Science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) learning can help young Canadians build the critical skills they need to participate meaningfully in a digital economy, including an understanding of scientific methods, numeracy, digital literacy, and problem-solving. However, to meet changing economic and citizenship demands, Canada needs to revisit how and what we teach, how students learn, and who inspires them to engage with STEM and shows where it can take them.

Recognizing this, Let’s Talk Science initiated Canada 2067 — an ambitious national discussion to develop a shared vision to improve STEM learning. The goal? To develop recommendations that align efforts of education stakeholders, community organizations, industry, governments, and parents to help our systems adapt to the demands of a changing global economy and prepare our youth to compete, contribute, and thrive in a world of rapid technological change.

Leading the way, Let’s Talk Science has embraced the Canada 2067 recommendations by developing new tools, activities, and resources in support of an integrated approach to digital literacy which has been recognized as critical to the successes of our future economy. Living Space — a citizen science action project launching this fall — will challenge youth across Canada to examine the environmental conditions in their classroom and compare them to those reported by David Saint-Jacques onboard the International Space Station. Using sensors and coding, classrooms will develop and use a combination of critical thinking skills and STEM competencies to report their findings.

To review the Canada 2067 recommendations and see what you can do, visit canada2067.ca. We all have a responsibility to prepare our youth for their future so that Canada is well-positioned as a leader in the digital economy.