According to a recent national survey conducted by Ignite-Lab on behalf of Imagine Canada, in partnership with BMO, charities and non-profit organizations (NPOs) top the list when it comes to levels of trust towards different sectors to resolve the major problems of society. In fact, 86% of respondents say they trust them, compared to 62% for the government and 59% for the private sector.
Why do people consider as urgent, among other things, concerns related to inflation and the cost of living, health care, food insecurity, the housing situation for homeless people and climate change, and does she think that, generally, NPOs are doing their best to address it? These organizations act on the front line and, moreover, the government is counting on this sector to help us have a decent quality of life and deal with emerging and persistent challenges.
As Parliament resumes for the fall session, there is remarkable consensus on the importance of these challenges and the need to maintain a strong and resilient nonprofit sector to meet them. Especially since the major current problems have accelerated the demand for these services.
In addition, regardless of their political allegiance, nationally, people say they want better support for charitable organizations from the federal government, in several key areas so that their work in communities is even more effective.
Every problem requires ingenuity and resources. The nonprofit sector contributes massively to the quality of life we aspire to. The approximately 170,000 NPOs, including 86,000 registered charities, employ 2.4 million people, or more than 10% of the Canadian workforce. Collectively, these organizations contribute $192 million to the country’s economy, or 8.3% of its GDP.
However, to better accomplish their work, the non-profit sector has been demanding a place within the federal government for several years. This would allow it, through direct collaboration, to increase its collective efforts, the impact of its work and public confidence.
Still according to this latest survey, the majority of Canadians (58%) believe that the assistance provided to NPOs by the federal government to accomplish this work is not sufficient.
To create a more just and equal society, the federal government must view the nonprofit sector as a partner. It must give it more confidence and give it sufficient tools to assume this crucial and increasingly complex mandate in several key areas in order to make the work of NPOs in communities even more effective.
In fact, 78% of respondents are in favor of the creation of an entity responsible for the NPO sector within the federal government, and 77% think that the government should provide more funding to the sector. In addition, 76% say they are in favor of maintaining tax measures to encourage donations from the population.
At the dawn of our Day on the hill in Ottawa on September 26, we are proud to be able to confirm that across the country, 90% of Canadians, all demographic groups, regions and political allegiances combined, believe that the work of NPOs is important to improve our quality of life in the country and that the government must play an important collaborative role to support it. Let us be true partners for the future of our communities.