Canadian Social Trends

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Current Issue:

Canadian Social Trends – Winter 2009

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• "Living with disability series: Defining disability in the Participation and Activity Limitation Survey." This first article in the "Living with disability" series briefly explores the evolution of theories about disability and outline contemporary thinking about how to define disability. It then compares data from the 2001 and the 2006 Participation and Activity Limitation Surveys (PALS) to see how the incidence of disability is growing in Canada, and identify the proportion of that growth that is due to changing public perceptions of disability.
• "Living with disabilities series: Social participation of children with disabilities" identifies factors that influence the social engagement of children with disabilities aged 5 to 14. The emphasis is put on participation in social activities outside the family home and normal school hours.
• "Do parental benefits influence fertility decisions?" examines whether access to maternity and paternity benefits influences a couple's decision to have a child. We identify characteristics of people who are most likely to say that benefits would transform intentions into behaviour.
• "Forty-year-old mothers of pre-school children: A profile" examines the increasing prevalence of the proportion of mothers aged 40 to 44 with a pre-school aged child (0 to 4 years of age) over the past 20 years. It also presents a socio-economic profile of these mothers, in particular their education levels, occupations and place of birth.
• "Online activities of Canadian boomers and seniors" looks at how Canadian seniors (those aged 65 and older) use the Internet compared with baby boomers (those aged 45 to 64 - the seniors of tomorrow). It examines the closing gap between Internet use rates of seniors and boomers, and describes differences in the types of online activities, as well as in the intensity of Internet use.
• More than four in ten Canadians reported a major change in their lives in the last twelve months. Using the 2008 General Social Survey on social networks, "2008 General Social Survey report: Social networks help Canadians deal with change" examines the types of change, their impact and how they are handled at various life stages. Results show that social networks, especially family, played an important role in dealing with change.

Previous Issues:

Canadian Social Trends – Summer 2009

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• "Immigrants in Canada who work in a language other than English or French" uses data from the 2001 and 2006 Census of Canada to look at the use of non-official languages at work among immigrants.
• "The impact of working in a non-official language on the occupations and earnings of immigrants in Canada" explores the implications of working in a language other than English or French for immigrants in Canada. It looks at the occupations and industries in which immigrants who use non-official languages on the job are found. Holding other factors constant, it also looks at the impact on employment earnings and the financial returns to education for immigrants who work in languages other than English or French.
• "Métis in Canada: Selected Findings of the 2006 Census" offers a brief demographic and socio-economic profile of the people who reported Métis as their Aboriginal identity in the 2006 Census of Population. It discusses the growth of the Métis population over the decade 1996-2006 as well as reports on their housing conditions, languages, education, labour force and earnings.
• The article "Who participates in active leisure?" is about Canadians' participation in active leisure. Using data from the 1992 and 2005 General Social Surveys on time use, this article looks at the factors influencing active leisure activities of Canadians aged 20 and over. It also examines which groups are more likely to participate in active leisure in 2005.
• "Life in metropolitan areas: Are suburban residents really less physically active?" looks to quantify and discuss the difference between the level of physical activity of residents of urban neighbourhoods compared to suburban neighbourhoods.
• Using the 2006 Travel and Activity Motivation Survey, the article "Going on vacation: Benefits sought from pleasure travel" uses an eight-point index to quantify the value of the three most popular benefits of vacation or pleasure travel: rest and relaxation; nurturing family and friendship ties; and learning and discovery.
• "First Nations people: Selected findings of the 2006 Census" provides selected findings of the 2006 Census on the First Nations population. Overall, it highlights where First Nations people live, their demographic characteristics, their ability to speak an Aboriginal language, their postsecondary education, their employment situation, their income, and their housing conditions.

Canadian Social Trends – Winter 2008

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• A profile of perceptions of incivility in the metropolitan landscape
• 2007 General Social Survey report: The retirement plans and expectations of older workers
• 2007 General Social Survey Report: The retirement puzzle: Sorting the pieces
• Eldercare: What we know today
• Inuit in Canada: Selected findings of the 2006 Census
• Selected findings of Aboriginal Children's Survey 2006: Family and Community

Canadian Social Trends – Summer 2008

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• The city/suburb contrast: How can we measure it?
• Dependence on cars in urban neighbourhoods
• Canadians abroad
• Who gets any sleep these days? Sleep patterns of Canadians
• Census Snapshot – Immigration in Canada: A Portrait of the Foreign-born Population, 2006 Census
• Kids' sports
• City of Québec 1608-2008: 400 years of censuses
• Census snapshot: Canada's Changing Labour Force, 2006 Census