Civic participation refers to individuals "participating or being involved in activities within the political or civil sphere".[1] Civic participation includes activities like donating, voting, and volunteering.
Why is this important?
Benefits of civic participation include greater happiness, social connection, and the development of skills helpful in other areas of life.[1,2,3]
Charitable Giving
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Charitable giving includes financial contributions to charities or non-profit organizations.[4] This measure uses data from income tax returns to present information about charitable giving.
It is possible that the percent of donors and donations presented below is lower than the actual percent of donors and donations because there is no way to count people who donate funds but do not claim their donation(s) through taxes.[5] Additionally, some donations may not be eligible to claim on a tax return, such as donations to a crowdsourcing campaign. The median donation and the age and income of donors may also differ between people that claim their donation(s) through taxes and those who do not. As a result, this data is only representative of donors who claimed their donation(s) through taxes and the eligible donations that were claimed.
Proportion of Charitable Donors
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Key Findings
From 2012 to 2020, a greater proportion of taxfilers in the Guelph Federal Electoral District (FED) and Wellington County (including the Guelph FED) gave money to charity when compared to Canada as a whole. Since 2012, the proportion of taxfilers that donated decreased by 4% in the Guelph FED, Wellington County, and Canada as a whole.
*Only residents who filed their taxes and entered an amount on line 340 of their tax return were included in the data above. Donations were included if they were made to Canadian registered charities, Canadian amateur athletic associations, certain housing organizations in Canada, municipalities, United Nations, certain charities outside of Canada and certain universities outside of Canada.
**The Guelph Federal Electoral District (FED) boundaries are nearly the same as the boundaries of the City of Guelph Census Sub-Division (CSD) used by Statistics Canada.
Source: Statistics Canada. (2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022). Financial Data and Charitable Donations (13C0014).
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Median Individual Donation Amount
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Key Findings
From 2012 to 2020, the annual median donation amount was highest for Wellington County (including the Guelph FED) followed by the Guelph FED and then Canada as a whole.
*Only residents who filed their taxes and entered an amount on line 340 of their tax return were included in the data above. Donations were included if they were made to Canadian registered charities, Canadian amateur athletic associations, certain housing organizations in Canada, municipalities, United Nations, certain charities outside of Canada and certain universities outside of Canada.
**The Guelph Federal Electoral District (FED) boundaries are nearly the same as the boundaries of the City of Guelph Census Sub-Division (CSD) used by Statistics Canada.
Source: Statistics Canada. (2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022). Financial Data and Charitable Donations (13C0014).
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Proportion of Charitable Donors by Age
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Key Findings
From 2012 to 2020, taxfilers age 45 years and older made up the majority of charitable donors. The average age of a charitable donor was mid-50s.
*Only residents who filed their taxes and entered an amount on line 340 of their tax return were included in the data above. Donations were included if they were made to Canadian registered charities, Canadian amateur athletic associations, certain housing organizations in Canada, municipalities, United Nations, certain charities outside of Canada and certain universities outside of Canada.
**The Guelph Federal Electoral District (FED) boundaries are nearly the same as the boundaries of the City of Guelph Census Sub-Division (CSD) used by Statistics Canada.
Source: Statistics Canada. (2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022). Financial Data and Charitable Donations (13C0014).
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Proportion of Charitable Donors by Income
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Key Findings
From 2012 to 2020, very few charitable donors had incomes less than $20,000. For people living with low income, after meeting basic needs it is likely there would be little or no money left to give away.
*Only residents who filed their taxes and entered an amount on line 340 of their tax return were included in the data above. Donations were included if they were made to Canadian registered charities, Canadian amateur athletic associations, certain housing organizations in Canada, municipalities, United Nations, certain charities outside of Canada and certain universities outside of Canada.
**The Guelph Federal Electoral District (FED) boundaries are nearly the same as the boundaries of the City of Guelph Census Sub-Division (CSD) used by Statistics Canada.
Source: Statistics Canada. (2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022). Financial Data and Charitable Donations (13C0014).
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Why is charitable giving important?
Charitable giving benefits local organizations, individuals and communities. Donations allow charities to provide important services and programs that support the wellbeing of children, families and individuals. People who give to charities report being happier than people who only spend money on themselves.[6] People who donate to charities are more likely to vote than people who don't.[7]
Limitations
Some older age adults may be excluded from the data presented above if they were not required to file taxes because they had low or no taxable income. People with low income below a certain amount were also not required to file their taxes and were not included in the data above. The tables above also include donations that could be denied by Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) if an audit was done.[5]
For the 2019 tax year, the income tax filing and payment deadlines were extended in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This likely had some impact on the number of tax filers included in this data. Caution should be used when interpreting this data.[8]
Looking for more information?
For more information about this measure, please download the excel file below.
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Democratic Engagement
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Democratic engagement is "the state of being involved in advancing democracy through political institutions, organizations, and activities". Individuals who are democratically engaged might vote, run for office, or show an interest in politics.[1]
Federal Voter Turnout Rates
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This measure uses information from Elections Canada to present the percent of registered voters who voted on election day.
Key Findings
Over the last seven elections, voter turnout in federal elections in the Guelph, Wellington-Halton and Perth-Wellington ridings ranged from 59% to 71%. Voter turnout in federal elections in the Guelph and Wellington-Halton ridings was consistently higher than voter turnout rates for Ontario and Canada.
Source: 44th, 43rd, 42nd, 41st, 40th, 39th, 38th General Election: Official Voting Results (raw data) Table 11 and Elections Canada's Statutory Report (Appendix, Table 2)
Limitations
People who registered to vote on election day are not included in the total number of registered electors that was used to identify the voter turnout rate.
Looking for more information?
For more information about this measure, download the excel file below.
Download Full Dataset
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Provincial Voter Turnout Rates
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This measure presents information from Elections Ontario about voter turnout in provincial elections.
Key Findings
Since 2007, voter turnout in the provincial elections in Guelph and Wellington County ridings has ranged from 50% to 61% of eligible voters, and was higher than the voter turnout rate in Ontario overall. The 2022 election had the lowest voter turnout rates across all three local ridings and Ontario as a whole, when compared to the previous four elections.
When compared to federal elections, less people vote in provincial elections. When compared to municipal elections, more people vote in provincial elections.
Source: Elections Ontario. (2022). Election Results. https://www.elections.on.ca/en/resource-centre/elections-results.html
Limitations
People who registered to vote on election day are not included in the total number of registered electors that was used to identify the voter turnout rate. Provincial electoral boundaries changed after the 2003 provincial election. Direct comparisons of voter turn-out rates between the 1999 and 2003 elections and those that took place after 2003 are not possible.
Looking for more information?
For more information about this measure, as well as voter turnout rates for 1999 and 2003, download the excel file below.
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Municipal Voter Turnout Rates
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This measure presents voter turnout rates for municipalities in Guelph and Wellington County, as well as the Ontario average.
Key Findings
Since 2003, voter turnout in the municipal elections in Guelph and Wellington has ranged from 23% of eligible voters to 58% of voters. Voter turnout has consistently been highest in the Town of Minto. Municipal voter turnout rates tend to be lower than provincial voter turnout rates, which both tend to be lower than federal voter turnout rates.
Sources:
- 2003-2010 data: Received through personal correspondence with the Information Analyst/Researcher at Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO).
- 2003 data for Town of Erin: Received through personal correspondence with a representative of the municipality.
- 2014-2022 data: Association of Municipalities Ontario. (2015, 2018, 2022). Ontario Municipal Elections - Ontario Votes. https://www.amo.on.ca/
*In the 2022 election, the mayor, deputy mayor, and all council positions in the Town of Minto were acclaimed.
**Data was not available for the Township of Mapleton for 2003 and 2006.
Limitations
Factors such as different record keeping practices may impact the availability and comparability of these data across time and geographies. The voter turnout rate for Ontario represents the average voter turnout and excludes municipalities where elections were not held. The number of municipalities included in the data varies from election to election. In 2022, 417 municipalities were included in the provincial voter turnout rate.[9]
Looking for more information?
For more information about this measure download the excel file below.
Download Full Dataset
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Why is democratic engagement important?
Democratic engagement has positive impacts on both individuals and their communities. Being democratically engaged can increase knowledge, improve skills and problem solving, increase awareness about social and health issues and foster community connections.[1]
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Volunteering
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Volunteering is when a person gives their time or skills, without pay.[10] Volunteering benefits local organizations, communities and individuals. Organizations and communities benefit from volunteers' time, expertise and skills. Volunteers benefit from increased knowledge and improved interpersonal, communication, management, fundraising and technical or office skills.[3] Volunteering regularly can lead to greater life satisfaction and overall happiness.[2] People who volunteer are also more likely to vote than people who don't volunteer.[4,11]
In 2018, 79% of all Canadians age 15 years and older volunteered in the last 12 months.[12]
- 41% of people in Canada formally volunteered with a non-profit organization.
- 74% of people in Canada volunteered to help someone or their community not on behalf of a group or organization.
There are no local measures for volunteering available at this time.
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References
[1] Prairie Wild Consulting. (2009). Democratic engagement: A report to the Canadian Index of Wellbeing. https://uwaterloo.ca/canadian-index-wellbeing/sites/ca.canadian-index-wellbeing/files/uploads/files/DemocraticEngagement_DomainReport.pdf
[2] Meier, S., & Stutzer, A. (2008). Is volunteering rewarding in itself? Economica, 75, 39-59.
[3] The Conference Board of Canada. (2018). The value of volunteering in Canada. https://volunteer.ca/vdemo/Campaigns_DOCS/Value%20of%20Volunteering%20in%20Canada%20Conf%20Board%20Final%20Report%20EN.pdf
[4] Turcotte, M. (2015). Volunteering and charitable giving in Canada. Statistics Canada, Ministry of Industry. http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/89-652-x/89-652-x2015001-eng.htm
[5] Statistics Canada. (2016). Financial data and charitable donors - Preliminary estimates, T1 Family File - User's guide. https://www.statcan.gc.ca/en/statistical-programs/document/4106_D4_T1_V14
[6] Dunn, E. W., Aknin, L. B., & Norton, M. I. (2008). Spending money on others promotes happiness. Science, 21, 1687-1688.
[7] Nakhaie, M. R. (2006). Electoral participation in municipal, provincial, and federal elections in Canada. Canadian Journal of Political Science, 39(2), 363-390.
[8] Statistics Canada. (2021). Income and financial data of individuals, Preliminary T1 Family File. https://www23.statcan.gc.ca/imdb/p2SV.pl?Function=getSurvey&SDDS=4106
[9] Association of Municipalities Ontario. (2015, 2018, 2022). Ontario Municipal Elections - Ontario Votes. https://www.amo.on.ca/
[10] McClintock, N. (2004). Understanding Canadian volunteers: Using the National Survey of Giving, Volunteering and Participating to build your volunteer program. Toronto, ON: Imagine Canada.
[11] Binder, M., & Freytag, A. (2012). Volunteering, subjective well-being and public policy. Journal of Economic Psychology, 34, 97-119.
[12] Statistics Canada. (2021). Table 45-10-0039-01 Volunteer rate and average annual volunteer hours, by definition of volunteering and age group. Retrieved May 1, 2023, from: https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=4510003901
