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This broadcast is for Secondary (Grades 7 – 12) at 11am ET AND 3pm ET.

National Child Day 2023 - Secondary

This broadcast is for Elementary (Grades 4 – 6) 10am ET AND 2pm ET.

National Child Day 2023 - Elementary

This broadcast is for Early Years (Kindergarten - Grade 3) at 9am ET AND 1pm ET.

National Child Day 2023 - Early Years

Do you have an opinion about what you eat at school

The Canadian government would like to understand what Canadians, including children and youth, think about federal food policy and the possible development of a pan-Canadian school food program

Do you have things to say about questions like this?

• What do you think the federal government should do to make sure that all Canadian children can eat healthy food every day?

• Do you think there should be a national School Food Program?

• Who should be able to use the program?

Children First Canada will be conducting a virtual consultation with youth from 12-18 years of age on behalf of Employment and Social Development Canada.  

The consultation will take place on Saturday December ______ at 1 pm EST/10 am PST/11 am MST/ 12 pm CST/2 pm ADT/2:30 pm NST.

National School Food Program

This fall, Children First Canada will host an interactive digital event highlighting the Raising Canada 2022 report. It will include a lively discussion with leading child health experts, thought leaders and youth centered upon the findings of Raising Canada 2022 and how you can take action!

This virtual event will explore how the pandemic and the top 10 threats to childhood in Canada have had a disproportionate effect on equity-deserving children and youth, and the economic analysis on the social returns of investing in kids!

Raising Canada 2022 paints a startling picture of what it is like to be a child in Canada today.  From coast to coast to coast, many children do not make it to their 18th birthday. The infant mortality rate in Canada is higher than in most wealthy countries, and suicide is a leading cause of death for children and youth. These devastating statistics are too alarming to be ignored.

Every child deserves to survive and thrive. 

Raising Canada 2022 seeks to elevate the voices of children and youth, reinforcing their right to participate in decisions that affect their lives. Building a more prosperous and inclusive society will require the leadership of children and youth. They are our next generation of business leaders, teachers, doctors, activists and politicians. Many are already leaders in their schools and communities, launching climate movements, organizing social justice marches, and urging companies to align more closely with their values.

Children and youth were incorporated into all aspects of the research. They will also continue to play a central role in disseminating the findings and advocating for policies and investments to ensure the protection of their rights.

Desirée Amanda Bombenon, Entrepreneur, Community Builder, and Humanitarian, CEO of SureCall

The Honourable Karina Gould P.C., M.P. , Minister of Families, Children and Social Development of Canada

Sara Austin, Founder and CEO, Children First Canada

Elder Claudette Commanda, Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg First Nation, QC, and Chancellor of the University of Ottawa

Timothy Caulfield, Professor, BSc (Alberta), LL.B. (Alberta), LL.M. (Dalhousie), FRSC, FCAHS, Canada Research Chair in Health Law and Policy; Professor, Faculty of Law and School of Public Health; and Research Director, Health Law Institute, University of Alberta

Julia Hanigsberg, President and CEO, Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital

André Picard, Health Reporter and Columnist for The Globe and Mail

Andrew Chunilall, CEO, Community Foundations of Canada

Larissa Crawford, Founder, Managing Director, Future Ancestors Services

Dr. Michael Ungar, Canada Research Chair in Child, Family and Community Resilience

Simi Sahota, Former YCP Member, Facilitator, Current CFC Youth Advisory Council Vice Chair, and Youth Ambassador

Jayden Paquet-Noiseux, Youth Advisory Council Member and Young Canadians’ Parliament Member

Uma Venkataramaiah, Senior Manager, Philanthropy, Sustainability & Corporate Citizenship, TD Bank Group

A special thanks to our presenting sponsor, TD Bank Group.

This project is funded in part by the Government of Canada

Raising Canada 2022: When kids thrive, Canada thrives.

 is pleased to host this special high-level event aimed at 

catalysing impactful investments in children

 to reverse the damaging impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, in collaboration with the 

As Canada rebuilds from the COVID-19 pandemic, there is an urgent and compelling need to make big, bold investments in Canada’s most valuable natural resource: children and youth. 

Canadians are proud to live in one of the most prosperous and advanced nations in the world, but when it comes to the wellbeing of our children, we have reason to be concerned. Over the past decade, Canada has fallen sharply from 10th to 30th place amongst OECD countries for the wellbeing of children, and the pandemic has made a bad situation much worse.

The kids are not alright: one-third do not enjoy a safe and healthy childhood, one-third of Canadians report experiencing abuse before the age of 15, nearly one in five kids lives in poverty, and suicide is a leading cause of death for children aged 10 to 14 in Canada. The pandemic has accelerated and amplified the top threats to children’s survival and development and resulted in widespread learning loss, including essential skills like literacy and numeracy. If we disaggregate the data by race, gender, geography, and physical ability, it’s even more disturbing.  

Kids represent nearly a quarter of our population and one hundred percent of our future. They are Canada’s next generation of business leaders, teachers, doctors, activists, and politicians. And while kids have born a disproportionate burden of the pandemic, they’re not waiting for adults to come to their aid, they are the frontlines leading climate movements, organizing food drives, combatting stigma on mental health, hosting social justice marches, and urging companies to align more closely with their values. 

There is overwhelming and compelling evidence that investing in children and youth can yield great economic returns that can greatly benefit all Canadians. Children must be at the heart of Canada’s pandemic recovery plan, and it will take catalytic investments of financial and human resources to ensure that all 8 million kids in Canada survive and thrive. 

Building a more prosperous and inclusive society will require the leadership of all Canadians – including parents and grandparents, policy makers, the private sector, doctors, teachers and kids themselves. 

Join us for this critical conversation that will unite corporate executives, high-ranking federal officials and leaders of civil society organizations to mobilize public and private sector resources to reverse the damaging impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on children and drive systemic change to make Canada the best place for kids to grow up. 

Elder Claudette Commanda, Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg First Nation, QC

Fireside Chat with the Hon. Lisa Raitt, Vice-Chair of Global Investment Banking at CIBC, and Co-Chair of the Coalition for a Better Future

Kathleen Taylor, Board Chair of Royal Bank of Canada (RBC), member of the Board of Trustees for SickKids, and member of CFC’s Council of Champions

Sara Austin, Founder & CEO, Children First Canada

Mégane Jacques & Simi Sahota, Members of CFC's Youth Advisory Council & Young Canadians' Parliament

Bobbie Racette, Founder & CEO of Virtual Gurus, one of 50 Changemakers by the 

, and Startup Canada’s Indigenous Entrepreneur of the Year

Gail O'Brien; Trustee of the National Arts Centre, Co-Chair of the Council for Canadian American Relations, and Chair of CFC's Board of Directors

Ya’ara Saks, Member of Parliament for York Centre, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Families, Children and Social Development

Laila Goodridge, Member of Parliament for 

, Conservative Shadow Minister of Families, Children and Social Development

Sylvie Bérubé, députée d’Abitibi-Baie-James-Nunavik Eeyou et porte-parole du Bloc québécois pour le dossier Famille, Enfants et Développement Social

, NDP Critic Women and Gender Equality; Families Children and Social Development; Deputy Critic – Housing

Moderator: Alex Munter, President & CEO, Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO) and Ottawa Children's Treatment Centre, and a member of CFC's Council of Champions   

Ashif Mawji, Managing Director of ScaleGood Fund LP and Board Chair of the TELUS Friendly Future Foundation and Edmonton Police Foundation

Teresa Marques, President and CEO, Rideau Hall Foundation

 Dahabo Ahmed-Omer, Executive Director, the BlackNorth Initiative

 Simi Sahota, Member of Youth Advisory Council and Young Canadians’ Parliament  

Additional speakers will be announced soon!

Catalytic Investments in Kids

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This fall, building on the success of Children First Canada’s annual 

 report, we will host an interactive digital event in tandem with the release of the fourth report. This marque event will take a deeper look at the findings of the report and seeks to mobilize Canadians to take action. 

 looks at the impacts of COVID-19 on children’s health and well-being, utilizing the data available from Statistics Canada, frontline partners and research institutes. It leverages the expertise of child health researchers across Canada, tapping into the children’s hospital research institutions and other child health centres of excellence.

​​Children and youth have been included in all aspects of the research– serving as advisors in framing the research, participating in the research itself, and analyzing and reporting the findings. Children’s participation also includes creative elements, using visual arts and other methods of creative expression to convey their experiences with the top 10 threats to childhood during the pandemic.

​​Additionally, the report highlights new and innovative policy solutions that are needed to drive meaningful change in addressing the top 10 and emerging threats and mitigating the negative impacts of the pandemic on children.

1:00-1:15 Land acknowledgement, Elder blessing and opening remarks

1:55-2:25 Questions from audience and youth