Can Canada Be Recognized as a Child-Friendly Country?
Dr. Nasser Yousefi (Email: [email protected])
Educator, The Peace School
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Received: January 6, 2025
Accepted: December 15, 2025
Published: December 15, 2025
Abstract
This article examines whether Canada can credibly be described as a “child-friendly country” when assessed against international child-rights standards. It situates the question within Canada’s longstanding self-image as a rights-respecting society and its obligations under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and related optional protocols. Drawing on publicly reported indicators highlighted by UNICEF Canada—spanning poverty, hunger, discrimination, bullying, mental health, and child safety—it argues that Canada’s outcomes for children and youth lag behind what might be expected of a wealthy country with strong institutional capacity. The article further emphasizes inequities affecting Indigenous children, including barriers tied to language, healthcare access, safe water, and healthy food environments. The central claim is that meaningful child-friendliness requires more than broad goodwill: it requires measurable progress across survival, development, protection, and participation rights, backed by policy renewal, accountability, and sustained cross-sector action.
Keywords
Canada, Child-Friendly Policy, Children’s Rights, Convention on the Rights of the Child, Discrimination, Food Insecurity, Indigenous Children, Poverty, Participation Rights, UNICEF Report Cards
Introduction
Every year, thousands of people from around the world immigrate to Canada. A significant portion of these individuals are families seeking a better life for their children. The Canadian immigration department often prefers families with children, awarding them additional points in the immigration process. Given the importance of population growth, the number of children in Canada has always been a critical factor in governmental planning.
A non-official study by the Humanist Kids Institute reveals that a large group of immigrant families from Iran, China, and Korea consider securing a better future for their children as a primary reason for immigration. Access to better education, healthcare, and rights for their children has been a key factor in their decision to migrate. Similarly, Canadian citizens have always considered the welfare of their children a cornerstone of their societal expectations, urging government officials to address the needs of children in the community comprehensively.
Notably, Canada was among the early countries to commit to the 1989 United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), and Canada has also joined optional protocols addressing the involvement of children in armed conflict and the sale of children, child prostitution, and child pornography.
The laws, activities, and programs supporting children in Canada are commendable and valuable, creating generally favorable conditions for children. However, the concept of “good” is always relative: good compared to what, in what context, and under what conditions? Understanding the precise status of children’s rights in Canada requires a framework of standards, indicators, and principles that align with international benchmarks. Declaring a country’s child welfare status as “good” or “bad” without proper scientific and detailed evaluation is neither accurate nor valid.
Main Text (Article)
Title: Can Canada Be Recognized as a Child-Friendly Country?
Author: Dr. Nasser Yousefi
Dr. Nasser Yousefi is a psychologist and education specialist. He has been working with children for over three decades and for the past twenty years has been managing a humanistic school.
Every year, thousands of people from around the world immigrate to Canada. A significant portion of these individuals are families seeking a better life for their children. The Canadian immigration department often prefers families with children, awarding them additional points in the immigration process. Given the importance of population growth, the number of children in Canada has always been a critical factor in governmental planning.
A non-official study by the Humanist Kids Institute reveals that a large group of immigrant families from Iran, China, and Korea consider securing a better future for their children as a primary reason for immigration. Access to better education, healthcare, and rights for their children has been a key factor in their decision to migrate. Similarly, Canadian citizens have always considered the welfare of their children a cornerstone of their societal expectations, urging government officials to address the needs of children in the community comprehensively.
Notably, Canada was among the first countries to sign the 1989 United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1991. Canada has consistently positioned itself as an advocate for this convention. Additionally, Canada has signed two optional protocols: The Optional Protocol on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict and The Optional Protocol on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution, and Child Pornography.
The laws, activities, and programs supporting children in Canada are commendable and valuable, creating generally favorable conditions for children. However, as we all know, the concept of “good” is always relative. Good compared to what? In what context? And under what conditions? Therefore, understanding the precise status of children’s rights in Canada requires a framework of standards, indicators, and principles that align with international standards. Declaring a country’s child welfare status as “good” or “bad” without proper scientific and detailed evaluation is neither accurate nor valid.
When assessing children’s rights in Canada against international standards, there seems to be a considerable gap between the quality of children’s lives in Canada and global benchmarks. This situation even appears slightly concerning compared to international standards.
UNICEF Canada has highlighted statistics regarding children’s conditions in Canada that are noteworthy for children’s rights advocates:
Canada ranks 30th out of 38 wealthy countries in terms of child and youth well-being.20% of children in Canada live in poverty.1 in 4 sometimes goes to bed or school hungry.More than a third of young people experience discrimination.1 in 4 children are regularly bullied.1 in 5 children faces mental health challenges.The child homicide rate is one of the highest among wealthy nations.Canada’s children are worlds apart from the happiest and healthiest children in affluent countries, and inequalities among them are striking. According to UNICEF’s Report Card, Canada ranks among the countries with the best economic conditions for growing up but has some of the poorest outcomes for children and youth.
Moreover, official government statistics in Canada show that 17% of Canadian children suffer from malnutrition, and the rate could be significantly higher among immigrant children based on unofficial data.
Additionally, New Statistics Canada crime data indicate that child victimization intensified during the pandemic:
Reports of offenders luring children online increased by 15%.Incidents involving the making and distribution of child sexual abuse material rose by 27% compared to pre-pandemic levels.Similarly, the Public Health Agency of Canada reports concerning findings regarding childcare in the country. The condition of Indigenous children in Canada is even more troubling. Humanium, an international child rights organization based in Switzerland, describes the plight of Indigenous children in Canada:
Indigenous children face a vulnerable and challenging situation regarding their rights under the International Convention on the Rights of the Child, to which Canada is a party. They generally have less access to education services, which are often delivered in English or French rather than Indigenous languages. This cultural gap also exists in the healthcare system, where Western practices differ significantly from Indigenous healing traditions. Additionally, the precarious living conditions of Indigenous families hinder their access to expensive healthcare services, clean drinking water, and healthy food. Processed and manufactured foods are often the only accessible options, leading to childhood obesity as a significant issue in Indigenous communities.
All these findings are based on formal, academic research. However, informal and unofficial studies could reveal even more concerning statistics about children’s living conditions in Canada, particularly among immigrant families. Delving into the hidden layers of children’s lives may uncover even graver and more worrying realities.
These issues underscore the need for Canada’s government, academia, NGOs, and all child-focused institutions to revisit their policies and programs after 35 years since adopting the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Children’s rights advocates in Canada expect the country to become a global leader in child rights, introducing effective strategies and policies to support children. Canada is expected to establish itself as a child-friendly country on the global stage, with its programs and policies serving as models for other nations to emulate.
The Convention on the Rights of the Child and its optional protocols emphasize that governments and civil institutions must ensure a dignified life for all children without discrimination. The convention categorizes children’s rights into four main areas:
The Right to Survival, covering basic needs like food, healthcare, shelter, and security.The Right to Development, encompassing education, cultural, social, artistic, and recreational opportunities for children.The Right to Protection, ensuring children are safeguarded from abuse, exploitation, and crises.The Right to Participation, enabling children to engage in decisions affecting their lives actively.Many child-focused organizations may argue that Canadian children fare well in survival, development, and education. However, even these areas show room for improvement. Furthermore, Canada’s right to participation remains significantly below global standards. In some developing countries, children enjoy better opportunities to participate as active citizens in society and schools. In Canada, public programs—especially schools—offer minimal opportunities for students to engage in educational decision-making.
This highlights the need for children’s rights advocates, alongside governmental and non-governmental organizations, to renew their commitment to advancing children’s rights in Canada. Effective stakeholders such as academics, professionals, librarians, artists, media, and NGO representatives must raise awareness about children’s rights within society. Through collective effort, Canada can aim to be recognized as an internationally child-friendly country.
This call to action invites everyone to work together to position Canada as a global model for child-friendly policies, programs, and principles that other nations can replicate and develop in their societies. Achieving this goal requires a comprehensive and united effort supporting children’s rights.
Nasser Yousefi
The Peace School
Discussion
The article frames “child-friendly country” as an evidence-based designation rather than a branding exercise. That move matters: international human rights commitments become practical only when translated into measurable conditions of life. Canada’s CRC commitments (and its optional protocols) set a baseline obligation to protect children’s rights without discrimination, including policy and institutional duties—not merely charitable aspirations.
The UNICEF Canada indicators highlighted here function as a rough diagnostic: they do not exhaust the field of child well-being, but they signal persistent gaps that are difficult to reconcile with Canada’s capacity and self-understanding. The section on Indigenous children further underscores that “national averages” can conceal severe inequities rooted in language, geography, service delivery, and the legacies of colonial governance.
Finally, the essay’s emphasis on participation rights is a strategic policy point. Participation is often treated as a soft add-on, but the CRC treats it as a core right: children are not merely future citizens-in-training; they are present-day rights-holders. Strengthening structured avenues for student voice and youth participation would therefore be a concrete, standards-aligned step toward a more credible “child-friendly” claim.
Methods
This is an authored public-policy commentary grounded in publicly available reporting and institutional indicators. It underwent light editorial review for clarity, grammar, and house style, with targeted verification of major institutional claims where source documents were identifiable.
Data Availability
No datasets were generated or analyzed for this article. Claims and contextual indicators are drawn from publicly available institutional publications and reporting.
References
None stipulated.
Journal & Article Details
Publisher: In-Sight Publishing
Web Domain: http://www.in-sightpublishing.com
Location: Fort Langley, Township of Langley, British Columbia, Canada
Journal: In-Sight: Interviews
Review Status: Non-Peer-Reviewed
Access: Electronic/Digital & Open Access
Fees: None (Free)
Volume Numbering: 13
Issue Numbering: 4
Section: B
Theme Type: Discipline
Theme Premise: Human Rights/Social Policy
Individual Publication Date: December 15, 2025
Issue Publication Date: January 1, 2026
Author(s): Dr. Nasser Yousefi
Word Count: 1,116
Image Credits: Nasser Yousefi
ISSN: 2369-6885
Acknowledgements
None stated.
Author Contributions
Dr. Nasser Yousefi wrote the article as sole author. Light editorial review and formatting were applied for house style.
Competing Interests
The author declares no competing interests.
License & Copyright
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Unauthorized use or duplication of material without express permission from Scott Douglas Jacobsen is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links must use full credit to Scott Douglas Jacobsen and In-Sight Publishing with direction to the original content.
Supplementary Information
Below are various citation formats for Can Canada Be Recognized as a Child-Friendly Country? (Dr. Nasser Yousefi, December 15, 2025).
American Medical Association (AMA 11th Edition)
Yousefi N. Can Canada Be Recognized as a Child-Friendly Country? December 15, 2025;13(4). http://www.in-sightpublishing.com/can-canada-be-recognized-as-a-child-friendly-country
American Psychological Association (APA 7th Edition)
Yousefi, N. (2025, December 15). Can Canada be recognized as a child-friendly country? In-Sight: Interviews, 13(4). In-Sight Publishing. http://www.in-sightpublishing.com/can-canada-be-recognized-as-a-child-friendly-country
Brazilian National Standards (ABNT)
YOUSEFI, N. Can Canada Be Recognized as a Child-Friendly Country? In-Sight: Interviews, Fort Langley, v. 13, n. 4, 15 dez. 2025. Disponível em: http://www.in-sightpublishing.com/can-canada-be-recognized-as-a-child-friendly-country
Chicago/Turabian, Author-Date (17th Edition)
Yousefi, Nasser. 2025. “Can Canada Be Recognized as a Child-Friendly Country?” In-Sight: Interviews 13 (4). http://www.in-sightpublishing.com/can-canada-be-recognized-as-a-child-friendly-country.
Chicago/Turabian, Notes & Bibliography (17th Edition)
Yousefi, Nasser. “Can Canada Be Recognized as a Child-Friendly Country?” In-Sight: Interviews 13, no. 4 (December 15, 2025). http://www.in-sightpublishing.com/can-canada-be-recognized-as-a-child-friendly-country.
Harvard
Yousefi, N. (2025) ‘Can Canada Be Recognized as a Child-Friendly Country?’, In-Sight: Interviews, 13(4), 15 December. Available at: http://www.in-sightpublishing.com/can-canada-be-recognized-as-a-child-friendly-country.
Harvard (Australian)
Yousefi, N 2025, ‘Can Canada Be Recognized as a Child-Friendly Country?’, In-Sight: Interviews, vol. 13, no. 4, 15 December, viewed 15 December 2025, http://www.in-sightpublishing.com/can-canada-be-recognized-as-a-child-friendly-country.
Modern Language Association (MLA, 9th Edition)
Yousefi, Nasser. “Can Canada Be Recognized as a Child-Friendly Country?” In-Sight: Interviews, vol. 13, no. 4, 2025, http://www.in-sightpublishing.com/can-canada-be-recognized-as-a-child-friendly-country.
Vancouver/ICMJE
Yousefi N. Can Canada be recognized as a child-friendly country? [Internet]. 2025 Dec 15;13(4). Available from: http://www.in-sightpublishing.com/can-canada-be-recognized-as-a-child-friendly-country
Note on Formatting
This document follows an adapted Nature-style research-article format tailored for public-facing analysis and commentary: Abstract, Keywords, Introduction, Main Text (Article), and Discussion, followed by transparency sections (Methods, Data Availability, References, and publication metadata).
#Canada #ChildFriendlyPolicy #ChildrenSRights #ConventionOnTheRightsOfTheChild #discrimination #foodInsecurity #IndigenousChildren #ParticipationRights #poverty #UNICEFReportCards
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