Next Gen Insider

Morgan Sharp reports from Toronto on the city's young population and their civic engagement and impact on the local institutions that make democracy function.

Canada's National Observer is a proud participant of the Local Journalism Initiative, which supports the creation of original civic journalism that covers the diverse needs of underserved communities across Canada.

531 Articles

How to talk to young people about suicide

Children who know someone who has died by suicide need to know their feelings about it are valid and that they will get honest answers to their questions, the Mental Health Commission of Canada says in new guide on the sensitive subject.

Morgan Sharp

May 4th 2021

Catholic school board in Halton rejects push to fly Pride flag

The Catholic school board in Halton rejected an effort to get its schools to fly the Pride flag this June and to display signs confirming its classrooms are safe spaces for LGBTQ+ students and staff year-round, a move the student who started the push called “an act of cowardice.”

Morgan Sharp

April 28th 2021

Toronto’s Young People’s Theatre eyes $10.5M expansion

Toronto’s Young People’s Theatre has been bursting at the seams for years, while most of its staff work in rental space across the street from the heritage-listed theatre. So they bought that building and will spend the ongoing pandemic downtime to renovate both spaces while also fundraising the second half of the $10.5-million project.

Morgan Sharp

April 19th 2021

For international students, a path to permanent residency

International students and recent graduates without permanent status have largely been overlooked in Canada’s response to COVID-19, but Ottawa is now looking to offer some of those who can fill critical jobs a path to permanent residency.

Morgan Sharp

April 16th 2021

Teen son of Toronto rocker creates music on blockchain

The teenage son of Our Lady Peace frontman Raine Maida is a budding musician who is collaborating and creating content he stores as a non-fungible token (NFT), a blockchain application that documents ownership and could enable more direct-to-fan interaction.

Morgan Sharp

April 14th 2021

Prevalence of youth COVID spread still a mystery

Schools in and around Toronto closed their doors suddenly last week as more contagious COVID-19 variants spread throughout the region. But amid a third wave threatening to overrun its hospitals, Ontario still can’t tell how much the virus is spreading in classrooms.

Coronavirus in Canada

Morgan Sharp

April 13th 2021

March brings back part-time work for youth, but COVID could erase those gains

Jobs data for March shows that young people bounded back into part-time retail and other service work with the relaxation of public health measures employed to fight COVID-19. The need to tighten them again means the gains won’t last.

Morgan Sharp

April 9th 2021

Brampton youth protest to educate about India farm laws

A group of young people in Brampton and northeast Mississauga are leading an effort to support farmers in India and oppose new laws in that country, which they say threaten their livelihood.

Morgan Sharp

April 8th 2021

Toronto joins neighbouring COVID-19 hot spot in ordering schools closed

Public health authorities in Toronto have ordered the city's schools closed a day after the neighbouring Peel Region did so and as the provincial government prevaricates.

Morgan Sharp

April 6th 2021

Schools move online-only in Peel as variant COVID-19 cases spike

Peel Region’s schools will not reopen until at least April 18 as local public health authorities react to a sharp spike in COVID-19 cases.

Morgan Sharp

April 5th 2021

Future Ancestors teaching social justice, anti-racism to all

The young Black and Indigenous directors and alchemists of Future Ancestors are helping schools, companies and organizations do the work of grappling with systemic racism and pushing for racial and social justice, including on climate change.

Morgan Sharp

April 5th 2021

On international day of visibility, trans patients still hidden in Ontario health data

Trans patients are more likely to live in low-income neighbourhoods and suffer chronic physical and mental health problems. Ontario’s health-care system doesn’t see them, but the health minister says the province is looking into it.

Morgan Sharp

March 31st 2021

Ford ignoring post-secondary in COVID recovery budget: NDP

The 2021 budget Doug Ford’s government unveiled last week largely ignored post-secondary education, missing an opportunity to invest in “help and hope” for a just recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, the NDP’s critic for the sector said on Tuesday.

Coronavirus in Canada

Morgan Sharp

March 31st 2021

Protesting bred in the bone for Toronto Gen Z activist

As the daughter of activists, Savi Gellatly-Ladd learned to organize at a young age.

Sebastian Leck

March 30th 2021

Young lawyer works to tackle Toronto’s eviction crisis

Caryma Sa’d is a housing lawyer and an advocate for progressive causes across the city. She now serves as executive director at NORML, an organization working to reform cannabis laws, and as a member of the board of advisers at the non-profit Legal Line.

Sebastian Leck

March 30th 2021