VANCOUVER – The myriad impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic are only just beginning to be understood in Canadian society and will continue to unfold over years to come.
For the time being, the crisis has initiated nothing short of an outright restructuring of some areas of society, a national poll suggests.
A new study from the non-profit Angus Reid Institute in partnership with Government House and the Vancouver Foundation, looks at changing community connections and realities after two years of pandemic-related challenges. The results suggest a society where belonging and connection are splintered along generational lines, with older residents drawing strength and comfort from their place-based communities, and younger people finding a sense of community rooted not in physical space but defined instead by ethnic or experience-based connections.
Consider that at least seven-in-ten Canadians over the age of 54 say they feel a sense of belonging in their neighbourhood. For those under the age of 35, only half say this. On the other end of this identity spectrum, Canadians aged 18 to 24 are nearly four times as likely as those 65 and older to say that they find connection with people based on a common life experience, such as identifying as LGBTQ2+, living with a disability, or being a person of colour.
Real-world implications
The real-world implications of this are evident. Just two-in-five Canadians aged 18 to 34 say that they have a neighbour who could be relied on to check on them if they were unwell. This rises to three-quarters (75%) among those 65 years of age and older. Similarly, just half of those under the age of 35 say they could find someone to lend them $20 if they lost their wallet, compared to seven-in-ten of those 45 and older.
COVID-19 has exacerbated some of these silos. Overall, 36 per cent of Canadians say they have had less interaction with neighbours recently than they used to. This group points squarely to COVID-19 and pandemic restrictions for this, with 78 per cent saying that’s their main reason for seeing and talking to people less often.
While most Canadians who have had less interaction in recent years say it is primarily due to COVID-19, young people are more likely to say they simply don’t want to talk to anyone.
Sense of belonging is considerably lower in Alberta than the rest of the country. Two-thirds of Albertans say they feel like they belong in their province and as a part of Canada – both marks are the lowest in the country. In BC, sense of belonging in neighbourhoods hovers around the national average, but both sense of belonging to province and Canada are among the highest levels in the country.
The Angus Reid Institute’s Canadian Connection Index – which measures Canadians’ sense of belonging and level of engagement with neighbours – finds a majority of residents scoring either disconnected (28%) or only partially connected (28%). This suggests that they feel removed and have poor social integration where they live.
