Citizen Participation

Archived Topic Box from the 2003 Third Annual Benchmark Report

British Columbians regularly donate their time, money, and skills to their communities to benefit their fellow citizens. Such "citizen participation" takes many forms, ranging from volunteering at local events and food banks, to providing financial support for medical research or religious organizations, to involvement in community, professional and political organizations.

While essential for community building generally, such activities can be of special importance to BC's low-income residents. Citizen contributions of all types help to provide food, shelter, clothing and a host of other services and resources to those in need. A wide array of groups and organizations likewise work to ensure an advocacy voice for those who may feel disenfranchised. For these reasons the level of citizen participation in a community can be an important factor both in the well-being and the quality of life of low-income residents, and the feeling of "community" shared by all citizens.

The most recent available federal data provides an illustration of how contributions of British Columbians compare to those of other Canadians in three key categories:

Charitable Giving - As demonstrated in the table below British Columbia, along with Quebec, had the lowest donor rate in Canada in 2000 with 74% of citizens making charitable contributions of all types and sizes including money, food, and clothing. However, among those who did participate, contributions were close to the Canadian average.

Volunteering - In recent years, average volunteer participation rates have been falling throughout Canada. At 26% BC's participation rate was the third lowest in Canada in 2000, BC also recorded the second largest provincial decline with participation falling by 6 percentage points from a rate of 32% in 1997. Average annual volunteer hours in BC also fell below the Canadian average in this period.

Civic Participation - Citizen involvement in groups, associations and the political process is key to community building. On this indicator BC was above the Canadian average of 51% participation in organizations and groups, and was one of only three provinces that has experienced an increase in this indictor since 1997.

It is important to note that citizen participation rates are heavily influenced by a variety of factors, partially explaining the inter-provincial variations discussed above. Economic conditions, income levels, income growth, education levels, employment rates and age demographics all vary from province to province and affect individuals' ability and inclination to donate. Similarly, social, religious and community values also effect how citizens choose to spend their free time and their willingness to participate in their communities. Government policies can have an affect on rates of giving, volunteering and participating with programs such as tax credits or school sponsored community service programs all helping to motivate citizens to give of their time, skills and resources.

Source: Caring Canadians, Involved Canadians, Statistics Canada, cat. no. 71-542-XIE.