Our Research

Leaders at all levels need to do more to reduce hate crimes against Canada’s religious communities. That call comes from Toward a Hopeful Future: Facing Down Religious Hate, a Cardus research brief, which notes that religious hate crimes annually reported to Canadian police more than doubled between 2009 and 2021.

Is there something fundamentally incompatible between Indigenous Canadians and Christianity or other faiths? Some might say so, but many Indigenous Canadians would strongly disagree. As part of our Indigenous Voices of Faith project, we've interviewed 12 Indigenous Canadians about their religious faith and its interaction with their culture. We’ve now collected those interviews in a new booklet that you can download here.

For decades, the proportion of children with married parents has been dropping. But that drop has now stabilised. Since 2016, we’ve seen a steady six in 10 children in Canada live in married-parent families. That’s the key finding in our just-released report, Canadian Children at Home: Living Arrangements in the 2021 Census.

Dcn. Gilbert Pitawanakwat shares his story of becoming a Catholic deacon and how that relates to his Anishinaabe identity.

Melissa Mbarki speaks with Fr. Dcn. Andrew Bennett about her gradual embrace of Indigenous spirituality and the variety of religious views among Indigenous Canadians.

After decades away from her Catholic faith, Dr. Rose-Alma McDonald has returned to Catholicism and speaks about how it integrates Mohawk culture.

Dcn. Rennie Nahanee’s embrace of Catholicism sees him serving as a deacon in a church in the Squamish Nation where much of the Mass is translated into the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh sníchim language.

Tal James, whose Indigenous name is Yum’Yom ala’thut, is an evangelical Christian who says, “It’s a blessing to be able to be part of both cultures, the church culture and First Nations culture.”

Canada’s fertility rate is 1.4 children per woman. Why is it so low? One major factor is that women are having fewer kids than they say they want, according to this report by Lyman Stone, a Cardus senior fellow and demographer.

How can Christian schools thrive in a time when pandemic and polarization are causing school leaders and teachers to burn out? Jonathan Eckert, a Cardus Senior Fellow and education professor at Baylor University, suggests collective leadership offers a model that can sustainably bring out the best in any school's teaching team.

The research in this book traces the stories of 11 Christian schools and networks that have adopted completely new mindsets to keep their schools sustainable.

John Borrows, who is of Anishinaabe heritage, a committed Latter-day Saint, and the Loveland Chair in Indigenous Law at the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Law, shares about his faith and his connection with the natural world.

Maria Lucas, who is a Black Métis lawyer specializing in Aboriginal law, shares about her Christian faith and the path of truth, reconciliation, and forgiveness.

Marilyn Crowchild, a member of the Blackfoot First Nation, speaks about sharing the gospel with First Nations people and her hope for reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Canadians.

Religion holds an increasingly delicate place in Canadian society according to The Shifting Landscape of Faith in Canada. This report compiles data from nine representative surveys of the Canadian population, creating one of the most comprehensive looks at religion in Canada.

Ontario is seeing explosive growth in independent schools. The number of independent schools has grown by 52% since 2013-14. These schools now educate more than 154,000 students. Naturally Diverse categorizes these schools to better understand which needs and communities they serve.

Father Cristino Bouvette, who is of Métis and Cree-Ojibwe heritage, shares his view on faith and reconciliation as an Indigenous person.

Jeff Decontie, who is of Anishinaabe and Mohawk heritage, shares his experience as an urban Indigenous professional.

Rosella Kinoshameg, from Wikwemikong on Ontario’s Manitoulin Island, shares her thoughts on faith as an Indigenous person and working as nurse in First Nations communities.

These remarks by Bill Adsit from the 2022 National Prayer Breakfast in Ottawa express his views on faith, residential schools, and being Indigenous in Canada.

Canada’s New Working Class offers leaders a contemporary, modern understanding of the 6.5 million Canadians who are in the working class. One key finding is that members of Canada’s working class are as likely to be women or recent immigrants in sales or service jobs as they are to be men doing blue-collar, mostly unionized, manufacturing work. Canada's New Working Class busts stereotypes and outlines a true, inclusive working-class agenda.

We examine the nature and extent of the gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Canadians on various economic measures.

Challenges to Christian school sustainability have been well-documented in recent years—from historical declines in enrollment, to limited reach across diverse populations, to lack of programmatic and structural innovation, to personnel shortages and increasing educator burnout.

The Cardus Education Survey provides nationally representative snapshots of the life trajectories of secondary-school graduates from government schools, Catholic independent schools, Protestant independent schools, and non-religious independent schools in the US, Canada, and Australia.

Governments need to consider how CBAs can increase costs, both internally through greater project-management costs and externally on businesses, and how they can lead to overall cost increases for projects.