Health Canada’s Canadian Student Alcohol and Drugs Survey (CSADS) is a school-based survey administered to students in grades 7 to 12 (Secondary I through V in Quebec) from a sample of Canadian schools every two years.
Since 2004-05, Health Canada’s CSADS, formerly called the Canadian Student Tobacco, Alcohol and Drugs Survey (CSTADS) and before that the Youth Smoking Survey (YSS), has been conducted every two years to obtain critical information about health and health-related behaviours among Canada’s youth.
The 2023-24 survey contains questions about alcohol and drug use, as well as bullying and self-rated physical and mental health.
The participation of students who do not use alcohol or other substances is as important as the participation of those who do; as both are needed to produce accurate data with respect to alcohol and drug use among Canadian students.
This survey is an important surveillance tool which provides timely and reliable data toward the development and evaluation of strategies, policies and programs aimed at reducing higher risks substance use and related harms among Canada’s youth.
In our schools: each participating school receives their own report with results from the survey to guide internal action, along with a $200 honorarium.
In our provinces: provincial results inform policies, programs and intervention strategies.
In our country: trends are monitored over time and inform the development and evaluation of federal substance use policies and programs.
A representative sample of schools with students in grades 7 to 12 (Secondary I through V in Quebec) will be selected from across the 10 provinces.
Provincial ministries of education, school boards (where applicable) and schools will be contacted for their cooperation and support.
A consent process will take place for parents/guardians of students who are under the age of consent before the survey is administered.
On a date selected by the school, students will complete the survey over a 30 to 40-minute period in the classroom under the supervision of a teacher.
All survey materials and support for the survey will be provided to the school.
Students can refuse to take part in the survey at any time with no penalty.
Responses are confidential and are not linked to the student.
