Ipsos poll commissioned by Save the Children unveils heightened concerns for children everywhere

As 2023 comes to a close, Canadians increasingly believe (88%, +3) children around the world face a more frightening future than when they were a child—war, economy, hunger and climate are key catalysts 

• Nine in ten Canadian parents fear for their children’s future 
• Cost of living (92%) and worsening conflicts and wars (84%) top Canadians’ list of fears 
• Eight in ten want Canada and other leading governments to hold parties accountable for grave violations of children’s rights and uphold International Humanitarian Law in Gaza conflict 

December 20, 2023 (TORONTO) – A new Ipsos poll out today commissioned by Save the Children reveals a marked increase in Canadians’ fears and worries for children as 2023 comes to a close. The poll cites the escalation of wars, the intensifying affordability crisis, widespread hunger and accelerating climate change as key drivers of fear and concern for Canadians when it comes to children and their futures. 

The poll uncovers Canadians’ views on the biggest dangers/risks to children in Canada and to children in low-income countries. For children in Canada, the greatest dangers/risks were affordability and availability of housing and food security; for low-income countries, Canadians identified wars/conflict and food security to be the greatest risk to children. 

“Unfortunately, the results of this poll echo both what we’re hearing from Canadians and the constant bombardment of horrific news stories we’re seeing about the erosion and flagrant disregard for children’s rights across the globe,” said Danny Glenwright, Save the Children’s President and CEO. “Many of us can only imagine what it’s like to be a child living in a warzone or being forced from our homes by floods and drought or feeling the exhausting symptoms of severe acute malnutrition that steals concentration, energy and the ability to concentrate.” 

“With bombing and aerial strikes in Gaza killing a child every 10 minutes, children fleeing armed conflict in Sudan and the DRC, and the escalation in climate-caused floods and droughts leaving millions of children at risk for malnutrition and illness, 2023 has been a horrendous year for children,” added Glenwright. “Canadians strongly believe in our global citizenship and in the rights of children in Canada and around the world. These values must be reflected in our government’s actions, investments and voice. From investing in long-term sustainable solutions to hunger to using its international influence to make a ceasefire a reality in Gaza—Canada has a role to play in living our values and protecting child rights.”      

When it comes to taking action and calling on Canada, the data shows that seven in 10 Canadians want Canada to invest in food security (73%) to ensure that children never face hunger, and leverage its international influence to end conflicts and wars (72%). While government action includes possible higher taxes, the results were down from last year, reflecting the significant increase in the number of Canadians who describes themselves as “stressed” up nine percentage points from 2022 (from 23% to 32%), seconded by “discouraged”.  

Another 30% of Canadians say that they had hoped to give to charity as 2023 wraps, but that their personal economic pressures mean that they simply can’t this year, up 10 points, reflecting the affordability crunch at home. 

Digging into the data:  

Thinking specifically about the conflict in Gaza, Canadians believe that there are a number of critical actions that should be taken: 

• 82% — Canada and other leading governments holding parties accountable for the grave violations of children’s rights 
• 81% — Canada calling for all parties to uphold International Humanitarian Law, including the protection of civilians and unrestricted access so humanitarian organizations can reach children and families in Gaza with lifesaving support   
• 77% — Recognizing children as key voices speaking on this conflict 
• 77% — Canada and other leading governments calling for an immediate and definitive ceasefire 
• 75% — Better engagement of women and children in building solutions for peace and security   
• 71% — Canada playing a bigger role in supporting a sustainable peace 

War, food security and affordability of housing identified as biggest dangers/risks:

Canadians were asked to identify what challenge posed the biggest danger/risk to children in Canada, to children living in low-income countries, and to children around the world, overall. 

What keeps Canadians up at night?

Of note, each of these issues is impacting a greater proportion of Canadians this year than last year. 

• Financial insecurity due to interest rates and inflation (63%, +18 pts) 
• Personal and family issues such as children’s stress (55%, +12 pts) 
• How global instability will affect future generations (44%, + 12 pts) 
• The escalation of wars and conflict and their impacts on children around the world (42%, +11 pts) 
• Extreme weather events as a result of climate change (34%, +5 pts) 
• Indigenous rights and reconciliation (22%, +4 pts) 

What are Canadians’ fears?  

• Fears are also intensifying for many, as most (89%) parents say they fear for their children’s future, up seven points from last year.  
• A majority of Canadians are also fearful of the rising cost of living/inflation (92%), up seven points from last year.  
• The potential for a whole generation growing up with worsening conflicts and wars (84%) 
• The potential for escalation of the war in the Middle East (76%) 
• Extreme weather events affecting their home and community (60%) 
• COVID and the potential for other pandemics (53%, -13 pts) which is the only fear that is clearly abating.   

Sleepless nights and intensifying worries are having an impact on the outlook of Canadians compared to last year. More say that the word that best describes their current feeling is stressed (+9) or discouraged (+10), while fewer feel neutral (-7), hopeful (-7) or even happy (-5). 

Support for government action:   

Thinking about how to address these challenges that children are facing, these are actions that they believe the Canadian government should do to help children in other countries, even if each results in higher taxes, more government debt or decreased spending in other areas. For each, there is slightly less support for action this year than last year:  

• 73% say government should invest in food security to ensure that children never face hunger (-3) 
• 72% believe it should leverage its international influence to end conflicts and wars (-5)  
• 65% agree that it should invest in children’s right to survive, learn and be protected (-9) 
• 58% agree it should invest in halting and reversing the effects of climate change -7) 
• 55% believe government should respond generously to humanitarian crises like earthquakes, flooding and conflict (-12) 
• 40% believe government should increase investment in international development programs (-11) 

Support for charities and international development:  

The polycrisis is impacting the way that Canadians are viewing international development charities and how they are supporting charitable causes. While 28% (+2 pts) say they’re more likely to give locally, given the state of the world today, others are impacted in various ways, including:  

• 30% say that they had hoped to give, but given their personal economic pressures, they can’t this year (+10) 
• 7% say that given the climate crisis, widespread hunger, escalating conflicts and the economy/cost of living, they plan to give more than usual (+1). 
• 8% usually give to international development charities and plan to continue to do so (-2) 
• 8% say they don’t usually give to international development charities, but am considering it this year because of the state of the world (+1) 
• 17% say they never give to international development (+1) 

– ENDS – 

Notes for editors about the study:  

These are some of the findings of an Ipsos poll conducted from December 8th to 13th on behalf of Save the Children. For this survey, a sample of 1,000 Canadians aged 18+ was interviewed online. Quotas and weighting were employed to ensure that the sample’s composition reflects that of the Canadian population according to census parameters. The precision of Ipsos online polls is measured using a credibility interval. In this case, the poll is accurate to within ± 3.5 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, had all Canadians aged 18+ been polled. The credibility interval will be wider among subsets of the population. All sample surveys and polls may be subject to other sources of error, including, but not limited to coverage error, and measurement error. 

For further information and/or to set up an interview, please contact: 

Tiffany Baggetta: tbaggetta@savethechildren.ca or 647-517-4563