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

Teen twins spread the word on diversity, inclusion and health in kids’ book series

Twin sisters and health advocates Swathi and Shurabi Anphalagan want to bridge gaps between health-care knowledge and practice. The teenage medical science students from Brampton have published four children’s books so far that promote healthy living and diversity.

Morgan Sharp

July 13th 2022

Canadian youth employment at three-year high in June

Employment for all youth was near a three-year high in June, as employers struggled to find workers and wages surged higher.

Morgan Sharp

July 8th 2022

UNESCO’s youth advocate pushes for cash to educate the world

Toronto teen philanthropist Kenisha Arora wants a UN summit on education in New York in September to believe in the magic of youth as it sets out to tackle pandemic-related education loss and profound structural flaws in systems worldwide.

Morgan Sharp

July 8th 2022

Recent grads less likely to access federal emergency COVID-19 payments

Recent college graduates were more likely to draw on 2020’s Canada Emergency Response Benefit than those a few years out of university, but almost all university graduate groups were less likely to receive it than the general working population, a Statistics Canada review found.

Morgan Sharp

July 7th 2022

Toronto school board announces $40M deficit

The Toronto District School Board will reach into its reserves to make up a $40.4-million shortfall in next school year's budget, blaming the deficit on declining enrolment, the Ontario government's failure to cover pandemic expenses and other cost-cutting measures.

Morgan Sharp

June 30th 2022

ArtWorksTO gives emerging artists the creative lift they need

The 35 young creatives who graduated from ArtWorksTO’s media arts program found a rare thing: a paid opportunity to network and learn from mentors with similar life stories and barriers to a creative career while working on a professional contract brief.

Morgan Sharp

June 30th 2022

Teen sisters school big brands on selling to Gen Z

Peyton Verhoeven and her equally business-minded sister Ella noticed a few years ago that brands had no idea how to talk to Generation Z, so they built a consultancy to help them tap into the vibe of young consumers seeking authenticity.

Morgan Sharp

June 29th 2022

Environmental, Indigenous and parent groups can join youth climate case, Ontario court says

The Ontario court hearing a climate lawsuit filed by seven youth against the provincial government has granted intervenor status to six groups, meaning Indigenous voices and those of environmental groups and parents will also be heard in court starting in September.

Morgan Sharp

June 28th 2022

Toronto students want to get blood where it’s needed in India to reduce rural deaths

Blood is often out of reach for patients in India's rural or overburdened hospitals. A Toronto teen wants to use technology to help.

Morgan Sharp

June 28th 2022

Big ideas and a global network help Toronto teens try to solve India’s air pollution problem

Aleeza Jahan wants to help reduce India’s chronic air pollution, and the 16-year-old high school student from Vaughan is tapping into a global network of other engaged teens to try to make it happen.

Morgan Sharp

June 27th 2022

Tungsten’s teenagers want to turn lights on where electricity doesn’t reach

Toronto-area teenagers Anya Singh and Ella Ceroni want to turn the lights on for some of the hundreds of millions of people worldwide who live without electricity, but first they need to find a lab to help them develop their radio-wave solution.

Morgan Sharp

June 24th 2022

Youth activist works hard so climate facts don’t get lost in translation

American youth climate activist Sophia Kianni tells a Toronto audience about the climate strike movement’s strategic shift to policy as her Climate Cardinals translation service proves the need for environmental and climate literacy in the Global South.

Youth climate action

Morgan Sharp

June 23rd 2022

Toronto teens seek male birth control pill that avoids the hormonal side-effects of female versions

Most teens don't spend their after-school hours searching for the key to male birth control, but Simran Saxena and Diba Dindoust aren't most teens.

Morgan Sharp

June 22nd 2022

Ready, set, startups: Collision hitting Toronto next week

Collision, a major global tech event that migrated to Toronto one year before COVID-19 hit, is opening its doors again next week, welcoming hundreds of speakers and tens of thousands of participants to a four-day confab.

Morgan Sharp

June 16th 2022

Toronto school board celebrates opening of centre for Black excellence

The Toronto District School Board’s effort to stamp out anti-Black racism took another step forward this week with the launch of an educational centre celebrating Black achievements and uplifting a student population historically underserved and unseen.

Morgan Sharp

June 15th 2022