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Gender-based analysis plus — Departmental Results Report 2022-23

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Section 1: Institutional GBA Plus Capacity

A. Governance

In 2022–23, Canadian Heritage (PCH) has continued to implement Gender-based Analysis Plus (GBA Plus) within the Department through a governance structure consisting of a GBA Plus Champion, a GBA Plus Responsibility Centre, and a GBA Plus Community of Practice.

The GBA Plus Responsibility Centre leads and coordinates GBA Plus activities at PCH and supports the application of GBA Plus in departmental policy, programs, and research activities by reviewing Memoranda to Cabinet, Treasury Board submissions and Budget proposals and by signing off on related GBA Plus analysis. It also plays an important role in planning, monitoring, and reporting on GBA Plus at PCH. The GBA Plus Responsibility Centre also fosters GBA Plus capacity at PCH through the Community of Practice, GBA Plus promotion and training, and special projects, as needed. Finally, the GBA Plus Responsibility Centre participates in whole-of-government GBA Plus work, including interdepartmental networks.

The GBA Plus Community of Practice consists of representation at the working level from every branch, region, and corporate service area, and for which GBA Plus training is a membership requirement. Each branch is responsible for implementing GBA Plus within their area of responsibility. The Community of Practice met twice in 2022–23 to share training, resources, and information pertinent to GBA Plus, including departmental plans to improve program data collection, as well as to seek members’ feedback on their needs and future areas of focus for the Community of Practice.

In 2022–23, the GBA Plus Responsibility Centre undertook efforts to strengthen the rigour and intersectionality of GBA Plus, including leading a GBA Plus that is transformational and meaningful rather than initiative-driven or focused on data to the exclusion of the broader context. As well, work was undertaken to advance the mandate commitment held by the Minister of Housing and Diversity and Inclusion to support the Minister for Women and Gender Equality and Youth to continue “the evaluation process of GBA Plus with the goal of enhancing the framing and parameters of this analytical tool and with particular attention to the intersectional analysis of race, indigeneity, rurality, disability and sexual identity, among other characteristics.” To that end, the GBA Plus Responsibility Centre supported PCH’s participation in the work led by Women and Gender Equality Canada towards building an enhanced intersectional approach for fairness and inclusion.

Work to ensure inclusive decision-making gained momentum in 2022-23, with new governance committees formed to make decisions and advise on all reconciliation and inclusion, diversity, equity, and accessibility (IDEA) initiatives in the Department.

B. Human Resources:

To support these and other activities, the Department has the following human resources dedicated to supporting GBA Plus objectives:

Furthermore, a total of 11.3 FTEs have been dedicated within the following specific teams:

C. Major Initiatives to Enhance GBA Plus Capacity:

1. Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Review

From its inception in September 2021 through to its completion in March 2023, the Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Review invited participants from 12 PCH programs to investigate the underlying and historic biases built into program design and delivery and the ways in which these biases produce inequitable outcomes. This contributed to significant progress in 2022–23 in PCH’s ability to assess the impacts of its activities and programs, as well as the systemic inequalities that result from the interaction between departmental programs and intersecting identity factors held by people across Canada. In total, 60 employees across the Department’s sectors - arts, culture, heritage and sport - participated in the Review, deepening the Department’s capacity for intersectional analysis. As a result, participating programs were able to design their own strategies addressing funding inequities, including the further use of GBA Plus tools and approaches.

Moreover, the Review’s final report made over 80 recommendations for departmental consideration on ways in which the Department can build a sustainable and impactful path to equity, including:

2. Research and analytical tools and data collection

3. Awareness, resources, and training

In addition to the GBA Plus Community of Practice activities, the following additional awareness, resource, and training initiatives were undertaken by different branches in the Department:

Section 2: Gender and Diversity Impacts, by Program

Core Responsibility 1: Creativity, arts and culture

a. Program Name: Arts

Program Goals:
The Arts Program provides opportunities for Canadians to engage with the arts, contributes to the vitality of the arts sector and deepens the connections between cultural organizations and their communities. It encourages access and participation, resilience and excellence in the arts for all Canadians by supporting institutions that offer artists and performers training of the highest calibre in preparation for professional careers, the presentation of professional arts festivals or performing arts series, the improvement of cultural infrastructure, the improvement of business practices of arts and heritage organizations, and the development of partnerships in the sector. This program also provides advice on policies, legislation and regulatory measures related to the arts sector.
Target Population:
All Canadians
Distribution of Benefits:

By gender

  • Third group: Broadly gender-balanced

By income level

  • Third group: No significant distributional impacts

By age group

  • Second group: No significant inter-generational impacts or impacts generation between youth and seniors
Specific Demographic Group Outcomes:
  • Direct beneficiaries: All Canadians
  • Indirect beneficiaries: Employees working in funded organizations and cultural workers.
  • Groups facing barriers and/or experiencing negative impacts: Although the program has made progress in reducing some barriers for equity-deserving groups and underserved communities, other barriers still exist, such as financial means for initial project costs.
Key Program Impacts on Gender and Diversity:
Key Program Impacts on Gender and Diversity - Arts
Statistics Observed ResultsFootnote 1 Data Source Comment
Number of projects approved through the Re-engaging Audiences Fund for Professional Arts Presentation Organizations which were from priority groups (women, young audiences, rural and remote, official language minority, racialized, Indigenous, ethnocultural communities). 237 (37.5%) of the 632 projects approved, for a total funding of $7,901,454 (32.5%). Program reports

Administered by the Canada Arts Presentation Fund, the Re-engaging Audiences Fund for Professional Arts Presentation Organizations is designed to help stimulate the relaunch of the arts presentation sector.

This fund was available to recipients of 2021–22 & 2022–23 Canada Arts Presentation Fund; Support for Workers; Phases 1 & 2 of the Emergency Support Fund; and unsuccessful applicants from 2020–21 through to 2022–23.
Number of projects approved through the Canada Arts and Cultural Recovery Program for Professional Arts Presentation Organizations which were from priority groups (women, remote, official language minority, racialized, and Indigenous communities). 32 (24.24%) (of the 132 projects approved, for a total funding of $1,005,600 (21.32%). Program reports

Administered by the Canada Arts Presentation Fund, the fund provides targeted support to existing program recipients that own or operate an indoor facility as a presentation venue.

This fund was available to both Canada Arts Presentation Fund recipients and non-recipients that own or operate an indoor facility as a presentation venue, whether purpose-built or adapted.
Other Key Program Impacts:

The Canada Arts Presentation Fund implemented actions to reduce barriers faced by equity-deserving groups and underserved communities, including organizations serving Indigenous and racialized communities, through two initiatives that are now an integral part of the program: (1) the extension of the eligibility criteria for the Development Component to include non-incorporated organizations and ad hoc community groups from Indigenous and equity-deserving communities as eligible applicants; and (2) the creation of oral applications as an alternative application method to increase the diversity of funding recipients. Additionally, for the past two years, the program has played a key role in delivering time-limited funding initiatives aimed to help alleviate the financial impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the arts presentation sector. All initiatives included additional program considerations for applicant organizations from equity-deserving groups and underserved communities, including Indigenous, racialized, official language minority communities, 2SLGBTQI+, women-led organizations and Deaf people and people with disabilities.

The Canada Performing Arts Workers Resilience Fund’s eligibility criteria requirements were tailored to address pandemic impacts that were disproportionately felt by artists and cultural workers from equity-deserving communities, including youth, newcomers, Indigenous and racialized people, and women. Applicants were required to describe how their programs and services addressed the labour force concerns of workers from equity-seeking communities and this information was considered in applicant assessment.

GBA Plus Data Collection Plan:

In 2022–23, programs assessed their performance measurement information against GBA Plus, as well as diversity and inclusion considerations. To further support the collection and analysis of quality data, the Department continued to do research and to develop methodologies for GBA Plus data collection for programs, in collaboration with other partners. For example, the Canada Cultural Spaces Fund, the Canada Arts Presentation Fund and the Canada Cultural Investment Fund participated in the Department’s Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Review that will further inform the development of future GBA Plus indicators and data collection.

As part of its response to the Arts Programs Grouped Evaluation (2019) recommendation to “address barriers to all programs for smaller organizations and underserved groups…”, the Department conducted two research projects in two phases. Phase one examined barriers faced by Indigenous arts and heritage organizations and was completed in 2021. Phase two examined barriers faced by racialized arts and heritage organizations and was completed in 2022. The recommendations from the consultations included intermediary actions, intended to be short-term actions that could be implemented immediately, to reduce barriers to funding for these groups.

In 2022, the Department also increased its understanding of employment in the arts sector by purchasing additional disaggregated data that enabled analysis of Statistics Canada’s Labour Force Survey data through a gender lens. This data provided insight on the representation of artists in the overall Canadian labour force, including information on gender identity, population groups and socio-economic characteristics. The Department used this information to support the expansion of eligibility criteria and application methods to be more inclusive, provide targeted funding to disproportionately affected equity-deserving groups impacted by the pandemic, develop new program initiatives to address historically underserved and marginalized equity-deserving communities, and develop new indicators that measure the program’s immediate, intermediate and long-term GBA Plus impacts.

As part of its response to the Harbourfront Centre Funding Program evaluation (2018), the program continued to work on its commitment to gather and review existing statistical information related to GBA Plus considerations for the Harbourfront Centre. This information will help inform the development of GBA Plus indicators for the Harbourfront Centre Funding Program. A joint review of Harbourfront Centre’s Data Collection Strategy was completed by the Department. The review found that the Harbourfront Centre’s data collection strategy is comprehensive and privacy parameters are currently being finalized.

b. Program Name: Cultural Marketplace Framework

Program Goals:
The Cultural Marketplace Framework program contains multiple components and aims to support marketplace conditions for a strong, innovative and competitive cultural sector. It is responsible for policy development and advice to ensure a responsive legislative and policy framework. This program also conducts and provides advice on international trade negotiations related to Canada’s cultural interests. Lastly, this program includes policy development and implementation activities related to the cultural marketplace regulatory framework.
Target Population:
All Canadians
Distribution of Benefits:

By gender

  • Third group: Broadly gender-balanced

By income level

  • Third group: No significant distributional impacts

By age group

  • Second group: No significant inter-generational impacts or impacts generation between youth and seniors
Specific Demographic Group Outcomes:
  • Direct beneficiaries: All Canadians
  • Indirect beneficiaries: Workers in the movie, television, and publishing sectors; foreign investors and/or foreign entrepreneurs; consumers at large.
Key Program Impacts on Gender and Diversity:
Not available
Other Key Program Impacts:

Overall, there is limited research on the differential impacts of online disinformation in Canada. To address this limited research, the Digital Citizen Initiative funded research on the origins, spread and impact of online disinformation in Canada. This research helps inform future programs and policymaking in order to better target potentially vulnerable groups.

In addition, in 2022–23, the Digital Citizen Contribution Program funded two intakes focused on projects aiming to: help people identify misinformation and disinformation online; evaluate the efficacy of efforts by platforms to counter disinformation and other online harms; understand the role of non-news and alternative media sources of disinformation; and identify the behavioural and psychological underpinnings of the spread of disinformation and other harmful content in the Canadian context. During this period, the program provided $90,000 to the Ontario Digital Literacy and Access Network for their project “Possible Practices to Protect Canadian Organizations from Queerphobic Cyber-Violence.” This project focuses on understanding how Canadian non-profits and charities that service 2SLGBTQI+ communities experience queerphobic cyber-violence and how to mitigate incidences of cyber-harassment. The program also provided $100,000 to tackle misinformation in Albertan ethnocultural communities, and over $257,000 for three projects focused on supporting Black communities in Canada in the face of disinformation and other online harms. Specifically, the program funded a project by the Alliance Jeunesse Famille de l’Alberta that studied the effects and impacts of racism in digital media on Black Francophone youth, the Family Services of Peel’s Social Action Response to Anti-Black Racism, and a project by Force Leadership Africain called “The New Landscape of Anti-Black Racism: Combating Online Disinformation and the Spread of Racial Hatred in Canada.”

In supporting the Government in its commitment to extend the copyright term of protection, the Department routinely used a GBA Plus process, deepening its analysis and systematically incorporating diversity considerations into policy advice. Resulting work was cognizant of diverse groups (e.g., Indigenous communities, 2SLGBTQI+ communities, French-language creators, and racialized and ethno-cultural communities) and how they may experience copyright policies.

The Protecting and Promoting Indigenous Arts and Cultural Expressions initiative has data on the proponents of sub-projects, participants in consultative processes, and contributors to the publications and studies that it has funded. This was used to support the development of effective tools to promote and protect Indigenous arts and cultural expressions.

When PCH’s Cultural Sector Investment Review team negotiated undertakings to ensure that proposed foreign investments in Canada’s cultural sector are of net benefit to Canada, it sought to obtain an undertaking which addresses gender and diversity (and standard proposed language in this regard); and monitored investors’ compliance with undertakings.

GBA Plus Data Collection Plan:

While programs have data, some do not have sufficient data to enable them to monitor and/or report program impacts by gender and diversity. In addition, those data are not always collected or assembled in a systematic way. As such, in 2022–23, programs have been reflecting on ways to obtain concrete data related to GBA Plus considerations as well as ways to catalogue and capture them.

As part of the renewed Creative Export Strategy, the program has developed an inclusion, diversity, equity and accessibility data strategy to collect baseline information on the gender and diversity of applicants and beneficiaries. The development of the data strategy was informed by the Creative Export Strategy team’s participation in the Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Review which validated comments heard from stakeholders during the consultations about the need to develop a data collection action plan to monitor, report and adjust the program accordingly. The data collection was subsequently initiated under the renewed Strategy, which launched in March 2023.

To support the data strategy, the Creative Export Strategy has developed a self-identification questionnaire in collaboration with cultural partners and representatives from Indigenous and equity-deserving communities. This questionnaire will be shared with applicants (as part of the Creative Export Canada funding program and trade missions) who have requested to complete one. The data collected from the questionnaire will be used to determine applicants’ eligibility for the program’s reserved funding for Indigenous peoples and equity-deserving communities. It will also be used to make incremental improvements to Creative Export Strategy programs and services to better serve communities.

To address copyright issues, such as Artist’s Resale Right, the Department undertook a series of roundtables with equity-deserving groups on resale rights for artists, which were completed in January 2023. This included three sessions with Indigenous, racialized, and Deaf and disabled artists, whose views were compiled into a report.

The Film and Video Policy and Programs team worked with its partners, including Telefilm Canada and the National Film Board of Canada, to prioritize data collection on diverse communities in order to better respond to their needs.

c. Program Name: Cultural Industries Support and Development

Program Goals:
The Cultural Industries Support and Development program contains multiple components and aims to foster the creation of, development of, and access to diverse Canadian cultural content at home and abroad. It ensures that a wide range of Canadian content is produced across a variety of media, including books, periodicals, music, film and television, and innovative applications on multiple platforms.
Target Population:
All Canadians
Distribution of Benefits

By gender

  • Third group: Broadly gender-balanced

By income level

  • Third group: No significant distributional impacts

By age group

  • Second group: No significant inter-generational impacts or impacts generation between youth and seniors
Specific Demographic Group Outcomes:
  • Direct beneficiaries: All Canadians
  • Indirect beneficiaries: Individuals working in television and audiovisual projects, for which demographic information is not available currently. [Note that the Canada Media Fund will be putting in place PERSONA-ID, discussed below, and will begin providing additional disaggregated data in 2024–25].
Key Program Impacts on Gender and Diversity:
Key Program Impacts on Gender and Diversity - Cultural Industries Support and Development
Statistics Observed ResultsFootnote 1 Data Source Comment
Percentage of productions funded by the Canada Media Fund with key roles held by people who identify as women, per sector.

Television productions:

  • Producers: 51%
  • Writers: 49%
  • Directors: 35%

Drama productions:

  • Writers – English language: 50%
  • Writers – French language: 46%
  • Directors – English language: 45%
  • Directors – French language: 25%

Experimental productions:

  • Video: 50%
  • Software: 33%
  • Games: 27%
 Canada Media Fund Annual Reporting

Note: These results are for 2021–22. Results for 2022-23 are expected by Fall 2023.

Drama Productions are a subset of Television Production.
Number of recipients of the Indigenous Screen Office’s Story Fund, by province/territory
  • British Columbia: 40
  • Ontario: 21
  • Alberta: 13
  • Manitoba: 11
  • Nunavut: 6
  • Quebec: 6
  • Saskatchewan: 4
  • Nova Scotia: 2
  • New Brunswick: 1
  • Newfoundland & Labrador: 1
  • Prince Edward Island: 1
  • Northwest Territories: 0
  • Yukon: 0
 Indigenous Screen Office 2022–23 Annual Report -
Number of recipients of the Indigenous Screen Office’s Story Fund, by location
  • Urban centre: 58 [54.72%]
  • First Nations/ Indigenous community: 16 [15.09%]
  • Rural township/ municipality: 14 [13.21%]
  • Small town near reserve/other: 1 [0.94%]
 Indigenous Screen Office 2022–23 Annual Report -
Number of recipients of the Indigenous Screen Office’s Story Fund, by Indigenous representation
  • First Nations: 75 [70.75%]
  • Métis: 18 [16.98%]
  • Inuit: 9 [8.49%]
  • First Nations & Métis: 4 [3%]
 Indigenous Screen Office 2022–23 Annual Report -
Number of recipients of the Indigenous Screen Office’s Story Fund, by gender
  • Female: 49 [46.23%]
  • Male: 38 [35.86%]
  • 2Spirit: 12 [11.32%]
  • Non-Binary: 7 [6.6%]
  • Other/prefer not to answer: 1 [0.94%]
  • Transgender: 0
 Indigenous Screen Office 2022–23 Annual Report -
Number of recipients of the Indigenous Screen Office’s Story Fund, by sexual identity
  • Straight: 54 [50.94%]
  • Other/prefer not to answer: 15 [14.15%]
  • 2Spirit: 11
  • [10.38%]
  • Bisexual: 6
  • [5.66%]
  • Queer: 4 [3.77%]
  • Lesbian: 0
  • Gay: 0
 Indigenous Screen Office 2022–23 Annual Report -
Number of recipients of the Indigenous Screen Office’s Story Fund, by disability
  • Non-visible disability: 11 [10.38%]
  • Prefer not to answer: 4 [3.77%]
  • Visible disability: 0
  • Deaf person: 0
 Indigenous Screen Office 2022–23 Annual Report -
Number of the Indigenous Screen Office’s Story Fund projects, by Indigenous language
  • Cree: 21
  • Michif: 12
  • Other: 11
  • Ojibwe: 9
  • Dene: 8
  • Inuktitut: 8
  • Blackfoot: 6
  • Mi’kmaq: 5
  • Various: 5
  • Mohawk: 4
  • Anishinaabe: 2
  • Nuuchahnulth: 2
 Indigenous Screen Office 2022–23 Annual Report -
Number of the Indigenous Screen Office’s Story Fund projects received and funded in French
  • Received: 5
  • Funded: 4
 Indigenous Screen Office 2022–23 Annual Report -
Number of journalists supported by the Local Journalism Initiative, by target groups
  • Indigenous communities: 47
  • Ethnocultural communities: 66
  • Official language minority communities: 206
  • 2SLGBTQI+ communities: 2
 Final reports from third-party Administrator Organizations -
Number of book publishers supported by the Canada Book Fund, by underserved community
  • Official language minority communities: 17 [7%]
  • Indigenous communities: 7 [3%]
  • Racialized communities: 6 [2%]
 - In 2022–23, the Canada Book Fund supported a total of 261 book publishers.
Other Key Program Impacts:

The Indigenous Screen Office supports Indigenous creators who, through their work and projects, improve the representation of Indigenous peoples in Indigenous and non-Indigenous media outlets. It also creates equitable access to funding and capacity building for Indigenous peoples, including women and 2SLGBTQI+ creators. As results show above, in 2022–23, 62% of the recipients for the Story Fund component identified as women, 2spirit, or non-binary while 38% were men. Moreover, 87% of productions included Indigenous languages. These results highlight the important impact that the Indigenous Screen Office has in supporting Indigenous audiovisual creators, including women and 2SLGBTQI+ people.

The Canada Periodical Fund seeks to ensure Canadians have access to diverse Canadian editorial content in paid magazines, community newspapers and digital periodicals. In accordance with this objective, the program has implemented measures to address current inequalities and to support diversity in the periodical ecosystem. To ensure diversity of publications, the formula used for the Aid to Publishers and Special Measures for Journalism components of the Canada Periodical Fund gives greater weight to the distribution of smaller publications and other targeted groups (e.g., Indigenous, ethnocultural, official-language minority community publications and 2SLGBTQI+ people). In addition, these groups benefit from more flexible eligibility requirements that improve their access to funding. The program does not currently collect gender-based data on recipients through the program. In 2022–23, the Canada Book Fund introduced a new measure to support book sales by authors from Indigenous, racialized, and official language minority communities. It further incentivized all Canadian independent publishers to publish and promote books by authors from these communities. The funding formula was adjusted to give more weight to these works, which translated into relatively higher funding.

Under the Canada Music Fund, FACTOR and Musicaction make continuous efforts to solicit applications from a broad range of Canadian artists and music entrepreneurs from all regions of Canada, and from official language minority groups and Indigenous people. Furthermore, they proactively solicit applications from Canadian artists and music entrepreneurs from other underrepresented groups, including female and 2SLGBTQI+ persons, racialized persons, and persons with a disability. The Canada Music Fund continued to monitor issues relating to gender equality, diversity and inclusion in order to alleviate possible systemic barriers faced by equity-deserving groups through short-, medium- and long-term changes to the program. The program has implemented incentives for recipients to make investments in the career development of a diverse range of Canadian artists, including women, racialized persons, Indigenous people, 2SLGBTQI+ individuals, persons with disabilities, as well as members of official language minority communities.

The Canada Media Fund has put in place measures wherein 40 to 60 per cent of all content supported by the Fund would be female-led.

GBA Plus Data Collection Plan:

While some programs already collect disaggregated and demographic information, other programs explored ways in 2022–23 to expand their collection of diversity and impact data.

The Canada Book Fund collects data pertaining to diversity by asking the owners of the book publishing firms that it funds whether they identify with an Indigenous or racialized community and whether the organization is from an official language minority community. In addition, the Canada Book Fund’s participation in the Department’s Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Review led to recommendations that will be included in an implementation plan. It will lead to better data collection/analysis and research related to equity, diversity and inclusion, which will better inform decision-making.

The Canada Periodical Fund analyzed data gathered about their applicants for 2022-23 and compared their findings to previous funding cycles. The program undertook dedicated research initiatives on diverse communities in order to examine the specific situation and business environment for publishers serving those communities, in recognition of their important needs and preferences.

The Canada Media Fund continued its work to establish a baseline by collecting disaggregated diversity and inclusion data on its funded companies and projects. It also continued working with partners to set standards of privacy, language and best practices in diversity and inclusion data collection and usage across the industry. Additionally, the Canada Media Fund continued to collect regular information on members of underrepresented communities applying to its programs and carried out extensive research on their successes, challenges, and concerns. Its self-identification system (PERSONA-ID), which allows individuals to disclose their demographic information to the Canada Media Fund, was broadened in 2022–23 and the first round of data was analyzed. PERSONA-ID was created as part of the Equity and Inclusion Strategy and the data collected represents a significant step towards achieving the Canada Media Fund’s objectives to increase access and reduce barriers. In addition, a new logic model was finalized with new outcomes surrounding equity, diversity and inclusion.

The third-party administrator organizations of the Local Journalism Initiative collect data on coverage of Indigenous, ethnocultural, official language minority and 2SLGBTQI+ communities, including in some cases self-reported data on journalists that belong to these communities. However, to maintain the arm’s length relationship with media organizations in order to protect the independence of the press, some data will not be collected by the Government. The program does not currently collect gender-based data and it is working with administrator organizations to expand data collection.

Fiscal year 2022–23 was the Indigenous Screen Office Program’s first full year of operation and, therefore, the first year of data collection and reporting on impacts relating to gender and diversity. The need to build capacity in this area will be assessed following the analysis of 2022–23 data.

Core Responsibility 2: Heritage and Celebration

a. Program Name: National Celebrations, Commemorations and Symbols

Program Goals:
This program offers opportunities for Canadians to participate in celebrations and commemorations of national significance; recognizes notable people, places, symbols, anniversaries and accomplishments of national significance across Canada; offers events and activities in the National Capital Region; and promotes and protects Canadian symbols. These events and activities promote and showcase Canada’s linguistic, cultural and regional diversity.
Target Population:
All Canadians
Distribution of Benefits:

By gender

  • Third group: Broadly gender-balanced, however there is insufficient data to accurately assess distribution of benefits.

By income level

  • Third group: No significant distributional impacts, however there is insufficient data to accurately assess distribution of benefits.

By age group

  • Second group: No significant inter-generational impacts or impacts generation between youth and seniors, however there is insufficient data to accurately assess distribution of benefits.
Specific Demographic Group Outcomes:
  • Direct beneficiaries: All Canadians
  • Indirect beneficiaries: Indigenous and racialized/minority groups – Program activities highlight the unique perspectives, history, and cultures of these groups.
  • Demographic groups facing barriers and/or experiencing negative impacts: Rural or remote populations – This group may face challenges to participate in person as activities often take place in larger urban areas or in the National Capital Region. However, many program activities are broadcast across the country, allowing people in rural areas to view events. Furthermore, the Celebration and Commemoration Program provides grants and contributions to small and rural communities to host their own celebrations and activities.
Key Program Impacts on Gender and Diversity:
Not available
Other Key Program Impacts:

Activities and events organized or funded by the Celebration and Commemoration Program are free, open to the public, and aim to be accessible to all Canadians, including through various broadcast initiatives.

National events such as Canada Day, Winterlude, Winter Lights Across Canada and the Sound and Light Show highlight anniversaries of national significance and ensure participants have opportunities to learn and appreciate Canada’s linguistic, cultural and regional diversity.

As part of the assessment process for National Day for Truth and Reconciliation funding, the Department continues to work collaboratively with subject experts to promote an inclusive assessment process that will foster the sharing of Indigenous perspectives and diverse points of view. An external advisory committee reviews, comments and provides expert advice and guidance on applications received by the program to assist it in making culturally informed decisions and avoid duplicating funding across other programs and/or funding initiatives.

GBA Plus Data Collection Plan:
The Celebration and Commemoration Program largely distributes small grants to community organizations, not individuals or larger arts and cultural institutions, where tracking may be more institutionalized and where the reporting capacity is higher. While funding recipients are required to report on the number of participants reached by a project or initiative, they are not obliged to track the intersectional identity factors of participants and the final activity reports do not generally capture disaggregated data.

b. Program Name: Community Engagement and Heritage

Program Goals:
The Building Communities through Arts and Heritage Program provides grants and contributions in support of local festivals, community anniversaries and capital projects to diverse local organizations, including marginalized groups. The program continuously works to support diversity and inclusion in local communities through outreach and funding opportunities for equity-deserving communities, such as 2SLGBTQI+ and Indigenous communities.
Target Population:
All Canadians.
Distribution of Benefits:

By gender

  • Third group: Broadly gender-balanced

By income level

  • Third group: No significant distributional impacts

By age group

  • Second group: No significant inter-generational impacts or impacts generation between youth and seniors
Specific Demographic Group Outcomes:
  • Direct beneficiaries: All Canadians, including 2SLGBTQI+ and Indigenous peoples (through funding of 2SLGBTQI+ events as well as Indigenous cultural celebrations and treaty commemorations).
  • Indirect beneficiaries: Canadians of all ages and backgrounds, who participate as attendees, volunteers, live presenters, artists, artisans, cultural carriers, and heritage performers.
Key Program Impacts on Gender and Diversity:
Key Program Impacts on Gender and Diversity - Community Engagement and Heritage
Statistics Observed ResultsFootnote 1 Data Source Comment
Total amount ($) provided to local groups organizing 2SLGBTQI+ events, per fiscal year
  • $942,400 in 2019–20*
  • $1,427,400 in 2020–21*
  • $1,990,000 in 2021–22*
 Grants and Contribution Information Management System * Results reported in the 2020–21 Departmental Results Report are based on projects from the 2019–20 fiscal year. Similarly, results for 2021–22 are based on projects from the 2020–21 fiscal year, and results for 2022–23 are based on projects from the 2021–22 fiscal year.
Number of projects funded through outreach activities by Building Communities through Arts and Heritage, by equity-deserving community
  • 2SLGBTQI+ events: 46
  • Indigenous cultural celebrations: 72
 Grants and Contribution Information Management System

For 2SLGBTQI+ events:

  • 34 were funded through the Local Festival component.
  • 12 were funded through the Support for Workers in Live Arts and Music Fund

For Indigenous cultural celebrations: 4 were Treaty anniversary projects linked to Treaty 1, 2, and 11.
Other Key Program Impacts:

Building Communities through Arts and Heritage engages applicants and recipients, particularly from underrepresented communities such as the 2SLGBTQI+ and Indigenous communities, through outreach activities. This includes webinars that help stakeholders access funding opportunities and use the Canadian Heritage Online System, as well as clarifying the eligibility of 2SLGBTQI+ Pride festivals and Indigenous cultural celebrations under the Local Festivals component on the departmental website.

The Arts and Heritage Access and Accessibility Survey (2021) (PDF format) indicates that a high percentage of Canadians attend performances and arts events (59%) and Canadians hold overall positive views about the value of arts and culture to quality of life. Members of equity-deserving groups attended arts events at rates higher than the general population, including Indigenous people (71%), Black Canadians (65%), and members from the 2SLGBTQI+ community (71%).

Supplementary Information Sources:
Arts and Heritage Access and Accessibility Survey, 2020-2021 (PDF format)
GBA Plus Data Collection Plan:
Building Communities through Arts and Heritage recently underwent a program evaluation (2015-16 to 2020–21), approved in January 2023. The program is working to improve its performance data and, in response to the evaluation, it will update its performance measurement strategy, including improvements to equity, diversity, inclusion, and accessibility indicators and data collection. The program is also assessing its processes to further apply a GBA Plus lens in alignment with the results of its participation in the Department’s Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Review in 2022.

c. Program Name: Preservation of and Access to Heritage

Program Goals:
The Preservation of and Access to Heritage Program ensures that Canada’s cultural heritage is preserved and accessible to Canadians today and in the future. This is accomplished by providing: funding such as grants, contributions, and tax incentives; information, expertise, training, and other services; and regulatory and legislative measures. The Young Canada Works is a PCH initiative part of the Government of Canada’s Youth Employment and Skills Strategy, led by Employment and Social Development Canada. The Young Canada Works-Heritage Program supports, through partial salary subsidies and other employment costs to employers, the creation of summer/short-term jobs and graduate internships for Canadian youth in museums and related heritage organizations (archives, libraries, historic sites) delivered for PCH by five non-governmental organizations: the Canadian Museums Association, the Canadian Council of Archives, the National Trust for Canada, the Fédération des milieux documentaires and the Cultural Human Resources Council. The Museums Assistance Program provides funding to museums and related heritage institutions through its five regular funding components – Access to Heritage, Exhibition Circulation Fund, Indigenous Heritage, Collections Management, Canada-France Agreement – and one new temporary component, Digital Access to Heritage (which was launched in Fall 2021 and is available for applicants until 2023–24). The program supports government priorities of reconciliation, GBA Plus and official language minority communities.
Target Population:
All Canadians
Distribution of Benefits

A disaggregation of data between gender and age groups was possible only for the Young Canada Works- - Heritage Program, which targets youth employment for Canadians aged 16-30 years old. This data for 2022–23 was collected on a total of 1,390 youth that completed the Participant Evaluation Questionnaire.

Disaggregating by gender, 993 youth self-identified as female (71%), 314 youth self-identified as male (23%) and 80 youth self-declared as not identifying with either male or female (6%). Representation for women and for those who do not identify as either gender is higher in the Young Canada Works - Heritage Program than in the general population. Statistics Canada 2021 census data notes that women accounted for 51% of the Canadian population aged 15 and older, and people who identify as non-binary or transgender accounted for 0.33% of Canadians 15 or older.

Disaggregating by age group, 110 youth self-declared as being under 18 years old (8%), 1,246 as being 18-29 years old (90%) and 31 as being 30 years old or over (2%).

Distribution of Benefits:

By gender

  • Fourth group: 60-79% women

By age group

  • First group: Primarily benefits youth, children and/or future generations
Specific Demographic Group Outcomes:
  • Direct beneficiaries:
    • Museums Assistance Program: Individuals living in the communities in which successful applicant heritage organizations are located. The regional distribution of organizations that received funding in 2022–23 is as follows: Atlantic Region – 24, Ontario Region – 98, Prairies and Northern Region – 29, Quebec Region – 62, Western Region – 60. These numbers include the temporary Digital Access to Heritage component and multi-year projects. More demographic data is included in the Key Program Impacts section.
    • Young Canada Works – Heritage: Young Canadians aged 16-30 years old, with an increased focus on equity-deserving groups.
    • Canadian Conservation Institute / Canadian Heritage Information Network: Individuals in the communities to which the clients belong, such as Indigenous or ethnocultural communities.
  • Indirect beneficiaries:
    • Museums Assistance Program (MAP): Employees working in the funded organizations. The demographic makeup of arts, culture, heritage, and sport sectors is disproportionately composed of workers from the equity-deserving groups relative to other economic sectors. Based on the 2019 Government of Canada Survey of Heritage Institutions, the heritage sector full-time and part-time workforce is predominantly made up of more females (66%) than males (34%). When isolating the data by type of institution, museums have the largest difference between female (68%) and male (32%) employees. Nearly one third of the heritage sector workforce is 45 years of age or older. Overall, the age breakdown of full- and part-time employees in the heritage sector is as follows: approximately 31% are under 25 years of age, 37% are between the ages of 25 to 44, 24% are between the ages of 45 to 59, and almost 8% are 60 years of age and over.
    • Young Canada Works (YCW) – Heritage: Employees of the delivery organizations that deliver the program, the employees of the heritage organizations that receive funding to hire a youth, and the individuals who live in the communities in which these organizations are located.
    • Canadian Conservation Institute / Canadian Heritage Information Network: Heritage workers, located in communities of various sizes across Canada, which benefit directly from learning opportunities offered by the Canadian Conservation Institute and the Canadian Heritage Information Network.
  • Groups facing barriers and/or experiencing negative impacts:
    • Museums Assistance Program: Indigenous applicants and other applicants from equity-deserving groups face barriers to participation. Identified barriers for these demographic groups include, among others, accessibility, administrative burden, program eligibility, intake cycles, funding percentage limits, eligible activities and expenses, and low awareness/visibility of the Program. The program identified these barriers through participation in the Department’s Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Review and has created an Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Accessibility Action Plan to commence work on reducing and removing barriers to success.
    • Young Canada Works – Heritage: Youth from equity-deserving groups face barriers to employment and participation in all Youth Employment and Skills Strategy programs, including Young Canada Works-Heritage, due to systemic discrimination and other systemic barriers that limit their access to opportunities and resources that are available to other members of society. The program is committed to increasing representation for equity-deserving groups within youth employment and has communicated potential additional supports for these youth to the program’s delivery organizations and through its outreach strategy.
    • Canadian Conservation Institute / Canadian Heritage Information Network: An analysis of the Canadian Conservation Institute’s historical data over 10 years related to expert services was undertaken while participating in the first cohort of the Department’s Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Review. The analysis revealed that only 1% of the expert services were given to clients identified as Indigenous or ethnocultural communities. Furthermore, 65% of the expert services were given to large institutions. The geographic distribution of the expert services revealed that the Institute overserves Ontario and Quebec while some provinces have not received certain services at all. A set of recommendations was presented to all staff in March 2022.
Key Program Impacts on Gender and Diversity:
Key Program Impacts on Gender and Diversity - Preservation of and Access to Heritage
Statistics Observed ResultsFootnote 1 Data Source Comment
Number of funded organizations serving or located in official language minority communities

Museums Assistance Program: 39 reported having projects that reached both English-speaking and French-speaking communities.

Recovery Fund for Heritage Organizations: 53 reported belonging to an official language minority community.

 Programs Administrative Systems (Grants and Contribution Information System, Canadian Heritage Funding Portal) and Museums Assistance Program Final Reports

The Museums Assistance Program provides project-specific funding. Recipients are asked to report on which audiences their projects reached.

The Recovery Fund for Heritage Organizations provided operational funding in 2022–23 as part of pandemic recovery funding. As a result, organizations were requested to self-identify which community they belonged to, rather than their project’s target audience.
Number of funded organizations located in remote or rural areas

Museums Assistance Program: 44 reported having projects that reached remote or rural audiences.

Recovery Fund for Heritage Organizations: 509 reported belonging to a rural or remote community.

 Programs Administrative Systems (Grants and Contribution Information System, Canadian Heritage Funding Portal) and Museums Assistance Program Final Reports The Recovery Fund for Heritage Organizations was initially assigned less funding in COVID-19 recovery funding, in comparison to the previous rounds of emergency funding for the sector, which were both above $30 million. To maximize recipients and target the smaller organizations most in need, program eligibility was limited to organizations who had a pre-COVID annual revenue of less than $1 million. This resulted in a high proportion (61%) of funding recipients located in rural/remote areas. This percentage is calculated on the number of funded applications (830) that could be matched to data from the Canadian Heritage Funding Portal. In total, 902 applications were funded.
Number of funded organizations that belong to or whose project/activities targeted/served Indigenous, ethnocultural or racialized communities

Museums Assistance Program: 28 reported having projects that reached Indigenous communities and 11 reported having projects that reached ethnocultural or racialized communities.

Recovery Fund for Heritage Organizations: 22 reported belonging to Indigenous communities and 58 reported belonging to ethnocultural or racialized communities.

Movable Cultural Property Grants: 1 targeted/served Indigenous communities.

 Programs Administrative Systems (Grants and Contribution Information System, Canadian Heritage Funding Portal) and Museums Assistance Program Final Reports

The Museums Assistance Program’s Indigenous Heritage component supports the preservation, presentation, and management of Indigenous cultural heritage in Canada. It also promotes public awareness and understanding of the diverse cultures of Indigenous Peoples. However, projects related to Indigenous heritage may have been funded through a different program component.

Movable Cultural Property Grants facilitate the acquisition of heritage objects, which can include Indigenous cultural property. The object acquired through Movable Cultural Property Grants was Indigenous in origin, and the organization received written support from a local Indigenous community.
Number of organizations identified as official language minority communities that received services Canadian Conservation Institute and Canadian Heritage Information Network: 10 organizations received conservation services and training, and 21 organizations are contributors to Artefacts Canada. Programs Administrative Systems (Preservation Information Management System) -
Number of organizations identified as Indigenous or ethnocultural communities that received services Canadian Conservation Institute and -Canadian Heritage Information Network: 45 organizations, which received a total of 52 services Programs Administrative Systems (Preservation Information Management System)

Canadian Conservation Institute conducts conservation interventions on heritage objects and collections, including Indigenous objects and collections, to be preserved for future generations.

Through Artefacts Canada, museums have the opportunity to share information on their Indigenous objects and collections.
Number of learning/training opportunities provided to youth, and/or self-identified Indigenous, ethnocultural (and/or visible minority) participants, official language minority community members, rural/remote areas, etc.

Young Canada Works - Heritage: Of a total of 1,390 youth that completed the Participant Evaluation Questionnaire:

  • 993 self-identify as women;
  • 96 self-identify as Indigenous youth;
  • 182 self-identify as ethnocultural or racialized youth;
  • 176 self-identify as youth with disabilities;
  • 120 self-identify as youth in rural/remote areas; and
  • 82 self-identify as youth in an Official-Language Minority Community.

Canadian Conservation Institute and the Canadian Heritage Information Network: Of a total of 331 respondents to participant surveys:

  • 13 self-identify as Indigenous;
  • 6 self-identify as a visible minority or a racialized person (terminology has been changed for future years);
  • 29 self-identify as a member of an ethnocultural community; and
  • 33 self-identify as a member of an official language minority community
 Programs Administrative Systems (Young Canada Works Database and Preservation Information Management System) and Young Canada Works Participant Evaluation Questionnaire

The Young Canada Works-Heritage program aims to create and prepare the next generation of heritage workers through short term employment and internships. Youths hired in these positions are given training and learning opportunities to acquire the skills and knowledge they need to succeed in the labour market.

By participating in learning opportunities provided by the Canadian Conservation Institute and the -Canadian Heritage Information, heritage workers in museums and related heritage institutions can use newly acquired knowledge, skills and practices to ensure that the institutions can continue to provide Canadians, and future generations, with access to heritage.
Other Key Program Impacts:

Young Canada Works- Heritage is increasingly aiming to serve equity-deserving youth as part of the Youth Employment and Skills Strategy. It set its 2022–23 targets for program participation of Indigenous youth to 5%, ethnocultural/racialized youth to 10%, young people with disabilities to 6% and official language minority community member youth to 5%. In pursuit of these targets, the program undertook work reviewing its data collection and application processes and for the first time launched an outreach strategy, which included the creation of a visual identity and multiple communications products in consideration of equity-deserving youth. Results for 2022–23 collected through the Participant Evaluation Questionnaire show that the program exceeded its demographic objectives. Of a total of 1,390 youth that completed the questionnaire, 7% were Indigenous, 13% were members of an ethnocultural or racialized community, 13% identified as having a disability, and 6% belonged to an official language minority community. Demographic results that did not have targets set include 71% of youth served identifying as women, and 9% of youth served living in a rural or remote area. In addition, 94% of the youth respondents reported having experienced at least one removal of an employment barrier (e.g., flexible working hours).

Young Canada Works-Heritage is committed to expanding the percentage of equity-deserving youth working in heritage, arts, and cultural organizations over time. The program has set increased demographic targets for program participation in 2023–24 and 2024–25. Targets are increasing for participation of Indigenous youth to 7%, ethnocultural/racialized youth to 15%, young people with disabilities to 8% and official language minority community member youth to 6%. Furthermore, the program added new targets for rural and remote youth (10%) and for young women (65%).

The Museums Assistance Program evaluation was released in July 2021 (covering the years 2013-14 to 2017-18, which had been delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic) and found that the program continues to support reconciliation, GBA Plus and official language minority communities. Although no specific priorities are identified in the Museums Assistance Program guidelines, the program is prioritizing applications by or serving Indigenous, racialized, 2SLGBTQI+, official language minority, youth, and other underserved communities.

Of the 70 final reports received under the program’s regular funding components, 21 (30%) organizations reported that their projects reached Indigenous audiences, 6 (9%) reached ethnocultural/racialized audiences, 30 (43%) reached rural or remote communities, 19 (27%) reached other underserved communities (13 of which specified youth), and 28 (40%) reached both French and English communities.

Demographic data collected for the new Digital Access to Heritage component is separated from the regular program components to assess if and how their impacts on diverse audiences differ. Of the 24 final reports received under this component, 7 (29%) organizations reported that their projects reached Indigenous audiences, 5 (21%) reached ethnocultural/racialized audiences, 14 (58%) reached rural or remote communities, 3 (12.5%) reached other underserved communities, and 11 (46%) reached both French and English communities.

Since 1990, the Museums Assistance Program has administered an Indigenous Heritage component that supports the preservation, presentation, and management of Indigenous cultural heritage in Canada as well as promotes public awareness and understanding of the diverse cultures of Indigenous Peoples. Following the 2015 Truth and Reconciliation Commission report, in the spirit of reconciliation, the program has increased its flexibility and funding limits for this component, as well as broadened eligibility criteria for other program components to make them more accessible to Indigenous organizations and communities. For example, the program can offer limited support for the repatriation of Indigenous cultural property as part of an exhibition or research project. In 2022–23, the Museums Assistance Program provided funding for 10 repatriation-related projects through its Indigenous Heritage component. Among these projects were the repatriation to Gitxaala Nation of a partial totem pole belonging to the Gitxaala Gispudwada clan, and the repatriation of Mi’kmaw regalia to the Millbrook Culture and Heritage Centre on behalf of Mi’kmaq in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick.

The Museums Assistance Program also responded to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Call to Action #67 by providing funding to the Canadian Museums Association to conduct a national review of museum policies and practices to determine their compliance with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP). The Canadian Museums Association conducted the review in collaboration with Indigenous heritage professionals, knowledge keepers, and community members, and published the report entitled “Moved to Action: Activating UNDRIP in Canadian Museums” in September 2022. The Canadian Museums Association’s follow-up project has been approved for Museums Assistance Program funding and will take place in 2023–24.

Further to its participation in the Equity, Diversity and Inclusion review, the Heritage Policy and Programs Branch created an Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility Action Plan for the Museums Assistance Program.

Grants under the Movable Cultural Property Program facilitate the acquisition of heritage objects, which can include the repatriation of Indigenous cultural property.

Artefacts Canada is a tool provided to the public by the Canadian Heritage Information Network, which allows visitors to the database to explore objects contained in collections held by Canadian museums, potentially encouraging a subsequent in-person visit to these museums. Furthermore, Artefacts Canada is a useful tool for museum professionals in the development of exhibitions, potentially attracting visitors to the museum. Through Artefacts Canada, museums also can share information on their Indigenous objects and collections.

The Canadian Conservation Institute conducts conservation interventions on heritage objects and collections, including Indigenous objects and collections, to be preserved for future generations.

Further to its participation in the Department’s Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Review, the Canadian Conservation Institute and Canadian Heritage Information Network identified a need to create two internal working groups: one on reconciliation with Indigenous communities and one on inclusion, diversity, equity, and accessibility with executive sponsorship as a central mechanism to drive change. The goals of these working groups, created as part of the organizations’ new joint 2021–2026 strategic plan, include identifying ways to reduce inequalities in the delivery of services to the heritage community.

GBA Plus Data Collection Plan:

In 2022–23, Young Canada Works-Heritage participated in a Youth Employment and Skills Strategy Working Group that examined the program’s performance measurement framework, including data collection pertaining to equity-deserving groups. The exercise was led by the Surge Team at the Canada School of Public Service, and it resulted in an updated Youth Employment and Skills Strategy logic model, data disaggregation guide, and recommended changes for performance measurement. Young Canada Works-Heritage reviewed its data collection processes against this guidance in 2022–23 and will start to implement changes in 2023–24.

The Museums Assistance Program participated in the Department’s Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Review in 2022–23. This involved examining the program’s data collection with an equity, diversity and inclusion lens, and has resulted in a Museums Assistance Program Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility Action Plan. The program will review its data collection and program reporting on diverse communities in 2023–24 and explore ways in which it might improve the methodology.

In 2022–23, the Canadian Conservation Institute and the Canadian Heritage Information Network established a cross-disciplinary inclusion, diversity, equity, and accessibility working group, which has begun a review of current data management practices with the goal of developing a data strategy to measure, monitor, track and analyze the Canadian Conservation Institute and Canadian Heritage Information Network’s impact on equity-deserving communities. This will inform decision-making in the delivery of their services.

d. Program Name: Learning About Canadian History

Program Goals:
The Canada History Fund encourages Canadians to learn about Canada’s history, civic life, and public policy.
Target Population:
All Canadians.
Distribution of Benefits:
The Canada History Fund currently collects recipient-reported summary data regarding the total number of Canadians accessing learning materials. Because these activities are primarily through access to digital resources, it is not possible to disaggregate this data. Additional resources would be required to implement digital GBA Plus monitoring by funded organizations.
Specific Demographic Group Outcomes:
  • Direct beneficiaries: All Canadians
Key Program Impacts on Gender and Diversity:
Not available
Other Key Program Impacts:

The Canada History Fund prioritizes funding recommendations for projects that address posted priorities, which include projects that integrate themes of inclusion and diversity.

In 2022–23, the Canada History Fund funded projects that contribute to meeting GBA Plus criteria related to age, gender, ethnocultural groups and official languages, such as:

  • A Black People’s History of Canada at Dalhousie University;
  • Partager l’histoire culturelle inuite at the Université du Québec à Montréal;
  • Activating K-12 Education on Asian Canadian History with the Asia-Pacific Foundation of Canada;
  • We Belong: Celebrating 2SLGBTQI+ History, a project of the Canadian Centre for Gender and Sexual Diversity;
  • Black and Indigenous Solidarity Program – Curriculum Development with the Canadian Roots Exchange; and
  • The History of Schooling in Canada: Learning from the Past to Inspire Upstanders for the Future from Facing History and Ourselves.
GBA Plus Data Collection Plan:

The program evaluation of the Canada History Fund planned to start in October 2022 and projected to conclude in October 2023, was put on hold and the new start date is still to be confirmed. The results of the evaluation may provide recommendations for improved data collection and analysis methods for the program, including those linked to GBA Plus as well as equity, diversity and inclusion considerations.

Furthermore, in 2022–23, the program participated in the Department’s Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Review to identify and address barriers to funding experienced by underserved and underrepresented communities. This led to a report outlining findings and actions to make the program more inclusive. Findings indicated an increased need for dedicated resources, outreach, support, and flexibility for applicants to help reduce funding barriers and support additional projects.

The findings and recommendations from both processes will inform the program’s GBA Plus data collection plan that aligns with and further advances its current program data and reporting functions.

Core Responsibility 3: Sport

a. Program Name: Sport Development and High Performance

Program Goals:
This program promotes and enhances Canadian participation in sport by supporting a spectrum of opportunities from initial introduction to sport through to the highest level of performance. Support is provided in the form of funding, policy leadership and other services. In collaboration with stakeholders, the program seeks to strengthen the Canadian sport system. The program ensures that the system provides Canadians access to quality aligned sport programs and services that are safe and welcoming to Canadians of diverse backgrounds, ages and abilities. The program provides direct support to Canadian athletes to foster the development of high-performance athletes. Through policy leadership and funding, the program also supports the development of coaches, officials, leaders and sport organizations. The program also works directly with organizations hosting the Canada Games and international sport events in Canada.
Target Population:
All Canadians
Distribution of Benefits:

By gender

  • Third group: Broadly gender-balanced

By age group

  • First group: Primarily benefits youth, children and/or future generations
Key Program Impacts on Gender and Diversity:
Key Program Impacts on Gender and Diversity - Sport Development and High Performance
Statistics Observed ResultsFootnote 1 Data Source Comment
Number of athletes supported by the Athlete Assistance Program, by gender
  • Female: 1001 [51.6%]
  • Male: 940 [48.4%]
 Athlete Assistance Program Management Information System -
Number of athletes supported by the Athlete Assistance Program that are athletes with a disability, by gender
  • Total paralympic athletes: 285 [15%], of which:
  • Male: 172 [60.4%]
  • Female: 113 [39.6%]
 Athlete Assistance Program Management Information System -
Number of athletes supported by the Athlete Assistance Program that identify as Indigenous 14 [0.7%] Athlete Assistance Management Information System -
Number of projects funded through the Sport for Social Development in Indigenous Communities Program 81 Sport for Social Development in Indigenous Communities Grants and Contributions data collected by Sport Canada The number of communities reached will be available upon receipt of final reports in late 2023.
Number of Indigenous sport organizations that benefited from Stream One of the Sport for Social Development in Indigenous Communities Program 13 Sport for Social Development in Indigenous Communities Grants and Contributions data collected by Sport Canada Stream One provides funding to Provincial/Territorial Aboriginal Sport Bodies and the Aboriginal Sport Circle for the development of sport community projects.
Number of Indigenous governments, communities and organizations that benefited from Stream Two of the Sport for Social Development in Indigenous Communities initiative 57 Sport for Social Development in Indigenous Communities Grants and Contributions data collected by Sport Canada Stream Two provides funding to Indigenous governments, communities and organizations for projects that promote sport in Indigenous communities.
Number of Indigenous sport organizations that benefited from Stream Three of the Sport for Social Development in Indigenous Communities initiative 10 Sport for Social Development in Indigenous Communities Grants and Contributions data collected by Sport Canada Stream Three provides funding to Provincial/Territorial Aboriginal Sport Bodies to ensure that Indigenous women, girls and 2SLGBTQI+ people have access to meaningful sports activities.
Number of national-level organizations funded through the Community Sport for All initiative 24 Community Sport for All initiative Grants and Contributions data collected by Sport Canada; and final reports from funding recipients.

The Community Sport for All Initiative component of the Sport Support Program aims to reduce barriers to sport participation for equity-deserving populations, including Black, Indigenous, racialized, 2SLGBTQI+ and low-income people, as well as persons with a disability, and newcomers.

The number of communities reached will be available upon receipt of final reports in late 2023.
Number of projects funded through the Innovation Initiative, by population served.
  • Newcomers: 4
  • Women and girls: 3
  • Youth: 3
  • Racialized communities: 2
  • Indigenous Peoples: 1
  • 2SLGBTQI+ community: 1
 Innovation Initiative Grants and Contributions data collected by Sport Canada and final reports from recipient organizations -
Other Key Program Impacts:

Sport Canada remains committed to promoting a sport environment where all Canadians can engage in sport, regardless of age, ability, race, ethnicity, gender, gender identity or sexual orientation. Sport Canada is working with the sport community to foster a welcoming and inclusive environment for all participants and will continue to support federally funded sport organizations to implement measures to create a sport system that ensures equity, diversity and inclusion.

The delivery of the Sport Development and High-Performance Program aims to be broadly gender-balanced with no significant distributional impacts. Sport Canada’s funding investments encourage sport participation and physical activity through strategic investments in Canada’s sport system. These investments help to increase access to safe and welcoming sport programming, to assist in sport promotion and to teach the basics of physical activity (physical literacy). An active lifestyle has a very high correlation with good physical and mental health. Increasing sport participation directly and positively impacts the health and well-being of all Canadians.

The 2022-23 Call for Concepts of the Innovation Initiative component of the Sport Support Program sought pilot projects to support increased participation of youth and underrepresented groups, specifically Black, Indigenous, 2SLGBTQI+ and newcomer populations, as it has been reported that they have lower sport participation rates than the general Canadian population. Sport Canada’s Gender Equity, Inclusion, and Innovation team is leading Innovation Initiative pilot projects that focus on addressing sport participation challenges for these priority populations. Pilot projects intended to address sport participation issues for individuals with added intersecting identity factors (e.g., age, official language minority communities, persons with a disability) are also eligible for consideration.

As part of the Innovation Initiative, Sport Canada provided $90,744 over two years starting in 2022-23 to SPECTRUM to test a multi-sport/team game model for use in limited population settings and the efficacy of the delivery of inclusive and safe programs for 2SLGBTQI+ persons. The pilot intends to: determine whether SPECTRUM’s multi-sport/team game approach can be a viable model for use where population numbers are limited and where team sport is traditionally not available as an option; and evaluate the efficacy of the organization’s diversity and cultural competency training component, as a potential model for use by other organizations that are required to work with third-party facility providers to deliver safe sport programming for vulnerable populations.

Emergency support funds and COVID-19 recovery efforts encouraged sport stakeholders to ensure that target groups are not further disadvantaged as the sport and physical activity ecosystems rebuild from COVID-19.

The Athlete Assistance Program is specifically designed to contribute to the pursuit of excellence through its support for improved Canadian athlete performances at major international sporting events. While the Athlete Assistance Program is not designed to specifically target underrepresented groups (except for persons with disabilities), it does seek to lower the financial barriers for athletes and some of these barriers may be more pronounced for underrepresented groups. The program provides a child dependent allowance to all eligible carded athletes, as well as supplementary support to Paralympic athletes with high support needs.

In August 2021, Sport Canada announced the new Community Sport for All Initiative, provides $80 million over two years to support organized sport at the community level to help Canadians and communities recover from the impacts of COVID-19. The focus of this initiative is to engage equity-deserving groups, in particular, Black, Indigenous, racialized, 2SLGBTQIA+ low-income, persons with a disability, and newcomers. A call for proposals was launched in winter 2022. In 2022–23, over $36.5 million was provided to 24 national-level organizations across all provinces and territories for the delivery of sport activities at the community level.

In July 2021, based on the recommendations of a committee of representatives of Canadian sport and experts in prevention of abuse, the Minister of Canadian Heritage announced that the Sport Dispute Resolution Centre of Canada had been selected to establish and deliver an independent Office of the Sport Integrity Commissioner. In 2022–23, the Sport Dispute Resolution Centre of Canada received $2.8 million to implement the Office of the Sport Integrity Commissioner.

Supplementary Information Sources:
GBA Plus Data Collection Plan:

Current work at Sport Canada focuses on developing standardized definitions and approaches to data collection and use of intersecting socio-economic variables (e.g., age, citizenship, sex, disability, gender identity, ethnicity, language, etc.). The overall objectives are to improve data analysis and to better inform decision-making; set policy and program priorities to better support the diverse Canadian population; and contribute to a more inclusive sport system.

In 2022–23, as part of Sport Canada’s ongoing commitment to supporting research on gender equity in sport, the following research projects were supported:

  • Sport Canada contracted Openly in the winter of 2023 to develop a research report to inform the development of a future gender equity in sport strategy reflective of the current Canadian sport context. This includes the development of an environmental scan of current publicly available initiatives, strategies, and best practices supporting gender equity and inclusion, both domestically and internationally.
  • Academics from the University of Alberta were contracted to develop policy and program recommendations on the experiences and needs of pregnant, postpartum and parenting athletes in high-performance sport in Canada, including consultative research with athletes, coaches, and sport administrators, and a report highlighting recommendations and key findings.
  • Preliminary funds were provided to Statistics Canada to address racism in sport. A total of $160,000 was applied to participate in the Survey Series on People and their Communities, a panel survey administered by Statistics Canada that collects information from respondents aged 15+ living in the ten provinces. The survey has an oversampling of seven racialized groups, an oversampling of immigrants, and one sample for a non-racialized group. This is significant when asking questions about experiences with racism and discrimination, and it supports Sport Canada’s needs by filling data and evidence gaps. The funding involved the development of 25 questions about sports participation and experiences of racism and/or discrimination in sport. It also covered qualitative testing by Statistics Canada of the questions to ensure questionnaire integrity and consistency.
  • The Canadian Fitness and Lifestyle Research Institute launched a data portal to spotlight diverse populations in relation to key participation rates in sport and physical activity as well as correlated barriers and supports. Funding was provided for the data release focused on women and girls. Deliverables included a summary report, bulletins, data tables and charts.

For information related to the impact of the Athlete Assistance Program (including gender-related impact), Sport Canada relies on feedback from retiring athletes from the program, a Status of the High-Performance Athlete Report (conducted every four years) and reporting from National Sport Organizations.

Core Responsibility 4: Diversity and Inclusion

a. Program Name: Multiculturalism and Anti-Racism

Program Goals:
The Multiculturalism and Anti-Racism Program actively contributes to the Government of Canada’s goal to foster and promote an inclusive society where everyone can fully participate in the economic, cultural, social and political spheres. The program also works to assist Canadian federal partners to meet their obligations under the Canadian Multiculturalism Act. Program activities and funding touch on issues that affect various community groups differently across Canada in consideration of GBA Plus, which is applied in research projects and for grants and contributions project funding.
Target Population:

Outreach and promotional activities are available to the Canadian public.

The program supports communities that have experienced racism and discrimination, such as racialized groups, religious minorities, and Indigenous Peoples, while considering intersectionality, including 2SLGBTQI+ people, women and girls.

Distribution of Benefits:

By gender

  • Third group: Broadly gender-balanced

By income level

  • Second group: Somewhat benefits low-income individuals

By age group

  • Second group: No significant inter-generational impacts or impacts generation between youth and seniors.
Specific Demographic Group Outcomes:
  • Direct beneficiaries: Communities that have experienced racism and discrimination, such as racialized groups, religious minorities, and Indigenous Peoples, while considering intersectionality, including gender.
  • Indirect beneficiaries: Employees working for the funded organizations, whose demographic profile is not currently available.
Key Program Impacts on Gender and Diversity:
Not available
Other Key Program Impacts:

By virtue of its mandate to support communities that have experienced racism and discrimination, most of the activities of the Multiculturalism and Anti-Racism Program have impacts directly linked to GBA Plus.

The Federal Anti-Racism Secretariat has planned and delivered key commemorative events, including activities related to Asian Heritage Month, Emancipation Day, Black History Month, and the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. The Secretariat has continued working on the implementation of the Anti-Racism Framework by ensuring pilot participants’ feedback is reflected, including in the development of an Anti-Black Racism Strategy. As well, the Secretariat has played an important role on the international scene by participating in or hosting events, such as the virtual forum in March 2023 organized by the Government of Canada on curbing the backlash against anti-racism, which leveraged the North American Partnership for Equity and Social Justice and gathered over 400 participants. In addition, the Secretariat has maintained strong collaboration with Justice Canada to launch a number of key products, including: an unprecedented “Black Youth and the Criminal Justice System Report: Summary Report of an Engagement Process in Canada,” which summarizes barriers faced by Black youth who have come into contact with the Canadian criminal justice system; and a Black Justice Strategy to be released in Fall 2023, which will identify concrete ways to address both the systemic discrimination and anti-Black racism that exists within Canada’s criminal justice system, as well as actions to reform and modernize the criminal justice system, to ensure that all Canadians have access to fair and just treatment before the law.

With its focus on communities that have experienced racism and discrimination, such as racialized groups, religious minorities, and Indigenous Peoples, Canada’s Anti-Racism Strategy has continued to directly support communities through funding provided for local, regional, and national initiatives that seek to foster diversity and inclusion as well as address systemic barriers faced by the most disadvantaged groups.

The Multiculturalism and Anti-Racism Program has also made significant strides in advancing key actions addressing discrimination and hate-fuelled violence against religious groups in Canada. The position of Special Envoy on Preserving Holocaust Remembrance and Combatting Antisemitism was established as a permanent position and a new Special Representative on Combatting Islamophobia was appointed in January 2023.

The Community Support, Multiculturalism and Anti-Racism Initiatives have funded community-based events that: promote intercultural or interfaith understanding, multiculturalism and diversity; celebrate a community’s history and culture, such as through heritage months recognized by Parliament; or provide an opportunity to raise awareness on racism and religious discrimination. Through the Anti-Racism Action Program, funding is provided for multi-year projects that address barriers to employment, justice and/or social participation among Indigenous Peoples, racialized communities, and religious minorities, and for projects addressing online hate and digital literacy.

Supplementary Information Sources:
“Black Youth and the Criminal Justice System Report: Summary Report of an Engagement Process in Canada”
GBA Plus Data Collection Plan:
To inform the development of Canada’s first Action Plan on Combatting Hate, the Federal Anti-Racism Secretariat organized 21 roundtables with diverse peoples and communities with lived experience of hate and disseminated a questionnaire, which received over 23,000 responses.

b. Program Name: Human Rights (including Court Challenges Program)

Program Goals:
The program supports a wide range of human rights, to the benefit of vulnerable and racialized groups, minority communities and persons seeking to clarify their rights.
Target Population:
Vulnerable and racialized groups, minority communities and persons seeking to clarify their rights.
Distribution of Benefits:

By gender

  • Third group: Broadly gender-balanced

By income level

  • Second group: Somewhat benefits low-income individuals (Somewhat progressive)

By age group

  • Second group: No significant inter-generational impacts or impacts generation between youth and seniors
Specific Demographic Group Outcomes:
  • Direct beneficiaries: Members of vulnerable and racialized groups or official language minority communities.
  • Indirect beneficiaries: All those protected by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
Key Program Impacts on Gender and Diversity:
Not available
Other Key Program impacts:
While there are no specific data set to indicate direct impact to diverse groups from the cases funded, the long-term benefits of the program include clarifying the rights of marginalized groups and contributing to a fair and accessible justice system.
GBA Plus Data Collection Plan:

The Human Rights Program does not directly interact with individuals in Canada and thus does not have the opportunity to collect disaggregated data. The Court Challenges Program is managed at arm’s length by a third-party beneficiary to maintain its independence from the federal government. Due to solicitor-client privilege, confidentiality on the identity of the beneficiaries and of the nature of the funded cases must be maintained, which explains why there is no specific data set to indicate direct impact to diverse groups from the cases funded. Consequently, PCH does not currently have access to disaggregated data that could be collected by the program.

An evaluation of the Court Challenges Program is currently under way. The final report will be available in winter 2024 and is expected to provide more insight on the GBA Plus impacts of the program.

c. Program Name: Indigenous Languages and Cultures Program

Program Goals:
The Indigenous Languages and Cultures Program supports the efforts of Indigenous Peoples in reclaiming, revitalizing, maintaining and strengthening their Indigenous language. This includes funding opportunities directed to Indigenous men, women, girls, boys, 2SLGBTQI+ people as well as people with disabilities to learn or increase their proficiency in their Indigenous language, that are age and gender appropriate.
Target Population:
Indigenous Peoples
Distribution of Benefits:

By gender

  • Third group: Broadly gender-balanced

By age group

  • Second group: No significant inter-generational impacts or impacts generation between youth and seniors
Specific Demographic Group Outcomes:
  • Direct beneficiaries: Indigenous Peoples who are looking to learn their Indigenous languages.
  • Indirect beneficiaries: Knowledge holders and language champions, instructors and teachers, translators and interpreters, community members that already know the language who will gain employment and be able to share their Indigenous languages with their friends and family.
Key Program Impacts on Gender and Diversity:
Key Program Impacts on Gender and Diversity - Indigenous Languages and Cultures Program
Statistics Observed ResultsFootnote 1 Data Source Comment
Gender balance of participants from projects funded Participant data from projects funded during 2020–21, the last year for which data is available This distinction between men and women was most prevalent among those aged 25 and over, where there were about twice as many women as men.
Age distribution of participants from funded projects
  • Under 25 years-old: approximately 49%
  • Between 25 and 44 years-old: 28%
  • Over 45 years-old: 23%
 Participant data from projects funded during 2020–21, the last year for which data is available -
Other Key Program Impacts:

The Indigenous Languages and Cultures Program considers distinction (First Nation, Inuit and Métis) and place of residence (province or territory) in allocating its funding.

Canada’s linguistic landscape is complex: there are over 70 Indigenous languages and three quarters of them are endangered and none of them are considered safe. Funding reaches people on reserve and off reserve, in remote, urban and Northern communities. For example, in 2022–23, 25% of all First Nations communities received funding and 4% of all funding recipients were located north of the 60th parallel.

Gender is also an important identity factor in assessing the impacts of the program due to the unique position of Indigenous women as the traditional keepers of language and culture, and related social roles in terms of linguistic and cultural transmission, socialization of children, and education. According to the 2021 Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls and 2SLGBTQQIA+ People National Action Plan: Ending Violence Against Indigenous Women, Girls and 2SLGBTQQIA+ People, reconnecting with Indigenous languages, cultures, and ways of knowing fosters a positive identity and contributes to healing, nation-building and the safety of Indigenous women, girls and 2SLGBTQQIA+ individuals.

Finally, the program also has important impacts on youth, since Indigenous peoples are the youngest population in Canada, with approximately 41% being under 25 years old according to Statistics Canada. They also play a vital role in ensuring intergenerational language transmission.

Supplementary Information Sources:
GBA Plus Data Collection Plan:

Data is collected from reporting mechanisms of funding recipients under the program.

In addition, the Indigenous Languages Branch is funding Norris Research to undertake a research project over multiple years that is analyzing Statistics Canada data to determine additional trends and perspectives, taking into account distinction, age, gender, language and place of residence.

d. Program Name: Youth Engagement

Program Goals:

The Exchanges Canada Program provides grants and contributions in support of youth participation initiatives that allow young Canadians to learn about Canada, create linkages with each other and better appreciate the diversity and shared aspects of the Canadian reality. The Youth Take Charge Program aims to strengthen youth attachment to Canada through engagement in the fields of history and heritage, civic engagement and youth service, arts and culture, and economic activities. Both programs aim to reach a demographic profile of youth that is reflective of the Canadian youth population, and the Exchanges Canada Program sets targets for participation of youth from five groups (as established by the latest Statistics Canada Census data): Indigenous and visible minority/ racialized youth, youth with a disability, youth from a rural community, and youth from low-income households.

The federal Youth Secretariat provides specialized advice to help government departments and agencies apply a youth lens in the design and implementation of policies and programs.

Target Population:
Youth (ages 12-25 under the Exchanges Canada Program, 7-30 under the Youth Take Charge Program) and age 15 to 30 under the Youth Secretariat.
Distribution of Benefits:

By gender

  • Youth Secretariat: Third group: Broadly gender-balanced
  • Exchange Canada Program and Youth Take Charge Program: Fourth Group: 60 per cent - 79 per cent women

By income level

  • Youth Secretariat: Second group: Somewhat benefits low-income individuals (somewhat progressive)
  • Exchange Canada Program and Youth Take Charge Program: Third group: No significant distributional impacts

By age group

  • First group: Primarily benefits youth, children and/or future generations
Specific Demographic Group Outcomes:
  • Directly benefits: Youth
  • Indirectly benefits: Non-profit youth-serving organizations in Canada. In addition, the Youth Secretariat’s activities indirectly benefit the lives of the entire Canadian population.
  • Groups facing barriers and/or experiencing negative impacts: For the Exchanges Canada Program, participation of youth from the five target groups normally meets or exceeds targets, with the exception of visible minority/racialized youth. In 2022–23, the program began work on a program review project, which includes a GBA Plus report, and will result in recommendations for changes to the program to further reduce barriers and improve program participation among diverse groups. A similar exercise will be undertaken for the Youth Take Charge Program.
Key Program Impacts on Gender and Diversity:
Key Program Impacts on Gender and Diversity - Youth Engagement
Statistics Observed ResultsFootnote 1 Data Source Comment
Percentage of participants in the Exchanges Canada Program who report having a better understanding of what Canadians have in common.
  • Women: 74%
  • Men: 79%
  • Non-binary: 66%
 Exchanges Canada Program Post-Participation Questionnaires for Youth Participants
  • Target: 85%
  • Overall average result: 75%

Results from participant questionnaires are only made available the following fiscal year, thus the statistics reflect results from 2021–22.
Percentage of participants in the Exchanges Canada Program who report having a greater appreciation of how diverse Canada is.
  • Women: 83%
  • Men: 81%
  • Non-binary: 72%
 Exchanges Canada Program Post-Participation Questionnaires for Youth Participants
  • Target: 90%
  • Overall average result: 80%

Results from participant questionnaires are only made available the following fiscal year, thus the statistics reflect results from 2021–22.
Other Key Program Impacts:

In 2022–23, the Youth Secretariat continued to provide a forum for dialogue between federal departments and agencies to ensure a whole-of-government approach to youth initiatives through the Director General’s Committee on Youth. The Committee is intended to support Canada’s youth, including youth facing barriers to equity, on youth-identified priorities.

The Youth Secretariat also took a proactive approach to its recruitment campaign for the Prime Minister’s Youth Council, which focused on digital-first communication complemented by stakeholder outreach and engagement activities to include youth facing barriers to participation. The Secretariat implemented targeted, audience-specific tactics to reach underrepresented demographic groups—youth from official-language minority communities, Indigenous and 2SLGBTQI+ youth, and youth not in education, employment or training—while continuing to engage youth from a broad range of diverse backgrounds.

The Prime Minister’s Youth Council continued to advocate on several health-related issues affecting equity-deserving youth, including the implementation of a national pharmacare plan, access to sexual and reproductive health and rights, youth mental health, and engaging youth in health research. At their August 2022 meeting with the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, members of the Council shared perspectives from Black-led community organizations about the lack of awareness and access to existing opportunities, as well as challenges around the integration of newcomer youth. These included foreign credential recognition, international students, curriculum for newcomers, cultural values, and support for 2SLGBTQI+ newcomer and refugee youth. The Council also advocated for the implementation of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action 93 and 94 to introduce a more inclusive history of Indigenous Peoples to newcomers.

GBA Plus Data Collection Plan:

As part of the Exchanges Canada Program and Youth Take Charge Program funding agreements, organizations are required to submit demographic information on participants. For Exchanges Canada, this includes data on participant age, gender, province/territory of residence, and language as well as Indigenous and racialized youth, disability, and rural community (as well as low-income household, under the program’s Youth Exchanges Canada component). Youth Take Charge collects demographic data on participant age, gender, language, and official-language minority community, as well as Indigenous and racialized youth, and disability. These data are tracked and monitored by the programs and are used to ensure that a range of demographic groups, and that youth from throughout Canada, have opportunities to be included in funded activities.

The Exchanges Canada Program contribution agreements with recipients also included targets for participant representation that is comparable to the Canadian population (as established by the latest Statistics Canada Census data). The targets for engagement of youth from five targeted demographic groups were generally met:

  • Indigenous youth represented 11% of participants (target 7%);
  • Rural youth represented 34% of participants (target 18%);
  • Youth with disabilities represented 16% of participants (target 22%)Footnote 3;
  • Youth from low-income households (for which data is collected under the program’s Youth Exchanges Canada component only) represented 19% of participants (target 13%); and
  • Visible minority/racialized youth represented 23% of participants (target 27%).

In 2022–23, the Exchanges Canada Program began work on a GBA Plus report as part of a program review project. The aim of the review project is to ensure that Exchanges Canada continues to appeal to and serve youth in Canada in all their diversity, today and for years to come. The final GBA Plus report, expected to be completed in 2023–24, will summarize, analyze, and present findings on the program model, administration and performance as they relate to GBA Plus as well as identify recommendations based on its findings. Once the report is complete, the Youth Take Charge Program will undergo the same exercise.

Data results on the applications to the Prime Minister’s Youth Council and engagement continue to be monitored during each recruitment campaign to ensure that underrepresented groups are engaged, and there is diversity of representation. The Youth Secretariat works with targeted stakeholders to reach specific communities. The next campaign is set to launch in April 2024.

The State of Youth Report adds data for GBA Plus by contributing open source, raw, primary data from youth engagement sessions to federal government databases; and by offering a youth-led report which interprets and provides recommendations pertaining to much of this data. This may inform other departments in how they approach data collection in general and in youth-specific contexts. In 2022–23, the Youth Secretariat continued to work with Statistics Canada, youth-serving organizations, and federal departments to understand which indicators and data could be included in the next report in 2025.

The Youth Secretariat also provides a forum for dialogue between federal departments to ensure a whole-of-government approach to youth initiatives. Discussion findings, decisions, tools, and data from meetings are made available to other government departments and agencies so that these may inform ongoing and future approaches to youth engagement, programming, data collection, monitoring, and evaluation.

Lastly, the Secretariat developed a draft results framework that provides an outline of potential indicators that demonstrate the Youth Secretariat’s results and value added to the Government of Canada and the youth-serving community. Work will continue into 2023 to finalize the framework.

Core Responsibility 5: Official languages

Program Name: Official languages

Program Goals:
The Official Languages Branch supports two official languages funding programs: the Development of Official-Language Communities Program, which enhances the vitality of Canada’s English and French linguistic minorities and enables them to participate fully in all aspects of Canadian life, and the Enhancement of Official Languages Program, which helps Canadians better understand and appreciate the benefits of linguistic duality.
Target Population:
All Canadians, including official language minority communities and individuals learning French or English in the country.
Distribution of Benefits:

By gender

  • Third group: Broadly gender-balanced

By income level

  • Third group: No significant distributional impacts

By age group

  • Second group: No significant inter-generational impacts or impacts generation between youth and seniors
Specific Demographic Group Outcomes:
  • Direct beneficiaries: Official language minority communities
  • Indirect beneficiaries: English and French language learners
Key Program Impacts on Gender and Diversity:
Key Program Impacts on Gender and Diversity - Official languages
Statistics Observed ResultsFootnote 1 Data Source Comment
English/French bilingualism rate in Canada

For individuals with French as their mother tongue: 48.5%

For individuals with English as their mother tongue: 9.6%

 Census 2021, Statistics Canada -
Percentage of immigrants in Canada outside Quebec who have French as a first official language spoken 2% Census 2021, Statistics Canada The low rate of Francophone immigration is one of the factors that has led to a decline in the demographic weight of Francophones outside of Quebec. It has gone from 6.1% in 1971 to 3.5% in 2021.
Percentage of Canadians who agree that learning both official languages contributes to a better understanding among Canadians 64% Study on the appreciation and perception of Canada’s official languages: final report -
Other Key Program Impacts:

Official Languages program indicators focus on official languages in general, including as they pertain to official language minority communities.

Results from a survey showed that, in general, French-speaking respondents and those living in the Eastern part of the country were more favourable to official languages than English-speaking respondents and those living in the western part of the country.

Detailed departmental analyses of characteristics of immigrants in both Francophone and Anglophone official language minority communities have also highlighted that there is a lower proportion of immigrants in Francophone official language minority communities than that of English majority settings (13% vs. 24%). It is the opposite in Anglophone official language minority communities within Quebec: there is a greater proportion of immigrants within the minority than that of Francophone majority settings (30% vs. 10%). Knowledge or the predominant use of French or English generally orient immigrants in one official language community or the other in Canada, in the public or the private areas. The first official language spoken is a general indicator of this linguistic orientation. Diploma recognition and work experience acquired from abroad still remain an issue for the integration of newcomers in the labour market across Canada, whether they live in an official language minority community or not.

Supplementary Information Sources:
GBA Plus Data Collection Plan:

In-depth analysis within official language minority communities and within the Canadian population at large is undertaken in order to obtain disaggregated data, and highlight issues that are specific to equity seeking groups.

In 2022, a public opinion research entitled “Study on the Appreciation and Perception of Canada’s Official Languages” was conducted by Environics Research Group for the Official languages branch.

PCH has collaborated with Statistics Canada on The Survey on the Official Language Minority Population. It is a postcensal survey of the English-speaking population in Quebec and the French-speaking population elsewhere in Canada. The data will provide a better understanding of the current situation of official language minority communities regarding issues such as education and access to various services in the minority language (for example health care or legal services), as well as language practices in daily activities at home, at work and in the public sphere. The results of the survey will be used to improve access to services for Canadians in the official language of their choice. Results will be communicated in the second half of 2024.

Further, the Official Languages Branch’s generic GBA Plus document update for the year 2022-23, expands and enriches the document that was originally developed to include in depth and up-to-date analyses. The generic GBA Plus document is used to inform new programs and policies, for Cabinet and Budget documents as well as a secondary source for other research work on intersectional issues.

Definitions

1. Target Population:
See Finance Canada definition of Target Group in the User Instructions for the GBA Plus Departmental Summary
Gender Scale:
  • First group: Predominantly men (e.g., 80 per cent or more men)
  • Second group: 60 per cent - 79 per cent men
  • Third group: Broadly gender-balanced
  • Forth group: 60 per cent - 79 per cent women
  • Fifth group: Predominantly women (e.g., 80 per cent or more women)
Income Level Scale:
  • First group: Strongly benefits low income individuals (Strongly progressive)
  • Second group: Somewhat benefits low income individuals (Somewhat progressive)
  • Third group: No significant distributional impacts
  • Forth group: Somewhat benefits high income individuals (Somewhat regressive)
  • Fifth group: Strongly benefits high income individuals (Strongly regressive)
Age Group Scale:
  • First group: Primarily benefits youth, children and/or future generations
  • Second group: No significant inter-generational impacts or impacts generation between youth and seniors
  • Third group: Primarily benefits seniors or the baby boom generation
2. Specific Demographic Group Outcomes –for direct and indirect beneficiaries, and groups facing barriers and/or experiencing negative impacts.
See Finance Canada definition of Target Group in the User Instructions for the GBA Plus Departmental Summary

A. Definitions:

Direct beneficiaries:
  • the demographic group(s) that benefit(s) directly from the Program’s activities, relative to the population at large. This or these group(s) may align with the target population or may have different characteristics.
Indirect beneficiaries:
  • the demographic group(s) that may receive secondary benefits from the Program’s activities relative to the population at large – for example, through playing a role in the delivery of the activities or experiencing the benefits of the proposal in a secondary way.
Groups facing barriers and/or experiencing negative impacts:
  • the demographic group(s) which are expected to face a barrier to participation/access and/or be negatively affected by the Program activities, relative to the population at large.

B. Demographic groups breakdown:

Gender identity and sexual orientation:
  • Predominantly men (e.g., 80 per cent or more men)
  • Men (60 per cent - 79 per cent)
  • Broadly gender-balanced
  • Women (60 per cent - 79 per cent)
  • Predominantly women (e.g., 80 per cent or more women)
  • 2SLGBTQI+ <specify>
Population group:
  • Indigenous Peoples:
    • First Nations
    • Inuit
    • Métis
  • Black or other racialized/ visible minority community: <specify>
  • White (Caucasian)
Socio-economic, cultural and familial characteristics:
  • Lower-educated individuals
  • Highly-educated individuals
  • Lower income
  • Middle income
  • Higher income
  • English or French-language learners
  • Newcomers or Immigrants :<specify>
  • Individuals in particular occupations or sectors: <specify>
  • Single person households
  • Two person households
  • Parents
    • Lone parent households
    • Two parent households
  • Other household type: <specify>
Health characteristics:
  • Persons with disabilities
  • Persons with physical or mental health issues (or their caregivers)
Geographic characteristics:
  • Urban populations
  • Rural or remote populations
  • Individuals in particular regions: <specify>
  • Individuals in other countries: <specify>
Age and life stage:
  • Individuals under the age of 18
  • Individuals between 18-29
  • Individuals between 30-60
  • Individuals over the age of 60
  • Students
  • Workers

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