About | Democracy

Strengthening Canadian

Democracy

About the Centre

The SFU Morris J. Wosk Centre for Dialogue creates real-world impact for society's most pressing challenges by using dialogue and engagement to co-create solutions, exchange knowledge, support community-engaged learning, and to build the capacity of others in the knowledge and practice of dialogue.

About the Initiative

Initiative Purpose

Strengthening Canadian Democracy

01

Democracy is becoming increasingly volatile within our global village. In Canada, a majority of residents believe that our democracy is not working to meet the needs of ordinary Canadians, with low levels of trust in elected officials and key democratic institutions. This dissatisfaction increases Canada's vulnerability to the use of populist messaging and online misinformation for anti-democratic purposes.

Social
Connections

Citizens +
Institutions

Public
Discourse

Civic
Education

The Four Foundations

Two and a half years of research has identified four foundations that need to be strong for our democratic culture in Canada to remain resilient.

The Five
Principles

The five principles for democratic engagement provide a guide for designing and evaluating a range of democratic processes, from public participation in government decision-making, to civic education, local community action, and the ways we share and discuss information.

Side view of the Jacques-Cartier bridge in Montreal

Build capacity to participate

Deepen relationships and social connection

Be inclusive
and accessible

Foster
commitment to democratic values

Establish
Accountability

The SFU Morris J. Wosk Centre for Dialogue would like to thank the following SFU faculty for their collaboration and contribution in this project: Daniel Savas, Project Lead responsible for survey design and analysis; Clare McGovern, Mark Pickup, and Eline de Rooij with the Department of Political Science for their contributions to survey design.