olds involved in groups or group activities  Canada Quality of Life Framework,  General Social Survey (GSS) – Social Identity, Table 43-10-0065-01; Canadian Index of Child and Youth Well-Being
Feeling connected to your communityPercentage of the population aged 12 and over who reported their sense of belonging to their local community as being very strong or somewhat strongStatistics Canada. Table 13-10-0096-01 Health characteristics, annual estimates, CIF 11.7.1
Everyone is valuedRecommendation: Percentage of population who feels valued by their communityGap
People have gatherings and share mealsRecommendation: Percentage of population who have regular gatherings and shared meals with othersGap
Knowing if you reach out, someone will help youProportion of the population by frequency with which they have people they can depend on to help them when they really need it;
Percentage of 11-15 year olds who report finding it easy to talk to someone about things that bother them
Canada Quality of Life Framework, Canadian Social Survey Table 45-10-0050-01, General Social Survey, Canadian Community Health Survey; Canadian Index of Child and Youth Well-Being
Having close relationshipsProportion of the population by level of satisfaction with their personal relationships (e.g., with family members and friends)Canada Quality of Life Framework, Canadian Social Survey Table 45-10-0071-01 and General Social Survey Table 13-10-0106-01
Community members share with each otherRecommendation: Percentage of population who feels that people in their community share with each otherGap
Being able to live according to your cultural valuesRecommendation: Percentage of the population who feels like they can live according to their cultural values;
Proxy: Proportion of the Indigenous population with the ability to speak or understand an Indigenous language;
Proxy: Rate of participation in land-based activities
Gap; Canada Quality of Life Framework, Census of Population and Indigenous Peoples Survey, various tables;
Statistics Canada Indigenous Peoples Survey
Elders are supported and respectedRecommendation: Percentage of elders who feel supported by their community Recommendation: Number of elder-led or elder-involved activities in a communityGap
Everyone can contribute to their community according to their strengthsProxy: Rate of participation in formal or informal volunteering Proxy: Daily average time in civic, religious, and organizational activitiesStatistics Canada, General Social Survey on Giving, Volunteering and Participating; Statistics Canada, General Social Survey Table 45-10-0014-01
Being able to trust your neighboursProxy: Proportion of the population by trust in othersCanada Quality of Life Framework, General Social Survey Table 43-10-0064-01 and Canadian Social Survey Table 45-10-0075-01
Proxy: existing indicator and data source partially fulfill the measure.
Recommendation: existing indicator and data source partially fulfill the measure.
Gap: gap for data source where it does not exist.
Magenta: existing indicator in Canadian Indicator Framework