05/22/2026
Do you have teens in your family? They can fill out the Youth Impact Survey to help shape our community!
Plus, teens will get a chance to win some great prizes when they fill out the survey!
Learn more: https://youthimpactsurvey.ca/
Two surveys are underway to hear directly from young people and immigrants about their experiences in Waterloo Region. The Youth Impact Survey, run by the Children and Youth Planning Table (CYPT), and the Immigrant Survey, led by the Waterloo Region Immigration Partnership (IP), are both open until May 31. The data collected will help build a safe, inclusive community where everyone belongs.
Fill out the surveys here:
1. Immigrant Survey (For newcomers age 19+): https://wlu.ca1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_bDCox8shs2r3Dts
2. Youth Impact Survey (For youth age 9-18 including newcomers): https://youthimpactsurvey.ca/
“With Waterloo Region on the road to reaching one million residents, it’s critical that we plan for the future now,” said Karen Redman, Chair of Regional Council. “By hearing directly from community members like youth and newcomers, we’re ensuring that diverse voices are included in that conversation. The experiences you share are helping government, organizations, and community members build the Waterloo Region of the future.”
The Children and Youth Planning Table of Waterloo Region is a community-wide partnership of service providers, researchers, planning bodies, and funders who serve children, youth, and families, that works to improve the well-being of children and youth in the region. A large part of meaningfully serving children and youth is to ensure that they are given a platform to express their needs, concerns and ideas in their own words.
For 20 years, the Waterloo Region Immigration Partnership has united public, private, and non-profit organizations to help immigrants succeed and the community prosper. Its vision is an inclusive Waterloo Region where immigrants thrive and contribute to shared prosperity, and its mission is to equip partners to enhance immigrant success through research, mobilization, and influence. The 2026 Immigrant Survey is a key tool in this work, capturing experiences of living, working, and studying in the region.
Both CYPT and IP are hosted by the Region of Waterloo, connecting their work directly to the local community and its residents. The surveys are being conducted in partnership with the Family Psycle Lab at University of Waterloo and the International Migration Research Centre at Wilfrid Laurier University.
The Immigrant Survey is available in seven languages (English, French, Arabic, Spanish, Tigrigna, Ukrainian, Mandarin, and Serbian.) The Youth Impact Survey consent forms are available in seven languages (English, French, Arabic, Spanish, Farsi, Urdu, Tigrigna) and the survey is available in English, French, and Arabic.
To get paper copies of the Immigrant Survey, please reach out to Saba Shafiq at [email protected]. To get paper copies of the Youth Impact Survey, please reach out to Sevil Berenji at [email protected].
The data has been used by government, community organizations, and individuals in grant applications, strategic planning, and other decision-making efforts. Organizations in Waterloo Region have leveraged the Youth Impact Survey data to gain $2.99 million in funding to put towards supporting young people. Previous Immigrant Survey data and the Youth Impact Survey data are publicly available.
