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

As migration season takes off, Canadian charity urges people to get outside and look for fallen birds

On one particularly bad patrol day, Kaitlin Brough collected 30 birds that were stunned, dead or injured after hitting building windows in Scarborough, Ont.

Nairah Ahmed

October 4th 2022

Tehronto: Iranian-Canadians protest in solidarity after Mahsa Amini’s death

Mahsa Amini’s death has sparked protests around the world. The young woman died in custody on Sept. 16 after she was accused of improperly wearing a head scarf by Iran’s morality police.

Nairah Ahmed

September 30th 2022

‘This could have been any one of us’: Iranian-Canadian woman calls for change after Mahsa Amini’s death

When Linda Adams heard the story of a 22-year-old Iranian woman accused of improperly wearing a head scarf dying in police custody, it brought back terrifying memories.

Nairah Ahmed

September 29th 2022

Moccasin Identifier Project making strides for truth and reconciliation

Children are painting moccasins all over the interior of the Halton Hills Public Library to promote public awareness of significant cultural historic sites and the ancestral presence of First Nations, Métis and Indigenous communities.

Nairah Ahmed

September 27th 2022

Toronto climate strikers of all ages call on governments, corporations to ‘put people first’

Protesters of all ages took to Queen’s Park Friday afternoon demanding immediate climate action as part of a global strike.

Nairah Ahmed

September 23rd 2022

Youth in historic climate case get their day in Ontario court

An Ontario court will this week decide whether the provincial government has harmed young people and future generations with its climate policies.

Morgan Sharp

September 12th 2022

Summer jobs market retreats with rest of the labour force

The last month of the summer job season for returning students recorded more typical employment rates after a boom earlier in the summer, Statistics Canada said on Friday, while the overall job market softened and more people looked for work.

Morgan Sharp

September 9th 2022

Frosh week, for real this time, as campus life returns

Students converged on the downtown campus of the University of Toronto this week for orientation activities that were missing from the last two years of pandemic-affected academic life.

Morgan Sharp

September 8th 2022

Ontario education unions gear up for talks as classes return

As students and staff navigate a new school year with rising costs of living and without COVID-19 public health restrictions, Ontario education unions are back at the bargaining table to negotiate new deals with Premier Doug Ford's Progressive Conservative government.

Morgan Sharp

September 7th 2022

Rainbow Railroad’s perilous path out for LGBTQ+ Afghans

The charity has helped resettle around 200 LGBTQ+ Afghans since the Taliban regained control of the country a year ago. It has vetted and verified another 300 people it says could relocate tomorrow if Canada committed to working with them.

Morgan Sharp

September 2nd 2022

Ontario’s elementary teachers ready for class as negotiations kick off

The Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario is sitting down with the province’s education ministry and school board representatives to hash out a collective deal that ETFO’s Karen Brown hopes can address some of the inequities COVID-19 made worse.

Morgan Sharp

August 31st 2022

Ontario’s COVID-19 science table to disband as schools reopen

Ontario’s COVID-19 science advisory group is being disbanded, it announced on Friday, one day after publishing a list of considerations for the province’s schools as students and staff prepare to return after summer break.

Morgan Sharp

August 26th 2022

U of T chefs serve up new menu of plant-based dishes

Students living on two University of Toronto campuses will have more vegetarian and vegan options to choose from when school starts up again next month, thanks to a two-day, in-person training program from the Humane Society International Canada.

Morgan Sharp

August 25th 2022

Greenpeace urges enviro minister to protect nature ahead of Montreal biodiversity summit

Greenpeace activists blocked the street outside Steven Guilbeault's constituency office Friday in downtown Montreal, where the federal environment minister — once a Greenpeace activist himself — will help host the UN's biodiversity summit later this year.

Morgan Sharp

August 19th 2022

With his Lucid venture, Aaron Labbé is using music as medicine

The co-founder of Lucid was left wanting when he suffered a mental health crisis while studying music at university. Now he’s got a team building a digital therapeutic company around its healing properties.

Morgan Sharp

August 19th 2022