government role

As usual, the triennial report from the OECD’s Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) – released in early December – brought a mix of good and bad news. Canada’s scores in reading, math and science are drifting downward over time; this is the bad news.

On December 3, the OECD released the results of the 2018 PISA assessment of students around the world. The Council of Ministers of Education, Canada released the results for the ten provinces.

The latest Environics Institute Focus Canada survey, conducted during the last two weeks of the recent federal election campaign, highlights some of the regional differences in outlook in Canada that are now reflected in the distribution of seats in the House of Commons.

Canada’s relationship with the Indigenous Peoples who first inhabited this land continues to be largely unresolved and fraught with controversy.

A poll released this week by the Environics Institute for Survey Research found that nearly half of Canadians said immigration makes the country a better place. A third said it makes no difference. Fewer than one in six said immigration makes Canada worse off.

In his new book, The Retreat of Western Liberalism, Edward Luce points to the spreading anti-government sentiment and populism (most boldly typified by Donald Trump and Brexit) as symptoms that now threaten a collapse of the world order of democracy and reason.

The AmericasBarometer is a 29 country public opinion survey on democracy, governance and civic engagement, conducted every two to three years by a consortium of of research partners across the western hemisphere.

Our world is changing rapidly, due in large part to fundamental and often disruptive transformations brought about by the globalization of economic production, finance and the migration of people, as well as the digital revolution and rapidly evolving social values.

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.