Sense of Community Belonging

Sense of community belonging refers to how one identifies with their community, and how it impacts them as a result. It is different than participation in community activities and events.

Statistics Canada states that research shows a high correlation of sense of community belonging with physical and mental health.

Table 1. Population Aged 12 and Over who Reported their Sense of Belonging to their Local Community as Being Very Strong or Somewhat Strong.

“Research shows a high correlation of sense of community-belonging with physical and mental health.” (Statistics Canada)

Geography	Sex	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012
Canada	Both sexes	64.6	65.0	65.4	65.4	64.8	66.1
	Males	63.9	65.0	64.5	64.6	63.0	65.8
	Females	65.4	64.9	66.2	66.2	66.6	66.4
Ontario by Health Unit	Both sexes	65.5	67.3	67.1	67.7	67.0	68.2
	Males	64.6	67.6	65.9	66.6	65.7	67.5
	Females	66.4	67.0	68.4	68.8	68.1	68.7
Niagara Regional Area Health Unit, Ontario	Both sexes	68.9	67.8	73.1	68.0	65.8	73.7
	Males	69.2	64.9	72.8	69.6	63.5	75.2
	Females	68.7	70.4	73.4	66.5	67.9	72.3

Table 2

This is a different version of the same information provided in Table 1. Values are for the Niagara Regional Area Health Unit. (Statistics Canada)

Characteristics	2007-2008	2009-2010	2011-2012
Number of persons	245,762	261,174	258,829
Percent	68.3	70.6	69.8

Figure 1: Sense of Community Belonging (%) by Sex, 12 Years and Over, Niagara Regional Area Health Unit (Health Region) and Ontario for 2013 (Statistics Canada, 2013)

Figure 2: Personal Resources: Sense of Community Belonging (%) by Sex, 12 Years and Over, Niagara Regional Area Health Unit (Health Region), and Canada for 2013. (Statistics Canada, 2013)