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

Jobs return for younger people with reopenings, but youth employment still lagging

Young people in reopened parts of Ontario returned to retail and hospitality jobs last month, helping boost national jobs data for February after two months of losses, while sustained lockdowns in and around Toronto kept those gains in check.

Morgan Sharp

March 12th 2021

Olympian trains student leaders to believe beyond COVID-19

Sarah Wells pushed past injury to compete at the Olympics in London before just missing out on Rio, and now she’s equipping high school students with the skills to get over their own hurdles.

Coronavirus in Canada

Morgan Sharp

March 12th 2021

New artistic director for Young People's Theatre wants to set the scene for more inclusion

Herbie Barnes is an Anishinaabe actor, writer, director and teacher who grew up in Toronto’s economically disadvantaged Jane and Finch area. As the new artistic director of the city’s Young People’s Theatre, he’s determined to open up more opportunities for young creatives.

Morgan Sharp

March 11th 2021

Pantonium wants to reimagine city bus routes

The disruption of COVID-19 creates an opportunity to reimagine city transit methods, the CEO of a Toronto-based transit software company says, but is being eclipsed by the electric push.

Morgan Sharp

March 10th 2021

Navigating disability, identity and a city still struggling to make itself accessible

The contributors to this month’s Myseum of Toronto exhibit Making Space: Stories of Disabled Youth provide maps for navigating both a city still struggling to make itself accessible and their own nuanced approaches to identity.

Morgan Sharp

March 9th 2021

Young activists want no excuses on climate action in federal budget

Young activists from across Canada want specific climate conditions attached to pandemic recovery funds in the next federal budget and no more new fossil fuel infrastructure, they told federal Green Party Leader Annamie Paul on Friday.

Morgan Sharp

March 5th 2021

Urban Retrofit aims to ease the path to GTA energy efficiency

Recent civil engineering graduate Rahemeen Ahmed and the rest of the team at Urban Retrofit have built and intend to expand an online resource for residents in the Greater Toronto Area interested in making their homes more energy efficient.

Morgan Sharp

March 5th 2021

Young Muslims host green conference, plan curriculum

A group of Muslim students pushing their community to keep the environment top of mind when practising their religion will host Canada’s first Muslim-led green conference this weekend.

Morgan Sharp

March 4th 2021

This teen is on a mission to teach coding to kids and make tech more inclusive

Mississauga student Arya Peruma, 15, is offering to help teachers and other educators make coding fun for younger students with a free three-part workshop series, part of her bid to make tech more accessible and inclusive.

Morgan Sharp

March 2nd 2021

Youth are planting seeds for food security in Durham

The young leaders of Youth Roots Durham want to educate youth and other local residents and help them find ways to produce, store and transport food sustainably.

Morgan Sharp

March 1st 2021

Advocate hopes to get Black people talking about mental health

Marie Remy only found out her sister had sought help for anxiety and depression after she died, a fact driving her push to get Black people to talk to each other more about mental health.

Morgan Sharp

February 26th 2021

Students grabbing shoes for Pickering wetlands protest

Hundreds of shoes will be placed outside Pickering city hall this week, a message from some of those who but for COVID-19 restrictions would be there demanding municipal and provincial politicians call off their push to pave over rare urban wetlands on Toronto’s outskirts.

Morgan Sharp

February 25th 2021

Toronto queer youth find comfort in Studio community

The mostly LGBTQ+-identified young people checking in to The Studio’s virtual programming are finding comfort in community that in some cases would have been out of reach pre-pandemic, when the drop-in youth wellness hub was in-person only.

Morgan Sharp

February 24th 2021

Disillusioned, but tempted by another political fight

Riley Yesno is a leading voice of the first post-residential school generation, and the young Anishinaabe activist says many of her peers are moving beyond broken promises about reconciliation.

Morgan Sharp

February 23rd 2021

Field of dreams for young artists finds permanent home

The working arts space SKETCH, near Trinity Bellwoods in Toronto’s inner west, provides a stage for a diverse cast of young people on the city’s margins to create and facilitate. It’s tantalizingly close to securing its space permanently.

Morgan Sharp

February 22nd 2021