The Current - Are Canadians becoming less generous?

Episode Date: December 30, 2025

Fewer Canadians are donating and volunteering. The economy, the pandemic, age are all factors -- but longtime leaders in the charitable sector say we've also lost some shared values. We speak with a lifelong volunteer about why she volunteers and what it means to them. We also talk to Megan Conway from Volunteer Canada and Bruce MacDonald from Imagine Canada about why Canadians have less to give, how we can start to bring back values of service and participation -- and what happens to our communities if we can't.

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Hello, I'm Matt Galloway, and this is the current podcast. For many people, the holidays are a time of generosity and giving, perhaps volunteering at a food bank or a toy drive, or donating a few extra dollars to charities. But new research shows the number of people donating money in Canada is at its lowest in 20 years. Canadians are also volunteering less. In just a bit, we will speak with two people

who work in the charitable sector about what's behind this. But first, I'm joined by someone who has spent a lot of her life. volunteering. Jackie Speckin received the order of the Red Cross in 2022 in recognition of her outstanding service to her community in Edmonton. Jackie, good morning to you. Good morning, P.M. You have been volunteering in many different roles for many, many years, all the time, working full time. Why do you do it? What do you get out of volunteering? Oh, I just love it. I just get so much out of it. You know, it's enhanced my life. It's enhanced my career. It's helped me to have connections with people and to do things that matter to me and to support causes that are

important in our community. So there's just many reasons why I volunteer. You often take your vacation time and people travel or do a staycation. Jackie, in your case, you're like, you know what, I'm taking time off because I'm going to volunteer. And somewhat recently, you volunteered helping Ukrainian refugees in Edmonton. Why was that important to you? Well, I think partly because it was a world event that, you know, it mattered to me and I was doing it with an organization that I care about. And so, you know, it was one opportunity to actually contribute and make a difference and do something useful with vacation time. Not that I don't do other things with vacation time that are also useful. As I said, you've done a lot of different roles and volunteered with different organizations.

over the year, including the Red Cross. You volunteered, for example, with people in Alberta who were displaced by wildfires. So I bring that out because it's not always easy to work in the volunteer sector in certain settings. How do you get through the more tough ones? I think part of it is just noticing and remembering that I'm actually helping and that it helps me to remember what I have that's good in my life. And, you know, I've come from a history where, you know, life wasn't always easy and so being able to give back and, you know, help out with places where, you know, there is a need.

It just helps me to remember that life can be hard and I can do my part to actually make a difference and contribute and help people to, you know, have an easier time if and where I can. It's interesting that you bring that up because I think some people might think, I'm just one person. What difference am I going to make in these very big situations, these very big challenges that we're confronting? What do you want to say to people who might be thinking that? I would say find something that matters, you know. We all have things we care about and just being able to think about, you know, I may be just one person, but my just one person can actually make a huge difference to another person or group or family or, you know, kids sports or school or all kinds of different things.

And my time is as valuable as anybody else's and as important. I mentioned that the numbers of hours Canadians are donating to volunteering, putting their time out there to help other people and other charities and other organizations has gone down over the last number of years. When you hear that, Jackie, you think what? I think that my experience is that I have lots of things to do and lots of volunteer opportunity, and I'm going to keep doing that. And when people, you know, say, Jackie, thanks for coming out.

Thanks for helping us and whatever you're doing. What does that do for you, Jackie? Because there's a fulfillment piece to all of this as well, isn't there? Oh, for sure, for sure. And again, you know, I volunteer. my time with things that I care about. And so, you know, whether it's emergencies or the food bank or, you know, I've done other things, including boards of directors. And, you know, it's always about wanting, again, to be able to do things that I care about and spend my time well. And so there

are people, people like me, Jackie, who every year around this time, like, yeah, next year, I'm going to get off my keyster and I'm going to volunteer. And guess what happens, Jackie? I don't do it. So give us the reminder. Remind people like they're at the starting gates and they just want to get out, how they should kind of get on their way. I would say, again, find something that matters. Find something that's easy.

It doesn't have to be complicated. I mean, there are lots of volunteer opportunities where there's extensive training that you're required to do, but just start somewhere. you know, Google volunteer opportunities near me and you might actually be surprised at what you can find and how easy it can be. What's next for you? Where's the next volunteer gig, Jackie? Oh, probably just keep doing what I'm doing.

I've been volunteering with the food bank over the Christmas season and I quite enjoy doing that. And so, you know, I'll keep doing that through the year and I'll keep looking for, you know, where the need is and where I can actually contribute. It's very good work you're doing, and the people in your communities, thank you, and I thank you for joining

me this morning. Appreciate it, Jackie. You bet, Pia. Take good care. Happy New Year. Thanks. Happy New Year to you, too. Jackie Speckin is a long-time volunteer. She's in Edmonton. Welcome to the Little Fair. In the late 90s, a groundbreaking

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Catch the documentary that chronicles a pivotal moment in music culture. Watch Lilith Fair, building a mystery. For free on CBC Gem. I'm joined now by two people who know a lot about volunteering and charitable giving in Canada. Megan Conway is the president and CEO of Volunteer. Canada. And Bruce McDonald is the president and CEO of Imagine Canada. That's an organization that supports charities and nonprofits. Megan and Bruce, good morning to both of you. Good morning, Pia. Good morning. Thanks for having us on. It's nice to have you both with us.

Megan, just let's sort of set the table here. What's the volunteering landscape like in Canada right now? Yeah, that's a great question. Thanks, Pia. I would say that it's very dependent on where people are living and what's happening in the local context. But broadly speaking, there's been a significant decline in individuals who are volunteering for charities and nonprofits between 2018 and 2023. It's dropped from 41% to 32%, which is a huge decline. And it equates to approximately 451,000 full-time jobs. The biggest drops have been from women who have faced other challenges related to the pandemic and coming out of the pandemic. But it's made a significant impact in terms of the capacity that charities and nonprofits have across the country.

So let's talk more about that decline. As you say, women specifically are one of the largest demographics where it's dropping their reasons behind that. So what are some of those reasons? Well, I think across the board coming out of the pandemic, individuals had to reprioritize what they were focusing on. And that meant that they had different pockets of time to be able to volunteer and contribute in their communities. We know that there's also been a cost of living challenge that individuals are facing and that that's meant that there are additional barriers folks are facing in terms of needing to spend more time maybe on a second income or not necessarily prioritizing the costs associated with getting to and from a volunteering opportunity. I would also say

that broadly speaking, I think one of the things that happened in the pandemic is we simply lost the habit of participating and contributing in volunteering in more formal ways and informally across our communities. We just, we somehow fell out of the practice of doing that Pia, and I think that's a significant concern that we need to be paying attention to. And was that because we were in lockdowns and people were staying home more, trying to, you know, keep to themselves a little bit more? Is that why we saw that drop during the pandemic? I think that's one of the reasons. The other thing that we've seen is that organizations and charities across the country lost some of the capacity that was

helpful in terms of enabling people to participate. So volunteer managers were one of the first positions that were cut during, during that lockdown period. And then that, that role and that knowledge and those resources hasn't necessarily fully returned to those organizations in communities across the country. The other thing that's happened that I think is really significant, Pia, is that we've all gotten older, and that some of the biggest contributors to volunteering are older adults who give a lot of hours of time, which is hugely appreciated, but many of those individuals are aging out, and younger people are wanting to contribute and participate in vastly different ways. So I think that's another really important trend to pay

attention to. Okay, we'll talk about younger people in just a bit, but let me bring Bruce into our conversation. Bruce, this isn't just about time. It is also about money. And there is some research that shows Canadians have hit a two-decade low, a 20-year low in terms of our financial generosity. What do we know about what the landscape is looking like

in terms of that? Yeah, well, yeah, it's interesting because I think it's important to really be mindful of the language. So what we're seeing, and actually our data goes back even another decade, so what we're witnessing is a 30-year trend around the participation of Canadians in terms of utilizing the charitable donation tax credit, and it's now down to 16.8% of Canadians claim that on their income tax, which is the lowest number over a 30-year

period. But at the same time, actual dollars have continued to climb. And in the last data, it's almost $13 billion that individual Canadians actually give to register charities. So we're an incredibly generous nation. So to Megan's point around age, this is where, it really comes in. We're seeing charities and nonprofits who are becoming extremely reliant on older, more affluent donors for the lion's share of the giving in this country. So it really speaks to the question about both today, but really looking ahead to, what's the future of generosity as expressed through financial giving? It's going to look like. Yeah, let's talk more about that, Bruce, because as you say, look, it's fewer people, still give you large sums of money, but fewer people.

So when you look to the future, you've got to kind of look at what's causing this. What's behind this? Yeah, we think there's a number of things. I mean, it's obviously not just one item. It's everything from, you know, 52% of Canadians on a regular basis saying they feel lonely, isolated, or disconnected. Economic disruption, when families are under stress, they need money for food, rent, you know, power, all of those kinds of things. They may have less to give. And I would say a longer term erosion of the very insurm.

institutions who foster a sense of empathy-carrying neighborhood community, things like declining church or places of worship attendance, shrinking service clubs. And we would even argue the shrinking of rural Canada, which has always been very, very generous and measured across studies over the years. So when you combine the aging out of the current donors with a nation that doesn't spend as much time fostering connections between people because there's a direct connection between those who care about each other and those who choose to get engaged, whether it's through volunteer or donations. And Bruce, we know we're in tough economic times.

A lot of the people being hit by their tough economic times are younger people, can't afford housing, you know, rent is high in many parts of the country and almost all parts of the country. Food costs are high. Does that sort of the current economic context, how worrying is that to you? Well, I think, again, the good news here is that young people are incredibly engaged and aware of social issues, both here in Canada and globally. But their starting point is fundamentally different than their parents or grandparents. And so I think now it's incumbent upon those of us

who work in the sector to say, how do we foster connections with young people that aren't exclusively through a donor-based lens because they don't have any money right now? How are we ensuring that they're connected with our cause and our children? champions and are working to be involved in supporting the actual causes they care the most about and maybe over time the financial piece will come. And Megan, you mentioned younger people are looking for different kinds of opportunities. How are they looking at things differently than, say, their parents or even their grandparents when it comes to volunteering?

That's a great question. I think mostly it's that younger people have energy and insights and innovation that they want to bring to social causes in their communities and across the world. and they want to do it in new ways, whether that's episodic volunteering, so participating in one-off kinds of events or being able to contribute through skill-based volunteering that aligns more to their schedule. I think it's less about a traditional schedule and more about how do you tap into a young person's passion, how do you find ways to really activate what their skills and abilities are because their approach and their knowledge and their insights look very different than what my parents' generation look like, for instance. So I think there's a tremendous amount of innovation there that needs to be harnessed, and there's a real excitement that could come by tapping into that in new ways. Some provinces, many of them, in fact, mandate volunteer hours for young people,

people in high school to graduate in Ontario, for example. I think you need 40 hours to do so. How helpful is that, Megan? Well, I think the results on that are rather mixed, Pia. I think definitely it exposes large numbers of Canadians and young Canadians to the values of service, but it definitely raises questions around the long-term impact that that has, both on young people's and the organizations themselves. And I think it's an opportunity for us to think differently around what are the new ways

that we want to help people to learn about service as Canadians, and how do we embed that as part of our core set of values about who we are as a country of people. Bruce, what's at stake here in the current situation? You said, like, it's not a blip, it's a trend, 30 years of it, and you're thinking about the future. What's at stake here? How many Canadians benefit from the charitable sector? What are the impacts you're seeing on the ground?

Well, it's a great question because for us, we're really thinking about what does the future of our communities look like? We have come to both expect and enjoy the services provided by charities and nonprofits. And without the vital volunteers and without those dollars to power those services, we will see an erosion of them. And so what we're really looking towards is how are we creating? a nation where people are connected with each other enough so that they care in a way that they will get engaged in the system. And I think we've got probably about 10 years to figure this out, as the data tells us that the group that has been powering this for decades is literally aging out of the system. And Megan, what are you seeing in terms of volunteerism and fewer

volunteers? What's it meaning for organizations and charities on the ground that rely on people to help them out? Well, there's definitely limited capacity. I think. volunteers, individual volunteers are facing burnout, and that is making it challenging for organizations to rely on those individuals. We're also seeing closures, and Bruce mentioned some of that. We're seeing a reduction in services, but also closures of organization, service clubs, activities, events across the country because of the inability to be able to recruit volunteers and maintain and retain them in meaningful ways. So I think that's a challenging trend that we need to get our minds around. One of the things that we're doing actively to think forward into the future

is building in partnership with a number of organizations in national volunteer action strategy, which is really meant to modernize and reinvigorate volunteering not just for today, but as Bruce mentioned, for the next generation, and think about concrete recommendations that businesses, government, charities and nonprofits, different kinds of community leaders can take

to actually make it easier and more relevant for today's generation to think about how do we participate, how do we contribute, how do we build the enabling systems that make volunteering and participate meaningful for today. Okay, it's time to make your pitches. Bruce, how do you convince Canadians, stretch thin by cost of living,

to give it a time like this? We know that eight in ten Canadians view that the services provided by charities and nonprofits are essential. Not nice to have, not good to have, but are essential. But only 41% of them say they recognize somebody who's been benefiting from that service.

That real number is 100%. If people just think about the people in their lives, they care the most about, they will know someone who has benefited from the services of a charitable or non-profit organization. We need their support to continue those essential services. And Megan, for you, you know, we heard from Jackie who loves to volunteer and said how fulfilling it is for her. We know we have a loneliness crisis. What do you want to say to people to try and get them, you know, to get out the door and volunteer? I would just say, find something that you're passionate about. What do you love to do? Maybe you love playing the guitar. Maybe you

love walking your dog, find something you're passionate about and then find something in your place in your community that would benefit from that passion coming into action. Do a little bit of research, as Jackie mentioned, go online and find volunteering opportunities near you and see how your skills or your talents might be able to contribute. This year is the, in 2026, it will be the international year of the volunteer. And so we're really looking forward to a series of celebrations and a call to action to Canadians across the country to reignite volunteers. volunteerism in their communities, in their neighborhoods, and in various places that need their help and their time and their talent. So we're looking forward to a number of ways

of celebrating and helping individuals to get reconnected to volunteering in all the ways that matter. Megyn and Bruce, appreciate both of your time. Thank you. And happy New Year's. Thanks very much. Thank you. Megan Conway is a president and CEO of Volunteer Canada. And Bruce McDonald is a president and CEO of Imagine Canada. You've been listening to the current podcast. My name is Matt Galloway. Thanks for listening. I'll talk to you soon. For more CBC podcasts, go to cbc.ca.ca slash podcasts.