--- canonical_url: "https://csls.ca/research/the-gap-year-an-overview-of-the-issues/" title: "The Gap Year: An Overview of the Issues" author: name: "CSLS" url: "https://csls.ca/author/cslc/" date_published: "2026-07-02T12:42:12+00:00" date_modified: "2026-07-02T12:42:12+00:00" post_type: "research" summary: "" post_tag: - "Canada" - "education policy" - "gap year" - "post-secondary education" - "socioeconomic background" - "youth" country_focus: - "Canada" province_region: - "National" research_theme: - "Labour Markets" featured_image: "https://csls.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/old-reports_hero_banner_bg.webp" status: "publish" --- # The Gap Year: An Overview of the Issues Canonical URL: https://csls.ca/research/the-gap-year-an-overview-of-the-issues/ # The Gap Year: An Overview of the Issues [Download full PDF report](https://csls.ca/pdf/csls2017-01-1.pdf) Cite this report × Cite this report as: Greenspon, Jacob. 2017. “The Gap Year: An Overview of the Issues.” CSLS Research Report 2017-01. Ottawa: Centre for the Study of Living Standards. https://csls.ca/research/the-gap-year-an-overview-of-the-issues/ ## Author: - Jacob Greenspon Centre for the Study of Living Standards (CSLS) ## Report 2017-01 April 2017 44 pages ## Related research [Measuring the Appropriate Outcomes for Better Decision-Making: A Framework to Guide the Analysis of Health Policy Matthew Calver March 2016 | Report 2016-03 | 132 pages](https://csls.ca/research/measuring-the-appropriate-outcomes-for-better-decision-making-a-framework-to-guide-the-analysis-of-health-policy-2016-03/) [Living Standards Domain of the Canadian Index of Wellbeing Andrew Sharpe, Christopher Ross November 2011 | Report 2011-17 | 124 pages](https://csls.ca/research/living-standards-domain-of-the-canadian-index-of-wellbeing-2011-17/) [Productivity: Key to Economic Success Centre for the Study of Living Standards (CSLS) March 1998 | Report 1998-01 | 99 pages](https://csls.ca/research/productivity-key-to-economic-success/) [Apprenticeship in Canada: A Training System Under Siege? 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This report reviews the literature on issues related to gap years, with a focus on the Canadian context and the experiences of youth in several similar countries. Overall, taking a gap year appears to be a beneficial choice for many Canadian youth, although the impacts of a gap year are often dependent on the youth’s socioeconomic background and the activities they participate in during their gap year. Based on these findings in the literature, a number of options for public policy are proposed to improve knowledge of gap years, increase the take-up of gap years, and make gap years a more accessible option for disadvantaged segments of the population. La prise d’une année sabbatique entre les études secondaires et postsecondaires semble être un phénomène de plus en plus populaire dans la culture populaire, chez des personnalités connues et chez les jeunes Canadiens. Ce rapport recense la littérature sur les enjeux liés aux années sabbatiques, en mettant l’accent sur le contexte canadien et sur l’expérience des jeunes dans plusieurs pays comparables. Dans l’ensemble, la prise d’une année sabbatique semble être un choix bénéfique pour de nombreux jeunes Canadiens, bien que ses effets dépendent souvent du milieu socioéconomique du jeune et des activités auxquelles il participe durant cette année. À partir de ces constats tirés de la littérature, plusieurs pistes d’action publique sont proposées afin d’améliorer la connaissance des années sabbatiques, d’accroître leur recours, et de les rendre plus accessibles aux segments défavorisés de la population. [Download full PDF report](https://csls.ca/pdf/csls2017-01-1.pdf)