Community Survey January 2022: Report Back

At the beginning of each year, Leadnow sends out our annual Community Survey. It's an important moment to hear from our community as we build the roadmap for our year ahead.

Last month, we shared our 2022 survey. We were blown away, and so grateful, for the thousands of people who took the time to answer.

Leadnow is people-powered and member-led. Our organization has over 670,000 diverse voices, ideas, and opinions at the heart of it. With your input, we’re able to shape our plans to build a diverse movement for an equitable, just and climate-safe future.

What we heard was heartening. Our community is full of hope and energy — ready to fight for what matters and build a better world where no one is left behind. At the same time, people are worried and feeling isolated and burnt out after two years of a pandemic, growing inequality and a worsening climate crisis.
 

How do you feel about the state of Canada in 2022?

 
A pie chart graph reads: Worried, 40.8%. Hopeful, 25%. Unsure, 16.6%. Fearful, 9.0%, Something Else, 7.6%. Excited, 1.0%.
It’s clear to us that building a movement of hope and care is how we will get through this.

When we asked you what you want to see as our top priority this year, we heard that you’re ready to leave behind the status quo of putting profit before people and the planet. You want to see a real focus on the climate crisis and fighting for a fair economy that works for everyone.
 
Top 2022 Campaign priorities: Working for a Just Transition towards a climate-safe and fairer economy. fight for a basic income income for all. campaigning for tax reform so the ultra-rich pay their fair share. working in solidarity with Indigenous communities defending their rights and sovereignty.
 
And to do that, you want us to campaign hard for a just transition towards a fairer, climate-safe and fairer economy. Together, we’ll fight for a basic income so everyone can meet their basic needs. We’ll campaign for tax reform so the ultra-rich pay their fair share. And we’ll work in solidarity with Indigenous communities defending their rights and sovereignty.

We also held a “Big Picture Conversation” with Leadnow volunteers to hear, in more detail, the issues that matter to you, and what you want us to focus on this year. We heard that you feel most powerful when we combine our sophisticated digital tools with high-impact organizing tactics like days of action, phone banks, and creative stunts to draw attention to our issues.

It’s important that we build an inclusive vision for our campaigns, to bring people along with our strategy and build support for important policies that will bring us closer to the fairer, climate-safe vision we have for Canada — like a just transition away from fossil fuels and a basic income that ensures everyone can meet their basic needs through the climate crisis and beyond. We’re excited to get to work on this in 2022 — stay tuned!

2022 will also be a big year for provincial politics. With the Ontario election just months away, Ontarians are watching the provincial election closely and feeling worried. We heard from thousands of you that we should make climate action and basic income key election issues and stop the Conservatives making gains.

We’re ready to hold those in power to account and continue to build a diverse movement that we need for an equitable, just and climate-safe future.

We are going to continue to center the voices of those the system has left behind.

And we are going to push for deep systemic change on the foundation of hope and care — with the steadfast belief that a better world is possible.

What we do together in 2022 really matters and now we've got a clear direction for 2022 — now it's time to jump in and keep building the future we all deserve.

Leadnow is an independent voice — a way for hundreds and thousands of us to speak truth to power, regardless of who “power” is. To preserve that independence, we don’t take big cheques from government, CEOs or corporations.

With small donations from people across the country, we can invest in the tools we need to build our movement and fund the strategic, high-impact plans we make together. If you value the work of our Leadnow community, please donate to make sure we have the resources we need to make our voices heard in 2022 and beyond.

Thank you for all you do!

- The Leadnow Team