Although the direction of cause and effect is unclear, a range of social outcomes is also shown to have a relationship to literacy. Those reporting poor health score lower on the document literacy scale compared to those reporting better health and higher levels of prose literacy are associated with higher engagement in various community activities.

The results of IALSS raise concern because the ability to use and understand information is fundamental to daily life at work, at home, and in the community. A large proportion of Canadians have prose literacy scores at Levels 1 and 2 even in the highest performing jurisdictions such as the Yukon Territory (33 per cent), Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia (about 40 per cent). The proportion of the Canadian population aged 16 and over with numeracy scores at Levels 1 and 2 is even more pronounced (55 per cent).

The issues surrounding low literacy are compounded when combined with other factors that affect day-to-day well-being. More than half of seniors in Canada report being in poor health and the average document literacy score for this group corresponds to the lowest level on the literacy scales.

The belief that strong literacy proficiency is the foundation for building and maintaining competencies throughout the life cycle is widely held. Those with low literacy proficiency are most at risk of being excluded from lifelong learning opportunities. The results show that, overall, about half of Canadians age 16 to 65 participate in adult education and learning but this percentage drops to about 20 percent in all regions for those at the lowest level of literacy. Furthermore, in a society ever more dependent on obtaining its information through electronic means, familiarity with, and use of, information and communications technologies is almost a necessity. The survey results show that use of computers is lowest among those with low literacy – meaning that in addition to a digital divide, non-users may also face a literacy challenge.

The findings presented in this report leave no room for doubt that the Canadian literacy challenge, so dramatically highlighted with the release of the IALS a decade ago, remains a major factor today. Yet, there are also reasons for optimism. Overall, Canadians aged 16 to 65 have average prose and document literacy scores at Level 3– the desired threshold for coping with the increasing skill demands of a knowledge economy and society. The average for numeracy is only slightly below this threshold level. In all industry sectors, at least one in ten Canadians scores at the highest level of literacy proficiency. In the international context, Canadians outperform by a significant margin major North American trading partners, the United States and the Mexican State of Nuevo Leon. Moreover, there are areas of literacy excellence in Canada when judged against an international standard. The Yukon Territory, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia record high prose literacy scores, comparing favourably with Norway, the country with the highest average score among participating countries. The western provinces and the Yukon score above the national average across all four proficiency domains and thus, set a high standard of excellence for Canadians.