Civic participation refers to individuals "participating or being involved in activities within the political or civil sphere".[1] Civic participation includes activities like volunteering, donating and voting.
Why is this important?
Benefits of civic participation include greater happiness, social connection and the development of skills and abilities helpful in other areas of life.[1,2,3]
Indicators
Charitable Giving
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Charitable giving includes financial contributions to charities or non-profit organizations.[7]This measure uses data from income tax returns to present information about charitable giving.
Proportion of Charitable Donors
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Key Findings
From 2012 to 2015, a greater proportion of people in Wellington County (26% to 27%) and Guelph Federal Electoral District (FED) (25% to 27%) gave money to charity when compared to Canada as a whole (21% to 22%). Since 2012, the proportion of the population that donated stayed the same for Wellington County and went down by 2% in Guelph and 1% for Canada.
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*Only residents who entered an amount in line 340 of their tax return were included in the data above
** Donation were included if they were made to Canadian registered charities, Canadian amateur athletic associations, certain universities outside of Canada, certain housing organizations in Canada, municipalities, United Nations and certain charities outside of Canada
***The Guelph Federal Electoral District (FED) boundaries are nearly identical to the boundaries of the City of Guelph Census Sub-Division (CSD) used by Statistics Canada
Source: Statistics Canada, Income Statistics Division, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 Financial Data and Charitable Donations (13C0014)
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Median Individual Donation Amount
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Key Findings
From 2012 to 2015, the annual median donation amount for an individual was highest for Wellington County (including Guelph), followed by Guelph (FED) and then Canada, as a whole.
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*Only individuals who entered an amount in line 340 of their tax return were included in the data above.
** Donation were included if they were made to Canadian registered charities, Canadian amateur athletic associations, certain universities outside of Canada, certain housing organizations in Canada, municipalities, United Nations and certain charities outside of Canada.
***The Guelph Federal Electoral District (FED) boundaries are nearly identical to the boundaries of the City of Guelph Census Sub-Division (CSD) used by Statistics Canada.
Source: Statistics Canada, Income Statistics Division, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 Financial Data and Charitable Donations (13C0014).
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Proportion of Charitable Donors by Age
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Key Findings
Since 2012, locally and nationally, the older people were, the more likely they were to donate. People 65 years old and older were the most likely to donate. People 0 to 24 years old were least likely to donate. Locally and nationally, the average age of a charitable donor was mid-50s.
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*Only residents who entered an amount in line 340 of their tax return were included in the data above.
** Donation were included if they were made to Canadian registered charities, Canadian amateur athletic associations, certain universities outside of Canada, certain housing organizations in Canada, municipalities, United Nations and certain charities outside of Canada.
***The Guelph Federal Electoral District (FED) boundaries are nearly identical to the boundaries of the City of Guelph Census Sub-Division (CSD) used by Statistics Canada.
Source: Statistics Canada, Income Statistics Division, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 Financial Data and Charitable Donations (13C0014).
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Proportion of Charitable Donors by Income
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Key Findings
The relationship between income and the likelihood of donating does not go in a straight line. In 2015 in Guelph, Wellington and across Canada, people with incomes of $80,000 or more were most likely to give to charitable causes** with between 32% and 33% of all taxfilers in this income bracket donating in 2015.
Taxfilers with incomes between $40,000 and $59,000 were slightly more likely to donate (24% to 25%) than their counterparts making between $20,000 and $39,999 (19% to 23%). However, a larger proportion of people making between $20,000 and $59,999 donated when compared to people who made between $60,000 and $79,999 (only 17% to 18% of people in this income bracket donated).
Finally, people with the lowest incomes were least likely to donate (3% to 4%). For people living with low income, after making ends meet it is likely there would be little or no money leftover to give away.
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*Only residents who entered an amount in line 340 of their tax return were included in the data above.
** Donation were included if they were made to Canadian registered charities, Canadian amateur athletic associations, certain universities outside of Canada, certain housing organizations in Canada, municipalities, United Nations and certain charities outside of Canada.
***The Guelph Federal Electoral District (FED) boundaries are nearly identical to the boundaries of the City of Guelph Census Sub-Division (CSD) used by Statistics Canada.
Source: Statistics Canada, Income Statistics Division, 2015 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.[8] People who donate to charities are more likely to vote than people who don't.[5]
Limitations
It is likely that the percent of donors and donations presented above 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. Some older age adults may also be excluded 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 be 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.[10]
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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 show an interest in politics, vote, or run for office, for example.[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 five elections, voter participation 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: 42nd, 41st, 40th, 39th, 38th General Election: Official Voting Results (raw data) Table 11.
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 limitations and 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
In the last three provincial elections, local voter turnout rates ranged from 50% to 58%. Voter turnout in all three local ridings was higher than the provincial turnout rate.
Source: Elections Ontario (2015). Official Election Results. Retrieved from: http://www.elections.on.ca/en/resource-centre/elections-results/official-past-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.
Download Full Dataset
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Municipal Voter Turnout Rates
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This measure presents voter turnout rates for municipalities in Guelph and Wellington, as well as the Ontario average.
Key Findings
From 2003 to 2014, Voter turnout in the municipal elections in Guelph and Wellington ranged from 29% to 58% of eligible voters. Voter turnout was consistently highest in the Town of Minto.
Source: All 2014 information was retrieved from: Association of Municipalities Ontario (2015). 2014 Municipal Elections Voter Turnout Report as of January 30, 2015.
**2003, 2006, 2010 data received through personal correspondence with Information Analyst/Researcher at Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO); 2003 voter turnout for Erin received through personal correspondance with representative at municipality.
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 information presented here includes data from 389 municipalities.[9]
Looking for more information?
For more information about this measure, as well as the 2014 voter turnout rates by Guelph Ward 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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Why is Volunteering Important?
Volunteering is when a person gives their time or skills, without pay.[4] 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.[5,6] Volunteering is a form of social participation.
Current, local data about volunteer rates is not available. National and provincial level information about volunteer rates can be found in Statistics Canada's daily report.
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References
[1] Prairie Wild Consulting (2009). Democratic Engagement A Report to the Canadian Index of Wellbeing. Available at: https://uwaterloo.ca/canadian-index-wellbeing/sites/ca.canadian-index-wellbeing/files/uploads/files/DemocraticEngagement_DomainReport.pdf
[2] Meier, S. and Stutzer, A. (2008). Is Volunteering Rewarding in Itself? Economica, 75: 39-59.
[3] Imagine Canada (2004). The Benefits of Volunteering. Available at: http://www.imaginecanada.ca/sites/default/files/www/en/giving/factsheets/benefits_of_volunteering.pdf
[4] McClintock, N. (2004). Understanding Canadian Volunteers: Using the National Survey of Giving, Volunteering and Participating to build your Volunteer Program. Available at: http://www.imaginecanada.ca/sites/default/files/www/en/giving/reports/understanding_volunteers.pdf
[5] Nakhaie, M.R. (2006). Electoral participation in municipal, provincial, and federal elections in Canada. Canadian Journal of Political Science 39(2) 363-390.
[6] Binder, M. and Freytag, A (2012) Volunteering, Happiness and Public Policy. St. Louis: Federal Reserve Bank of St Louis. ProQuest.
[7] Turcotte, M. (2015) Volunteering and Charitable Giving in Canada. Statistics Canada, Ministry of Industry. Available at: http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/89-652-x/89-652-x2015001-eng.htm
[8] Dunn, E.W.; Aknin, L.B. Norton, M.I. (2008). Spending Money on Others Promotes Happiness Science 21: 1687-1688
[9] Association of Municipalities Ontario (2015). 2014 Municipal Elections Voter Turnout Report as of January 30, 2015
[10] Income Statistics Division, Statistics Canada (2016). Financial Data and Charitable Donors - Preliminary Estimates, T1 Family File - User's Guide
