If we want stronger communities, Canada must make volunteering easier

I see this tension daily in my role as national commissioner. Tens of thousands of young Canadians participate and want to participate in our programs. Interest is the highest it has been in years, skyrocketing since the pandemic. However, our waitlist numbers are in the thousands. This isn’t because of a lack of enthusiasm, but because we require enough trained adults to ensure the safety of our kids and volunteers. The math is simple and stark: when one adult volunteers, eight young people gain consistent access to mentorship, outdoor education, leadership skills, and community service. But when that role goes unfilled, a young Canadian is robbed of the ability to go camping in our great outdoors or give back to their neighbours. The same goes for food banks requiring servers and cooks, libraries needing readers and teachers, clothing drives needing sorters, and all manner of other critical resources that Canadians can rely upon in hard times and good. It would be easy—and wrong—to conclude that Canadians have become less generous. The reality is more practical and more hopeful. Most people still want to help. What many lack is capacity. In Scouts, we find that parents who want to volunteer but can’t are often navigating the rising cost of living, irregular work schedules, and caregiving responsibilities. Retirees are supporting partners, aging parents, or returning to paid work themselves. Young adults are now juggling multiple jobs, contract work, or unpaid internships. The willingness to contribute has not vanished, but the conditions under which people can give their time have fundamentally changed. Too often, the response is to tell organizations to simply “recruit more volunteers.” Recruitment matters, but it is not enough. If volunteering means navigating complex onboarding processes alone, committing to rigid weekly schedules, or feeling that one needs a specialized background to be useful, hesitation is rational. Many organizations, including my own, were built around assumptions of time and stability that no longer reflect how Canadians live and work. These barriers are solvable. Clearer communication, more flexible roles, and simpler entry points can dramatically expand who feels able to step forward. In Scouts, we’ve had some success making our volunteer roles more varied in time commitment, skillset, and expectation, while acknowledging and rewarding those who can give their time in spades. Making volunteering easier also means broadening the forms it can take. Not every contribution needs to happen in person, every week. Administrative support, registration, communications, logistics, governance, and mentoring can often be done remotely and asynchronously. In many cases, a single hour of behind-the-scenes support determines whether a program runs smoothly or shuts its doors. There is also a clear role for governments at all levels. Community organizations are increasingly absorbing social needs that would otherwise fall to public systems. Supporting volunteer infrastructure, then, should be understood as good public policy, not just charity. Municipalities can invest in developing resources, whether through institutions like libraries or otherwise, to connect people who want to volunteer with non-profits who could benefit from their help. Police forces municipally, provincially, and along with the RCMP, can modernize their police check processes that are currently slow, duplicative, and inconsistent. Tax credits for charitable donations, inconsistent across provinces and territories (and the lowest in our most populous province, Ontario), can be expanded to encourage financial support to non-profits lacking capacity. Just as importantly, we need to change how we talk about volunteers. They are not optional “add-ons.” They are essential civic infrastructure. Volunteers connect neighbours, sustain community institutions, and provide young people with belonging, mentorship, and purpose in ways that the public or private system alone cannot. I still remember the volunteer who helped me build my first campfire when I was eight years old. He trusted me with responsibility, taught me patience, and made me feel part of something bigger than myself. That experience shaped who I became today. I now volunteer so that other young people can feel that same sense of confidence and discover their place in their community. Canada’s volunteer shortage is real, but it is not inevitable. As we enter a new year, we have an opportunity to adapt our institutions to the new realities Canadians face today. By making it easier to sacrifice even one hour a week, providing flexibility without unnecessary barriers, we can rebuild the civic foundations of our country.