Adults Who Mentor

In 2019, Mentor Canada launched the first ever pan-Canadian study on youth mentoring: The State of Mentoring Research Initiative.

For the first time, we have detailed information about adults’ opinions about youth mentoring. In the fall of 2020, 3,500 adults in Canada participated in a national survey and reported on their views on the importance of mentoring for young people’s development and on their experiences mentoring young people.

Key findings

4 in 5 adults

4 in 5 adults believe that young people need more mentoring supports to help maximize their success in adulthood.

4 in 5 adults

4 in 5 adults agree that governments should invest in youth mentoring.

About 1 in 3 adults

About 1 in 3 adults has been a mentor to a young person.

About 1 in 10 adults

About 1 adult in 10 has experience as a mentor in a formal mentoring program.

Close to 1 in 4 adults

Close to 1 in 4 adults not currently mentoring a young person would be likely to do so in the next 5 years.

This dashboard allows you to explore detailed data pertaining to 3 major research questions.

What proportion of adults are currently mentoring a young person?

The data shown corresponds to the percentage of respondents who reported that they were a mentor – whether formally, informally, or both – to at least one young person under the age of 25 in September or October 2020 or in the previous 12 months.

What proportion of adults are not currently mentoring a young person but had done so in the past?

The data shown corresponds to the percentage of respondents who reported they were a mentor – whether formally, informally, or both – to a young person under the age of 25 in the past. This includes mentoring relationships that respondents developed during their adulthood. It does not include respondents who may have been mentors during their teenage years.

What proportion of adults who are not currently mentoring would be likely to do so in the next 5 years?

The data shown corresponds to the percentage of respondents not currently mentoring who selected a 6 or higher on the 10-point scale when asked how likely they were to mentor a young person – whether formally, informally, or both – in the next five years. This does not include the likelihood of current mentors to continue their involvement with mentoring.

You can refine your exploration of the data by looking at 3 of the respondents’ demographic characteristics.

Location

When data is insufficient to show results at the provincial level, we have shown them at the regional level.

Gender identity

All genders is inclusive of survey respondents who identified as gender diverse (e.g. non-binary or Two-spirit respondents). When data is sufficient, results include gender diverse respondents as a standalone category.

Age

Age was shown to have an association with respondents’ experiences mentoring and their likelihood of mentoring in the next 5 years. In some cases, data is insufficient to provide a detailed breakdown by age.