From data to discovery: Tools for understanding youth in Canadian cities

Data is powerful, but without the right tools, it can be overwhelming—just a collection of numbers and words. At Youthful Cities, we believe that data should tell a story, one that helps us better understand the needs, challenges, and opportunities for youth in Canada. That’s why we created Youth Data Lab (YDL)—a platform that makes youth-focused data accessible, interactive, and actionable.

Over the next few weeks, we’re diving into insights from our latest research, the DEVlab project, and showing how our tools help uncover what youth need to thrive. But more importantly, we’re inviting you to use these tools to find your own insights—whether you’re a policymaker, researcher, employer, or a young person navigating the job market.

DEVlab data: Youth data for Canada’s cities

The insights we’re exploring come from DEVlab, a year-long project funded by the Government of Canada and in partnership with the Tamarack Institute. Through DEVlab, we investigated what youth need to succeed and how we can build more dynamic, engaged, and vital young workforces in cities.

Our research focuses on youth (ages 16-30) in Calgary, Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver, Moncton, Yellowknife, Regina and Whitehorse. We gathered data through:

• Hundreds of in-depth interviews with young people and professionals working with youth.
• An extensive survey capturing youth perspectives on work, skills, and city resources.
• A curated article database analyzing trends in youth employment and workforce development.

The challenge? Making sense of all this data. That’s where our tools come in.

The right tools for the job

To uncover meaningful insights, we needed ways to sift through our data, spot patterns, and bring the findings to life. We built tools that allow us to find themes, visualize trends, and highlight solutions—helping us and others make data-driven decisions about youth work and city-building.

These tools live in Youth Data Lab (YDL), an open platform designed to help policy makers, organizations, and the public explore youth-driven insights. And we know that what we’ve done is just one interpretation—we invite you to dig into the data and discover your own.

The tools

	Youth Cite – Searchable qualitative text tool Explore over 300 interviews with youth, industry leaders, and community actors on the challenges, skills, and workplace expectations shaping young people’s experiences in Canada. Our interactive visualization highlights key themes from 11,000 minutes of conversations, showing how youth envision change in education, employment, and beyond.
	Youth Chart – Survey visualization tool See how young people rank the importance of affordability, education, skills development, DEI, mental health, climate action, and more. Filter results by geography, identity segments, and psychographics to understand what youth value most in a job, city, or career path.
	Urban Work Index – City rankings based on youth priorities Compare 30 Canadian cities based on factors that matter to young workers, from good jobs to affordability, transportation, and climate action. Find out which cities are best suited for different career paths and work-life goals.

Four game-changing themes for the future of Canada’s youth

In the coming weeks, we’ll reveal key insights from major themes that emerged through our tools, showcasing the critical youth data they bring to life:

1. Transitioning from education to work
2. Post-pandemic work ecosystems
3. Ideal organizations for youth
4. The future of work in cities

For each theme, we’ll showcase the key insights uncovered through Youth Cite, Youth Chart, and the Urban Work Index, while also demonstrating how these tools can be used to visualize data and support decision-making. Whether it’s helping cities craft smarter policies, enabling organizations to create better workplaces, or empowering youth to navigate their career paths, these insights and tools can drive meaningful change.

Your turn: Explore, analyze, and share

We’ve built these tools not just to analyze data but to spark action and collaboration. Whether you’re a city official, employer, youth organization, or young person yourself—you can use our data to advocate for better workplaces, smarter policies, and stronger communities.

➡️ Dive into Youth Data Lab and explore the insights that matter to you.
➡️ Connect with us to learn how you can integrate your data with ours or use these tools to support your work.

Ready to start exploring? Head over to Youth Data Lab and dive in.