As we approach National Volunteer Week, April 19-25, 2026, I want to extend my deepest gratitude to the thousands of volunteers who support United Way Centraide across the country. You are community champions, catalysts for change, and partners in our mission to create lasting, local impact. Your time, energy, and compassion help us build stronger, safer, and more connected communities across Canada.
Volunteerism is a powerful expression of social connection, bringing people together, breaking down isolation, and strengthening wellbeing for both those who give their time and those whose lives are touched by it. It is an essential part of the social infrastructure of this country: volunteers enable community agencies to deliver life‑changing services; they offer care to seniors, mentor youth, support families in crisis, and contribute to local programs that keep communities strong. Their efforts underpin a charitable sector that contributes $215 billion annually to the Canadian economy and provides services millions rely on. In many cases, volunteers are the reason these services exist at all; Imagine Canada has reported that 55% of charities are entirely volunteer-run.
At United Way Centraide, volunteers are the beating heart of our mission. They guide our governance, power our fundraising campaigns, support community programs, and ensure that vital services reach the people who need them most. Their involvement represents the best of community engagement, people stepping forward to support their neighbours, strengthen community connections, and help build a more equitable and inclusive Canada by giving what is most precious to them: their time.
National Volunteer Week is an important moment to reflect on the essential role volunteers play in sustaining the social infrastructure that businesses, governments, and communities depend on. In 2026, as the United Nations marks the International Year of Volunteers, we have a unique opportunity to recognize and celebrate the dedication and generosity of the people who strengthen communities across Canada every day. This year’s national theme, led by Volunteer Canada, “Ignite volunteerism,” calls us not only to acknowledge the profound impact of volunteers, but also to examine how our Movement, and by extension our social sector, can better support and sustain volunteer engagement into the future.
Canada is facing a steep gap in volunteer capacity, while service demand is surging. Yet we also know that volunteerism is at a crossroads. Canadian volunteering for nonprofits and charities has declined in recent years, from 1.7 billion hours to 1.2 billion hours from 2018 to 2023. Using data reported by Statistics Canada, Volunteer Canada has identified a significant decline in volunteer hours in both formal and informal volunteering across Canada, with the volunteer rate falling from 79% to 73% since 2023.
As the nonprofit sector faces a trilemma of precarious funding, increased demands and a workforce experiencing high rates of burnout, the decrease in volunteer engagement places our social infrastructure at risk and reminds us of the vital contributions volunteers are making every day. This reality challenges our sector, and all levels of government, to think differently about how we engage, support and recognize volunteers.
Rebuilding the foundations that support volunteer engagement will strengthen the social conditions that drive economic growth and foster community stability. For our Movement, this means activating community participation and nurturing the sense of shared responsibility and pride that inspires people to give their time. This is why we have been an active supporter of Volunteer Canada’s efforts to build a national volunteer action strategy, and recognize the important work being done in our sector like the Time to Act volunteer movement led by CUSO International.
We must invest in the policies and infrastructure that make volunteerism possible: training and onboarding, flexible volunteering pathways, digital tools, learning and recognition opportunities, and skill development. Equally important, when organizations are equipped with stable funding, sustainable people and culture practices, and the resources needed to support volunteers effectively, communities thrive.
This year, I invite everyone, including policy‑makers, funders, businesses, and community members, to consider how we can ignite volunteerism together. When we value and invest in the people who give their time freely, we are building resilient communities while ensuring that the charitable sector remains a powerful force for good.
To every volunteer: thank you. Your contribution matters, and it is felt every day.
-Dan Clement, President & CEO
United Way Centraide Canada
