Our Research

Conscience, though inherently individual, is vital to the common good. Using current case studies from Canada that engage freedom of conscience, this paper offers concrete recommendations as to how this human right can be robustly protected at home and abroad.

This study presents the hypothetical economic costs of funding Ontario’s independent schools, if the province were to fully fund the sector or apply any of the existing partial-funding models in Canada.

This report explores how learning continued in Ontario’s independent schools during the continuous and disruptive school closures of the 2020–21 school year. It also investigates the financial, promotional, and business impact of these disruptions.

Our results show that the removal of restrictions enabled the Region of Waterloo to “bounce back” toward its original competitive state. The removal of restrictions led to a greater numbers of bids, more bidders, more unique firms bidding, and decreased bid gaps indicating downward pressure on municipal construction costs.

As Canada emerges from the COVID-19 crisis and accompanying recession, governments, the construction sector, and communities alike look to massive infrastructure spending to reignite the economy and promote lasting community benefits across the country. This report addresses, from the perspective of the builders’ community, the concept of community benefits agreements (CBAs)—an often poorly understood and ill-defined concept that is gaining prominence in Canada and other Western democracies.

The heart of democratic education lies in preparing the next generation to join the community of citizens. Indeed, state-funded public education developed out of the imperative to inculcate the civic knowledge, skills, and attachment necessary for democratic governance.

But what is the role of independent schools in the process of civic formation and social cohesion? Do they help or hinder the development of democratic citizenship? What oversight should governments exercise over them? And should governments fund such schools as part of public education writ large?

A Cardus research brief highlighting unpartnered young adults and the decline of fertility in Canada.

Imagine Canada like a car: we’ve just had the rare experience of smashing our economy, culture, and society into a brick wall at high speed—whether through the disease itself or our response to it. And like crash-test engineers, we now have to perform the analysis.

What did we learn? How did we fare? What performed better than expected, and what worse? And, most importantly, where do we go from here?

The social, emotional, academic, and economic implications of the global COVID-19 pandemic will be studied for years to come. This paper reports how these schools pivoted from offering face-to-face education to remote learning from March to June 2020. 

Dr. Beth Green delivered the following remarks on October 6, 2017 at the Kuyers Institute for Christian Teaching and Learning’s conference “Christian Teaching and Learning: Pathways and Possibilities,” at Calvin University in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The text has been lightly adapted to appear in print.

Building financial security for all Canadians, but especially for the most vulnerable, is widely recognized as an important policy priority. Governments have a unique opportunity to kick gambling addiction to work for, not against, low-income households.

Four Options to Help the Government Turn Its Addiction to Gambling Revenue into Assets for the Poor

We’re almost there! The pandemic’s terrible toll on people’s lives and our country as a whole is coming close to an end. The one thing that will ultimately crush COVID-19’s deadly threat: vaccines.

The federal budget of 2021 offers national daycare at a cost of $30 billion over five years, with an annual cost of $9.2 billion after that. This sounds like a lot of funding, but is it enough?

This research report offers a detailed assessment of the real cost of national daycare and the amounts that provincial governments will realistically be responsible for contributing once the federal funding is spent.

Mild reforms were recently introduced to Alberta’s charter-school policy, but a most unaccommodating prohibition remains: Charter schools cannot be religious.

Strong, stable families are irreplaceable and are foundational to a healthy society. Good family policy can also enhance family well-being by addressing the diverse needs of families and their most vulnerable members, children.

The Government of Ontario is considering establishing new protections for users of alternative financial services (AFS). AFS are high-cost financial services provided outside of traditional financial institutions like banks and credit unions. Common AFS offerings include payday loans, instalment loans, lines of credit, and auto title loans. Ontario currently regulates payday loans. The government recently invited consultation on draft proposals and options intended to strengthen protection for borrowers and improve the regulation of high-cost credit agreements, other than payday loans.

This consultation is in addition to Ontario’s comprehensive review of the Consumer Protection Act, 2002 (CPA), the law governing many personal and household transactions by consumers. The CPA’s rules support a fair and competitive marketplace where consumers make their own choices without being subject to unfair business practices.

Cardus submitted the following responses to the questions posed in the consultation.

Building community has not been easy during the COVID-19 pandemic. Gathering restrictions have been difficult enough for those with strong relationships, but for those who were already struggling to develop meaningful connections, the added challenges of physical distancing requirements and stay-at-home orders have simply added to their social isolation.

When we speak about public worship, especially in the Christian tradition, we often use the term liturgy. Liturgy derives from the Greek word leitourgia which originally meant any public act. Christians in particular came to refer to religious worship, which has always been a public action, as liturgy: the coming together of the Christian community to praise and hymn God; to proclaim God’s Word; to offer petitions for the community and for the world; and, for many Christians, to participate in the Eucharist. But what then? Why is public worship important? What happens after our times of public worship? What is the liturgy after the liturgy?

Ve’ahavta is a faith-based initiative of the Toronto Jewish community. Its focus is on bringing about positive change in the lives of people who have been affected by poverty, homelessness, and related forms of hardship. Its outreach activities are available to anyone who might benefit, regardless of their faith or belief.

Child-care policies should be equitable for all families, regardless of the type of care they choose. Universal child-care systems fail to recognize the diverse care needs of Canadian parents and their reasons for the type of care they choose.

The Welcome Home is a Catholic ministry in the North Point Douglas neighbourhood in Winnipeg’s North End. It serves as a gathering place for residents of the neighbourhood and offers weekly and monthly programs that respond to Jesus Christ’s beckoning in the Gospel of Matthew: “Come to me, all you who are weary and find life burdensome, and I will refresh you” (Matthew 11:28).

Le Service d’accompagnement spirituel pour les personnes malades ou âgées à domicile (SASMAD), or as it is known in English, Pastoral Home Care, is an outreach program of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Montreal. It is a free and confidential service that provides spiritual support through home visits to those who are sick or elderly. It is volunteer based and is supported by the archdiocese and by a private Catholic foundation.

Since the start of the pandemic, calls for universal child care have picked up steam.   Before pursuing this policy approach, however, there are important questions to answer. These questions pertain to all aspects of child care—accessibility, quality, and cost. Every family is different, and child care needs and desires vary. Will a federally funded, universal system be able to meet these needs? The pertinent question is if Quebec offers a model of high-quality, affordable care?

Since the start of the pandemic, calls for universal child care have picked up steam.   Before pursuing this policy approach, however, there are important questions to answer. These questions pertain to all aspects of child care—accessibility, quality, and cost. Every family is different, and child care needs and desires vary. Will a federally funded, universal system be able to meet these needs? More importantly, does the Quebec model help parents?