Learning Loss as Civic Loss: Addressing the Generational Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Youth Democratic Engagement

The Samara Centre for Democracy partnered with the Rideau Hall Foundation to learn more about the state of youth civic learning and engagement in the context of the pandemic and the potential generational impact this will have on young people in Canada.

In the report Learning Loss as Civic Loss: Addressing the Generational Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Youth Democratic Engagement, we consider the effects of the pandemic on Canadian youth civic literacy, we identify gaps in our current civic literacy landscape, and we provide key recommendations to advance a new chapter for youth civic engagement in Canada.

Now is the time to address the tremendous challenges facing Canadian youth by investing in their civic literacy. Doing so would accelerate Canada’s recovery from the pandemic and revitalize our democracy. This is an urgent matter. The generational impact of the pandemic risks entrenching disproportionate inequities that hinder the democratic participation of diverse communities and we cannot allow the learning loss caused by the pandemic to become our civic loss.