Annual ‘Raising Canada’ report includes a unified plea by child advocates for urgent government action.
October 16, 2024, Calgary, AB – The state of childhood in Canada has reached a breaking point. The seventh annual Raising Canada report, released today, finds that the top 10 threats to childhood are escalating, with children’s quality of life in Canada demonstrably worsening. The report includes an urgent call for policymakers to address and overcome these pressing issues. It also calls on community leaders to recognize the value of youth engagement as a critical element of creating and implementing solutions to complex social issues.
The annual Raising Canada report is published by Children First Canada, based on research conducted by the University of Calgary and McGill University. Researchers compiled existing data and conducted interviews with youth, parents and other subject matter experts. It comes as Canada ranks 66th out of 194 countries on the global Kids Rights Index.
Among the startling findings:
- 28.4% of children under 18 live in food-insecure households, an increase from 24.3% the previous year.
- One in five kids (20%) in Canada have diagnosed mental health challenges.
- Two-thirds (60%) of Canadians reported experiencing maltreatment (including physical and/or emotional abuse) before the age of 15.
- Police reports of online sexual exploitation of children have nearly tripled since 2014; Sextortion reports have increased by 150% since June 2022 and online sexual luring reports have surged 815% over the last five years.
- Hospital stays for children under four have increased by 32% due to respiratory illnesses.
- Child homicide and filicide are significant threats to children’s survival, with 40 child homicides reported in 2022.
This year’s report also highlights several cross-cutting themes, including the influence of technology on children and adolescents. Researchers note that digital platforms have made it easier to create and share messages of hate, discrimination, and cyberbullying, which adversely impact mental health, physical activity, and the risk of violence and abuse. Evidence also concludes that the negative effects of technology on mental health have intensified since the onset of the pandemic, with the RCMP warning that victims face extreme outcomes of sextortion, including self-harm or suicide.
“Children today are facing unprecedented threats—from rising poverty and mental health crises to violence in their homes and online. Parents are struggling to offer their children a better way of life than they had,” says Sara Austin, Founder and CEO of Children First Canada. “Canada’s kids deserve better—a better childhood and a brighter future, and their survival and ability to thrive depend on the choices we make today. We must act with urgency and conviction to turn this around.”
Threat 1: Unintentional and Preventable Injuries
- Unintentional and preventable injuries remain the leading cause of death for children under 15 years of age.
- Substance-related injuries such as cannabis use among youth aged 16-19 years increased from 36% in 2018 to 43% in 2023.
Threat 2: Poor Mental Health
- 20% of kids in Canada (1.6 million children) have diagnosed mental health challenges.
- Suicide is the second leading cause of death of youth aged 15-34, and the third leading cause of death for ages 10-14, with an increase in suicidal ideation and attempts, particularly among girls.
- Self-harm accounts for 9% of Kids Help Phone communications and 20,000 hospitalizations annually.
- Mental health disparities are evident, with low-income, 2SLGBTQIA+ and Indigenous children and youth facing higher rates of mental health challenges and substance use disorders.
Threat 3: Violence Against Children/Child Abuse
- Approximately two out of three Canadians (60%) reported experiencing maltreatment (physical and/or emotional abuse) before the age of 15.
- Over 45% of teens aged 15-17 report dating violence, most commonly emotional abuse.
- Child homicide and filicide are a significant threat, with 40 child homicides reported in 2022. Newer data is not available but there have been several publicly reported recent deaths of children due to intimate partner violence or while involved with the child welfare system.
- Indigenous children face disproportionately higher rates of abuse due to ongoing impacts of colonialism and intergenerational trauma.
Threat 4: Vaccine-preventable Illnesses
- Vaccination rates remain below optimal levels, leading to a resurgence of illnesses including measles, COVID-19, and influenza.
- Canada has seen a sharp increase in measles, with 75 cases reported by May 2024, the highest since 2019. Ontario recorded its first measles death in over a decade, involving an unvaccinated child under five.
- Quebec saw a 3,300% increase of pertussis (whooping cough) in the past year. By June 2024, the province had reported over 3,471 cases.
- Only 8.4% of children 0-4 received at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose. Only 1.1% are fully vaccinated and only 4.5% have received the XBB.1.5 vaccine.
- Hospital stays for children under four have increase 32% due to respiratory illnesses like RSV and influenza in 2023-2024.
Threat 5: Systemic Racism and Discrimination
- The rise in global conflicts such as the ongoing Israel and Hamas war, has resulted in Muslim and Jewish youth in Canada experiencing increased rates of hate crimes, and hate-motivated incidents in person and online.
- Canada leads the G7 in terms of targeted killings of Muslims motivated by Islamophobia.
- 20.8% of Canadian youth aged 24 and under report seeing an increase in “hateful comments” against Jews.
Threat 6: Poverty
- 28.4% of children under 18 in the ten provinces lived in a food-insecure household in 2023, amounting to 2.1 million children compared to almost 1.8 million in 2022 (an increase from 24.3%). Consequently, one in three children in Canada do not have access to sufficient food, or food of an adequate quality, to meet their basic needs.
Threat 7: Infant Mortality
- The 2024 projected infant mortality rate is 3.843 deaths per 1000 live births, a 2.54% decline from 2023.
- Rates of infant mortality are higher for Indigenous and immigrant infants.
Threat 8: Bullying
- Police reports of online sexual exploitation of children nearly tripled since 2014, reaching 160 incidents per 100,000 Canadian children and youth in 2022.
- Sextortion reports increased by 150% since June 2022.
- Online sexual luring reports have increased 815% over the last five years, along with a rise in child deaths by suicide linked to sextortion.
Threat 9: Limited Physical Activity and Play
- Only 39% of children get the recommended 60 minutes of daily activity according to ParticipACTION’s 2024 Report Card.
- The number of overweight/obese youth aged 12-17 increased by 57%, from 428,900 in 2018 to 673,100 in 2022.
- Children experiencing poverty, racialization, or disability are at greater risk of limited activity.
Threat 10: Climate Change
- 37% of youth report that their feelings about climate change negatively affect their daily life at least moderately.
- Children continue to be impacted by extreme weather events: wildfires, floods, heat waves and rising sea levels and face threats from air and water pollution, food contamination.
- Climate change has a disproportionate impact on young people’s health and future and direct effects on children’s physical and mental well-being.
Cross-Cutting Theme 1: Influence of Technology on Children and Adolescents
- Digital media platforms make it easier to create and share messages of hate, discrimination, and cyberbullying, leading to adverse implications on mental health, physical activity, and the risk of violence and abuse.
- During the past year, several provinces have taken steps to restrict or ban cell phone use within schools, including Quebec, Ontario, Alberta, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and British Columbia, with exceptions made for students who use cell phones for health needs.
Cross-Cutting Theme 2: Inaccessibility to Health Care and Other Social Services
- Lack of timely access to primary health care directly impacts children and youth during critical stages of development.
- Prolonged healthcare wait times have been connected to adverse youth mental health outcomes, given the inaccessibility of diversified interventions.
Cross Cutting Theme 3: Active Youth Engagement
- Children and youth face significant barriers to realizing their right to participate in decisions that affect their lives.
- Equity-deserving youth across Canada experience a unique set of challenges that intersect with almost every sector of society.
Calls to Action
The following Calls to Action for policymakers are a direct response to the findings in the Raising Canada report. They have been endorsed by Children First Canada’s Council of Champions, and developed with the input of children and youth from the Young Canadians’ Parliament and Youth Advisory Council:
- Develop a National Strategy for Children: This strategy must tackle the top 10 threats to childhood head-on and ensure the full realization of children’s rights. Central to this strategy should be appointing an independent Commissioner for Children and Youth.
- Invest in Kids: Publish a Children’s Budget, ensuring a clear line of sight to an equitable distribution of resources that prioritizes the needs of all children. Additionally, equitable funding and services for First Nations, Métis, and Inuit children and the full implementation of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s 94 Calls to Action are needed.
- Empower Children: Invest in child rights education and to actively involve children and youth in decisions that affect their lives.
“Looking back on this moment in time will either prove how the course was corrected to guide a brighter tomorrow for our future leaders, or it will be seen as a missed opportunity,” says Josephine Maharaj, Children First Canada Youth Advisory Council member.
“The 2024 Raising Canada report highlights the continued and critical issues facing Canadian children and youth today. At SickKids, we are deeply committed to supporting this research and addressing how the top 10 threats impact the health and well-being of children and youth across the country. Children First Canada’s report serves as a crucial reminder of the work that needs to be done to improve child health and our collective dedication to creating a brighter future for every child,” says Dr. Ronald Cohn, President & CEO, The Hospital for Sick Children.
“This report reminds us that kids these days face a lot and they need our support. The world has changed, and so have their health issues. At CHEO we see first-hand how caring for children and youth has become more complex. We need to invest in kids’ health now because it’s an investment in Canada’s future and the future of our health-care system,” says Dr. Lindy Samson, Interim President and CEO, CHEO.
Children First Canada recognizes the generous support of the Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) and the Children’s Hospital for Eastern Ontario (CHEO), and the assistance of Statistics Canada for helping make the Raising Canada report possible.
For more information, please contact:
Andrea Chrysanthou, APR
416-797-8194
Children First Canada (CFC) is a national charitable organization with a bold and ambitious vision that together we can make Canada the best place in the world for kids to grow up. We are a strong, effective and independent voice for all 8 million children in Canada. CFC is harnessing the strength of many organizations that are committed to improving the lives of children in Canada, including children’s charities and hospitals, research centres, government, corporations, community leaders, and children themselves.