“Statues of Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth II torn down in Canada” (BBC, July 2, 2021)
“Done with Dundas: Toronto to remove racist figure’s name from streets, infrastructure” (Global News, July 15, 2021)
“Reports of Anti-Asian hate crimes are surging in Canada during the COVID-19 pandemic,” (CTV News, March 20, 2021)
The news stories above illustrate some contemporary issues in Canada today, which can be linked as challenges to conceptions of Canadian identity and citizenship.
This research study invited Canadians from across Canada to share their views of Canadian citizenship and identity and citizenship education. Participants filled out an online survey exploring how they understand Canadian citizenship and identity, their views, experiences and hopes for citizenship education and their beliefs about what kind of society they would like Canada to aim towards.
The findings served as a starting point for theorizing a conception of the meaning of citizenship and identity in Canada today, rooted in political social and ecological citizenship and belonging. This conception aims towards the inclusion of all Canadians.
The research and theorizing of this conception of citizenship and identity serves as the basis for the development of recommendations for citizenship education programs: Resources, materials, and workshops will be made available to teachers across the country through this website.