The word “lobbyist” is politically charged in Canada, but most legislative change comes from lobbying efforts by special interest groups.

Those special interest groups include non-profit organizations, community service organizations, and social services sector associations; advocacy influences lasting change.

Advocacy doesn’t always have to mean large advertising campaigns or talking to the Prime Minister. Sometimes, it’s a conversation, a letter or an appearance before your municipality’s council. 

We also came across innovative solutions, including a first-time summit and deliberately engaging Gen-Z voices.

Below, we’ve highlighted ten advocacy efforts by non-profit organizations that recently resulted in tangible public policy change, from big to small.

Organization: The Canadian Centre for Caregiving Excellence

Policy wish: A national caregiving strategy

Result: In the 2024 Federal Budget, the Liberal government announced a commitment to a National Caregiving Strategy. The centre was founded to advocate for policy change for caregivers at the federal level, even though policies are needed at all levels of government to support caregivers, according to the centre. “This will have the broadest immediate impact across the country and influence future policy changes in the provinces and territories,” reads their website. Their process included numerous media appearances, press releases, partnerships with like-minded organizations and an innovative summit to discuss strategy in 2023. The first step before a caregiving strategy is consultation, which the government has committed to doing, but there were few details in the budget. Still, the centre considers the commitment a positive step.

Organization: Cooperation Canada, Imagine Canada and others

Policy wish: Allowing charities to disburse funds to non-qualified donees in Canada

Result: For years, Cooperation Canada and Imagine Canada, along with other non-profit groups and associations, lobbied the Canada Revenue Agency through op-eds, committee appearances and consultation letters to change the rules to allow charitable organizations to grant to what are called non-qualified donees or groups that have not registered as a charity. This could include non-profits, grassroots organizations or even individuals. In 2022, the CRA changed the Income Tax Act to allow this to happen. Considered a significant policy win, charities are now figuring out how to do this properly, within the rules. Other groups involved included the Humanitarian Coalition and First Nations representatives.

Organization: The Canadian Veterinary Medical Association

Policy wish: Amending and expanding animal cruelty laws in Canada

Result: In 2019, the Canadian Veterinary Medical Association was successful in helping to amend Canada’s animal cruelty laws to expand protections to animals of all species. In their letter to the House of Commons, they stated the previous laws did not include as an offence “maintaining a facility for animals other than cocks, nor does it recognize as an offence the training of animals to fight. Later that year, the laws were changed to allow for charges to be laid for anyone who breeds animals for fighting or who trains animals to fight.

Organization: Alberta Council of Disability Services

Policy wish: A significant pay increase for disability support workers in Alberta

Result: The Alberta Council of Disability Services, the Alberta Disability Workers Association, and Alberta Disability Awareness in Action successfully advocated a 10 per cent pay raise for more than 20,000 frontline workers in the province’s social services sector. In December of 2022, the pay raise went into effect, and average wages rose from $18.76 an hour to about $22 an hour. Despite the raise, however, it was still less than half of the asked-for 25 per cent pay raise. The work continues.

Organization: Union Co-operative

Policy wish: Property tax reductions for affordable housing in Waterloo Region, Ont.

Result: As housing becomes more unaffordable across the country, local organizations are looking for ways to continue to build affordable housing units in their communities. Union Co-operative in Waterloo Region successfully advocated for a property tax break for new affordable housing units. “When used to leverage bank financing, it can have a significant impact on the ability of housing organizations to scale and compete,” said Sean Campbell, Union’s executive director. According to the region, the Property Tax Exemption for Affordable Housing Program will begin taking applications later this year, with tax exemptions starting in 2025.

Organization: New Majority

Policy wish: Mandatory eco-friendly development standards in Mississauga, Ont.

Result: It took two years of talks, meetings, volunteer activations and media stories, but the City of Mississauga now has mandatory Green Development Standards, thanks to the voices of Gen Zers. While several organizations did the advocacy, “it was the New Majority youth who councillors repeatedly cited as inspiring; and leading to the YES vote,” said Amanda Munday, New Majority’s executive director. The changes came into effect in April of this year, and it’s hoped the new standards will help the city continue to reduce its emissions to 40 per cent below 1990 levels.

Organization: The Canadian Centre for Child Protection

Policy wish: Enhancing children’s safety at city-run facilities

Result: This national charity that works to keep children from online exploitation and sexual abuse successfully advocated for enhanced safety standards in Winnipeg’s pools, libraries and recreation centres. The city now runs C3P’s Protecting Children in Public Spaces program, which first examines safety protocols, reporting procedures, and staff training at their facilities to protect children from sexual abuse and exploitation. The initiative also targets facility users through printed media that encourages people to notify staff of unusual behaviour, such as taking pictures of children without permission, phones/cameras in change rooms, or other actions. Since its implementation, the City of New Westminister, B.C., has also come on board.

Organization: Paths for People

Policy wish: Safe, city-wide cycling infrastructure in Edmonton

Result: The Edmonton-based charity has been pushing for the city’s council to spend significant money on the provincial capital’s Bike Plan, a connected network of paths for bicycle, scooter and wheelchair users. Their consistent and steady advocacy efforts, which included talking to politicians, public-facing events, media appearances and committee presentations, landed them a significant victory in 2023 when the City council announced a plan to invest $100 million in the Edmonton Bike Plan. The group says they’re awaiting communications on which cycling projects the money will be spent. 

Organization: The Bruce Oake Foundation

Policy wish: A long-term, neighbourhood-based recovery centre for addictions in Winnipeg

Result: The Bruce Oake Foundation was created after the Oake family lost their son, Bruce, to a drug overdose at 25. Since then, the group worked to raise funds to build a long-term recovery centre for men suffering from drug and alcohol addictions in Winnipeg. When the city decided to sell a parcel of land in a residential neighbourhood, the foundation lobbied councillors and the mayor and made media appearances to ask the city to instead re-zone the land and sell it to them for $1. Despite pushback from residents that required the group to reach out to the community directly, the Bruce Oake Recovery Centre opened in May 2021. 

Organization: New Brunswick Council of School District Unions

Policy wish: Cameras on school buses to catch dangerous drivers

Result: In most provinces, drivers catch a hefty fine if caught passing a school bus when the bus is stopped, and the lights are flashing, and the same is true in New Brunswick. However, bus drivers were rarely able to take down scofflaws’ information as they concentrated on ensuring children were loaded onto the bus safely. The New Brunswick Council of School District Unions pushed their divisions and provincial politicians for cameras to catch egregious drivers who sped or passed a bus when stopped. The cameras were installed on 1,200 school buses in 2023.

Organization: Turning Points Collaborative Society

Policy wish: Affordable and transitional housing for homeless people in Kelowna, B.C.

Result: As home prices remain unaffordable in most Canadian markets, Turning Points Collaborative Society has remained at the forefront of advocating for the Okanagan Valley’s most vulnerable. While their advocacy includes the usual political pressure and media events, they also focus on community education and awareness among the general public with workshops in public spaces like local colleges and libraries. Their latest transitional housing project opened in May. 14, 2024, called Trailside Transitional Housing, and they are currently developing rent-geared-to-income housing in the district of Summerland, B.C., thanks to their advocacy efforts.

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