Report

In the past six months, the surprising election of Donald Trump to the US presidency has sent shock waves through that country, and reverberations around to globe. His administration is charting an unpredictable new course in domestic and foreign policy, and among the first steps has been a tightening of restrictions for visitors, immigrants and refugees seeking to enter the USA.

A major national survey conducted in 2016 reveals a bold portrait of Canada’s Millennials (those born between 1980 and 1995), that for the first time presents the social values of this generation, and the distinct segments that help make sense of the different and often contradictory stereotypes that so frequently are applied to today’s young adults.

Throughout history, politics has been largely a man’s world. The 20th century witnessed significant changes, through women’s suffrage and the emergence of women as leaders of parties and nations, albeit at a slow pace and unevenly across the globe.

Migration levels are now at an all-time high worldwide, due in large part to massive numbers of refugees fleeing conflict in such countries as Syria and Iraq. Many are seeking a safe refuge in European countries, where governments are implementing new border controls, and the number of attacks against immigrants is on the rise.

Canada’s relationship with the Aboriginal Peoples who first inhabited this land continues to be largely unresolved and fraught with controversy. The findings from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission is the latest compelling evidence of a troubled history and its contemporary legacy.

The world is changing rapidly, due in large part to fundamental transformations brought about by globalization, the digital revolution and social trends.

As countries across the world battle to put the years of recession behind them and establish the right conditions for a sustained economic recovery, attention invariably turns to the role of education.

The last few years have not been good ones for immigrants and multicultural diversity – worldwide or in Canada. At the global level, the flow of migrants is now higher than at any time in human history.

Muslims represent the fastest growing religious minority in Canada today, but their emerging presence has been contentious, fuelled in part by security concerns (in the long wake of 9/11) and some religious practices (e.g., Sharia law).

As part of its ongoing Focus Canada public opinion research program, the Environics Institute partnered with the David Suzuki Foundation to ask Canadians about climate change, to determine how perceptions have changed (or not) over the past year or so.