About | London Vital Signs

Bigger, more diverse, and more exciting than ever before. I am talking about London and Middlesex County of course.

Martha Powell

In the heart of southwestern Ontario, London is a special place to live and work. We’re approaching half a million in population and yet still appreciate the relative affordability and security that a mid-size community has combined with the business and career opportunities of a big city.

Thoughtful generations before us carefully planned the tree-lined streets, numerous parks, extensive walking and biking trails and an abundance of recreation facilities that we enjoy today.

Today I see citizens of all ages involved with community groups in every neighbourhood. More and more new Canadians are choosing London as their home. New apartment towers are going up in the core, City officials released an ambitious plan to overhaul downtown that includes creating more residential space and reconnecting with the Thames River. We’re attracting some of the best sports and entertainment events. Yes, the London as you know today is different from the London of 10 years ago. In fact, at no other point in history have we had as many tools at our disposal to develop this City to its fullest potential.

Yes, life is good – until it isn’t.

Our third Vital Signs® report compiles research conducted by individual organizations and identifies trends - both good and bad - across the City. Perhaps not surprisingly to many of you, even though we want our community to be smart, caring, inclusive, productive, forward-looking, and healthy - the reality is we are falling short.

Since we released Vital Signs® 2010, it’s only gotten worse for those most vulnerable in our community. The need for headsidized housing is increasing, more children are living in poverty and our smoking rate is above both the Ontario and Canadian average.

This report is a call to become more informed about the health and well being of our vibrant community. As you read this report, I encourage you to reflect on how you - as a member of this community - feel we are doing in each area. Visit londonvitalsigns.ca and let us know your thoughts.

About Vital Signs®

Vital Signs ® is an annual check-up conducted by community foundations across Canada that measures the vitality of our communities and identifies significant trends in a range of areas critical to quality of life. Vital Signs ® is coordinated nationally by Community Foundations of Canada.

Methodology: Indicator Selection

Indicators for each of the six key areas were selected on the basis of:
• Availability of data
• Ease and cost of data collection
• Reputable and reliable data source
• Currency of data
• Community interest
• Data that will be updated regularly for future trending
• A three-year cycle for core indicators as agreed upon by all community foundations participating in Vital Signs

The Vital Signs ® trademark is used with permission from Community Foundations of Canada.

Thank You

London’s Vital Signs ® report would not be a reality without the working support and contributions from countless individuals, organizations and businesses from across the community. We would like to offer our sincere gratitude to all for making London’s Vital Signs ® 2010 a success. Special thanks to Donna Bourne for her leadership on this project.

Contributors

Joan Atchison, London Police Service
Matt Feldberg, City of London
Stephen Giustizia , City of London
Ellen Hobin, London Public Library
Houda Hussein, The London & Middlesex Local Immigration Partnership
Donna Ladouceur, Community Care Access Centre
Anne Langille, WIL Employment Connections
Devin Munro, WIL Employment Connections
Abe Oudshoorn, London Homelessness Outreach Network
Jan Richardson, City of London
Jay Stanford, City of London
Kathy Stark, Community Care Access Centre

London Community Foundation Board

Richard M. Ivey, Honorary Director
Lorraine Ivey Shuttleworth, Honorary Director

2012 Board of Directors

Donna Bourne, Chair
Patrick O'Neill, Vice Chair
John Nicholson, Past Chair
Tima Bansal
Kate Brown
Peter Dillon
Murray Faulkner
Perry Ferguson
Stephen Foerster
Fred Galloway
Vic Jindal
John Mockler
Glen Pearson
Greg Playford
Joe Ruscitti

Advisory Council

Bill Brady
Jeannette Eberhard
Ann Lowry
Tom Mitchell
M. Lee Myers
Barrie Neal
Judith Rodger
Robert Siskind
Diane Y. Stewart
Janet Stewart
Cal Stiller
Gordon Thompson
Lucille Wolf

Corporate Supporters

About London Community Foundation

In the simplest terms, community foundations are charitable organizations dedicated to improving communities in specific geographical areas. They do this by pooling the charitable gifts of donors to create endowment funds and using the investment income to make grants, and providing leadership on key community issues.

Since 1979 London Community Foundation has been working to ensure prosperity across generations who choose to make a life in London and Middlesex County by pooling the charitable gifts of many donors into a permanent, income-earning endowment.

Each year grants from the earnings of these funds are used to support a broad variety of charitable initiatives from health, education and social services to arts, culture and the environment.

London Community Foundation is a proud member of Community Foundations of Canada - the national membership organization for the over 175 community foundations across Canada

Our Mission
Through the power of giving, we create a vibrant and caring community by investing strategically in innovative community-based solutions.

Our Vision
A community working together so that each member has the opportunity for an enriched quality of life.

About Vital Signs®

What are the issues facing our communities? How are we responding? Is there a way you can make a difference? These are just some of the questions tackled by Vital Signs, a national program of Canada's community foundations.

We research and report on London’s quality of life in our biennial Vital Signs® Report. It is a consolidated snapshot of the trends in our city, highlighting progress we should be proud of and challenges that need to be addressed.

The Report is compiled from current statistics and special studies which look at six different, yet interconnected, issue areas that are critical to the well-being of our city and its residents.

The goals of the London’s Vital Signs® Report include inspiring civic engagement, providing focus for public debate, and guiding donors and stakeholders who want to direct their resources to areas of greatest need.

Vital Signs is a community check-up conducted by community foundations across Canada that measures the vitality of our communities and identifies significant trends in a range of areas critical to quality of life. Vital Signs is co-ordinated nationally by Community Foundations of Canada.

The Vital Signs trademark is used with permission from Community Foundations of Canada.

About London’s Vital Signs® Report

Vital Signs serves as a check-up on the vitality of London and provides a snapshot of the positive and negative trends in areas important to our quality of life.

The report is compiled from recent statistics and studies that look at six different, and yet interconnected, issue areas that are critical to the well being of our city and its residents: Getting Started in our Community, Belonging and Leadership, Learning, Work, Environment and Gap Between Rich and Poor. This study deepens our community knowledge and is a valuable tool for residents, leaders and elected officials who develop the new ideas required to build a stronger London.

London Community Foundation has placed the emphasis of the report on the City of London. In some instances, the data presented represents the City of London and Middlesex County where possible. Conversely, some data estimates in the report use the Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) that includes the City of London along with the townships of Central Elgin, Southwold and Strathroy-Caradoc and surrounding areas of Middlesex and Thames Centres (Statistics Canada definition, 2001). It is important to note the data source when reading through the report for clarity on the geographical area.

Research Sources

Canadian Community Health Survey, Statistics Canada
Centre for Lifelong Learning
Children’s Aid Society of London and Middlesex
Children and Youth Network
City of London
Composite Learning Index
Elections Canada; City of London Elections Office
Fanshawe College, Research and Institutional Planning Office
Households and the Environment Survey 2007
London District Catholic School Board
London Economic Development Corporation
London Food Bank
Middlesex London Heath Unit
OEYC Data Analysis Coordinators, Early Development Instrument
Ontario Municipal Benchmarking Initiative
Statistics Canada
The University of Western Ontario
Thames Valley District School Board Annual Report 2009

Note: London CMA (Census Metropolitan Area) includes the City of London along with the townships of Central Elgin, Southwold and Strathroy-Caradoc and surrounding areas of Middlesex and Thames Centres.