A recent Statistics Canada study, analyzed by Henri Ouellette-Vézina in La Presse on June 24, 2025, paints a troubling picture. Between 2018 and 2023, volunteering saw a significant decline across the country, both in participation rates and in the total number of hours contributed. Behind this trend, we observe both a transformation in how people engage and structural barriers that need to be acknowledged.
In Montréal, as elsewhere, the face of volunteering is changing. And to keep mobilizing citizens, we must first understand what’s really happening.
The study reveals that:
- The overall volunteering rate dropped from 79% to 73%;
- Total volunteer hours fell by 18%, from 5.0 to 4.1 billion;
- Formal volunteering (within organizations) was particularly impacted, with participation decreasing from 41% to 32% and a 28% drop in hours;
- Young adults (ages 25–34) and women were the most affected;
- Even informal volunteering (neighbourly help, spontaneous involvement) is in decline, especially in collective initiatives.
Though this data is national, it echoes what we observe on the ground at the Volunteer Bureau of Montreal (VBM). In our view, this is far from a sign of widespread disinterest, these figures instead point to changing expectations, availability, and engagement conditions.
More detailed provincial data should be released shortly. In the meantime, here are our reflections and observations.
Three Key Groups in Transition
The decline in volunteering among women must be carefully analyzed. It may reflect social overload leading them to step back, but also a shift toward more intentional, balanced, and less gendered forms of engagement.
Among young adults, many are navigating job instability, growing family responsibilities, rising housing costs, and the need for alignment with their values. They are looking for short-term, flexible roles with tangible impact, something not always offered in the current landscape.
Among senior as well, despite seemingly stable statistics, a certain decline has been observed since the pandemic. Whether due to health concerns, a desire to refocus their lifestyle, family responsibilities such as supporting their children or grandchildren, or returning to paid work to make ends meet, many traditional pillars of the community sector are no longer present under the same conditions as before.
Blind Spots That Matter
Like any statistical report, this one does not capture the full reality on the ground. Some issues are less visible but crucial. For example, many newcomers to the country want to get involved but face significant obstacles: credential recognition, language barriers, immigration status, lack of familiarity with community norms, and social isolation.
The same is true for people living with disabilities or any person facing exclusion, be it social, physical, cultural, linguistic, economic, or linked to systemic discrimination (racism, ableism, homophobia, transphobia, etc.).
If we want to build a truly inclusive environment, these realities must be addressed in our proposed solutions.
What We See on the Ground
At VBM, we observe that today’s volunteer engagement is more often short-term or episodic, motivated by a need for personal alignment and a desire to contribute meaningfully.
As a result, a volunteer position once filled by a single person for years may now be divided into two or three smaller roles, each filled in succession. This creates ongoing pressure on organizations, which are caught in a continuous cycle of recruitment, training, and onboarding.
The challenge is therefore twofold: responding to this new reality while maintaining organizations’ ability to welcome, structure, and support these evolving forms of engagement.
This shift also comes at a time when community needs are growing, in mental health, food security, social support, and combating isolation, while organizational resources stagnate or shrink.
Core funding is not keeping up, funders are becoming increasingly demanding, and positions dedicated to volunteer management are often precarious, with teams stretched to their limits.
Organizations are increasingly seeking specialized volunteers, and boards of directors are becoming more professionalized. These roles involve specific expectations and are often harder to fill.
This imbalance weakens our social safety net, making mobilization all the more urgent and complex.
Evolving Needs, Evolving Motivations
“The social fabric is far from gone. People still want to get involved, but their needs are more specific and their expectations different.”
Geneviève Fecteau, Executive director of VBM in La Presse, June 24, 2025
Today’s volunteers are no longer simply looking to “give time.” They want meaningful experiences aligned with their values experiences that allow them to learn, connect, and grow. Their involvement is often more flexible, modular, or exploratory. It becomes a personal journey, one that must adapt to their availability, capabilities, and aspirations.
This shift is not a step backward, it’s an evolution we must support with agility, empathy, and creativity.
Levers for Action
Rather than trying to restart the machine as it was, we believe the volunteering ecosystem must be reimagined. Here are some action levers:
- Adapt practices, revise recruitment models, lighten volunteer tasks, offer modular roles, and recognize everyday contributions;
- Reach people traditionally excluded from volunteering and adopt inclusive approaches;
- Value all forms of engagement even if 10% of the most active volunteers account for 61% of total hours, every contribution matters. Foster a sense of belonging and demonstrate tangible impact;
- Rekindle collective engagement by supporting local citizen initiatives, intergenerational community projects, and multiplying opportunities for informal mutual aid in neighbourhoods, schools, workplaces, or shared living spaces;
- Improve youth volunteer programs to make them more accessible, appealing, and aligned with young people’s values and realities;
- Embrace innovation, particularly by supporting corporate volunteering, where employers and workplaces encourage their staff’s social involvement. This is a highly effective, structuring solution, especially when engagement is recognized, valued, and supported through flexible scheduling.
These levers are not mutually exclusive, it is their thoughtful combination, adapted to each context and community, that will allow us to build a more inclusive, sustainable, and engaging future for volunteerism.
Collective solutions
A whole ecosystem is already at work: the network of volunteer centres, their federation, community coalitions, and nonprofit organizations. Many have already implemented effective strategies.
From our perspective, volunteerism should never be viewed through a lens of competition. It is rooted in values of solidarity, shared responsibility, and social justice. What we see is a rich ecosystem of organizations, each in its own way striving to meet community needs and connect with citizens where they are.
At the CABM, we deeply believe that it is through collaboration, coordination, and complementarity that we can build a volunteer landscape that is more accessible, inclusive, and sustainable.
The growing number of recruitment channels does not, in our view, weaken engagement, it offers more entry points for people who wish to begin their volunteer journey. Rather than opposing different approaches, we aim to foster dialogue, share expertise, and strengthen the network of committed actors in our sector.
An Editorial Choice That Speaks Volumes
La Presse published its article in the “Cost of Living” section, a telling decision. Inflation, economic instability, and financial pressure are increasingly affecting people’s ability to volunteer, even when they want to.
Volunteering is not a luxury. It is a vital resource for our social cohesion, a factor in both individual and collective well-being, and a driver of transformation. It’s time we fully recognize this and create the conditions for it to thrive.
----------
Are you based in Montréal and want to talk or adapt your volunteer offer to new realities? Contact us at info@cabm.net
To find a volunteer opportunity in Montréal, visit: www.cabm.net
Across Québec: www.jebenevole.ca
_____
To read the article published in La Presse:
https://www.lapresse.ca/actualites/grand-montreal/2025-06-24/cout-de-la-vie/le-benevolat-en-perte-de-vitesse.php
To consult the study published by Statistics Canada:
https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/250623/dq250623b-eng.htm
