Cardus

Canada's fertility rate just hit a historic low—but this isn't just a demographic statistic. It's the story of millions of Canadians who wanted more children and couldn't have them. Swipe through to learn five things you need to know from our latest research on Canada's fertility crisis, by Cardus Senior Fellow Lyman Stone.

Read our new report, Home Alone: Why Most Canadians Have Fewer Children Than They Want, in full here ➡️ https://bit.ly/4dNd8U3

We stand with Pallium Canada in calling for a National Palliative Care Training Standard for Long-Term Care. Residents and families deserve care centred on quality of life, dignity, and compassion. A national standard will play a critical role in ensuring every Canadian who needs palliative care can access it.

Recent Cardus polling, conducted in partnership with the Angus Reid Institute, shows how important this issue is to Canadians. Nine in ten believe high-quality palliative care should be a right, yet that right isn't recognised in the Canada Health Act. One in five Canadians who've tried to access palliative care for a loved one say it was difficult to get. Four in five would want palliative care if they became seriously ill. Only 57 percent are confident they could access it.

The time is now to build a system of high-quality palliative care, accessible to every Canadian. Read Pallium Canada's full 2026 Federal Budget Submission ➡️ https://bit.ly/4x063bG

And read more about our polling ➡️ https://bit.ly/4uldgAF

Canada needs Christian leaders in every sector—equipped young, formed through prayer, study, and mentorship, and ready for a vocation of public life.

That's why Cardus founded the NextGEN Fellowship: twelve remarkable young professionals brought together each year to develop the leadership capacity needed to build the common good of our country.

Today, we're thrilled to announce the 2026 NextGEN Fellows. They are extraordinary young leaders like Brenda, a systems change strategist appointed to the Order of Canada for her work in education equity, and Brandan, a son of Cambodian refugees now serving as a senior leader in national advocacy. Across industries and professions, they share a deep desire to play a part in God's plan for a more flourishing Canada.

Their journey is about to begin. Would you like to be part of it? Applications for the 2027 cohort are open and accepted year-round. If you're a young professional called to public life, we'd love to hear from you. Learn more and apply ➡️ https://bit.ly/4x18kU3

What broke public trust in the media... and can it be fixed? In The Trust Spiral, Canadian journalist Tara Henley traces the roots of journalism's credibility crisis and makes a direct case for what it will take to reverse it. On June 9, Tara joins us in Ottawa for a conversation moderated by National Post Parliamentary Bureau Chief Stuart Thomson, with audience Q&A to follow. If you care about the health of public discourse, this one is worth your evening. Register here ➡️ https://bit.ly/4dJB5ge

In a new article on the rise in home schooling globally, The Economist cites data from the Cardus Education Survey on graduate outcomes of home-schooled students. Read the full article here ➡️ https://econ.st/4nIZUw3

"In 2025 Cardus, a Canadian think-tank, published research which factored in childhood poverty, whether the respondent grew up with both biological parents and whether they were in a religious household. The paper, by Ms Watson and Albert Cheng of the University of Arkansas, found that American adults who had been home-schooled were less likely to work full-time or have a household income above the median wage... The Cardus report [also] found that pupils taught at home for eight years or more reported the highest levels of optimism and close social bonds. But those taught that way for one to two years reported the highest levels of anxiety, and those who were home-schooled for three-to-seven years had the fewest close social bonds and lowest life satisfaction..."

The Cardus Education Survey (CES) examines a range of outcomes for a nationally representative sample of adults aged 24 to 39 who attended public schools, Protestant schools, Catholic schools, nonreligious independent schools, or were homeschooled. The CES examines respondents’ academic, spiritual, cultural, civic, and relational outcomes, and their life patterns, views, and choices. The CES controls for a range of respondents’ demographic characteristics to estimate the specific effect of school type on graduate outcomes.

Can journalism earn back public trust—and what would that actually require? Canadian journalist and author Tara Henley thinks it can, but not without honest accountability, a recommitment to objectivity, and a fundamental rethink of who journalism is meant to serve. Join us June 9 in Ottawa for a conversation with Tara on her new book The Trust Spiral: Why the Media Needs Objectivity, moderated by National Post Parliamentary Bureau Chief Stuart Thomson, and followed by audience Q&A. Register here ➡️ https://bit.ly/4wyItCx

Trust in journalism has reached a crisis point. Polls consistently show public confidence in the media at record lows—but who is responsible, and what can be done about it? Join us for a conversation with Canadian journalist and author Tara Henley, moderated by National Post Parliamentary Bureau Chief Stuart Thomson, about her new book The Trust Spiral: Why the Media Needs Objectivity.

Henley argues that the media’s alarmed response to Donald Trump’s first election—abandoning long-held standards of objectivity and rigorous reporting—set off a downward cycle that continues to erode public trust today. The roots of the problem run deeper still: an industry weakened by economic precarity, a generation of journalists never properly trained in the fundamentals, and newsrooms increasingly oriented around ideology rather than public service.

Henley’s prescription is as direct as her diagnosis. Restoring trust requires honest accountability for coverage failures, a public recommitment to objectivity, and a fundamental reorientation of journalism around the people it is meant to serve, including a long-overdue reckoning with condescending attitudes toward working-class audiences.

Whether you work in media, consume it critically, or simply care about the health of public discourse, this event will give you a richer framework for understanding one of the defining challenges of our time. Guests will enjoy an in-depth conversation with Tara moderated by Stuart Thomson, followed by an audience Q&A. Registrants will also have the opportunity to pre-purchase the book using a special discount code generously provided by the publisher, Polity Press.

We hope you will join us for this critical conversation with one of the world’s most incisive thinkers on the state of media today. Register here ➡️ https://bit.ly/4uRMVut