Performance and Potential 2002-03 Chapter 2: Major Trends in Canadian Society: How They Will Reshape ‘The Canadian Way’ by 2010

This chapter focusses on how our values, attitudes, and experiences might shape Canada and our place in North America and the world in 2010. Some attention has already been paid to values in earlier ‘Performance and Potential’ reports, but this year we want to look ahead to what our country might ‘look like’ in the next decade.

Document Highlights

‘The Canadian Way’ will be different in 2010 than in 2002 because of four major trends: a shift towards post-materialist values that place emphasis on freedom, self-esteem, and quality of life; changes in demographics; increased North American economic integration; and major technological developments.

Public and private institutions in Canada have failed the public’s ‘trust test’. To rebuild trust, Canadians will demand greater accountability and performance from governments and corporations.

We will move towards a more targeted programming approach to social policy, resulting in no new large-scale national universal programs by 2010.

Canadians will be more willing to accept increased North American economic integration, because this will create jobs and high incomes. They will be less willing to tolerate loss of control over their social policy.

As post-materialist values flourish because of increased levels of education and wealth, Canadians will be more and more interested in quality-of-life issues, such as health care, urban issues, and the environment.