Gender-based analysis plus – Departmental Results Report 2023–24

On this page

• Section 1: Institutional GBA Plus governance and capacity
  • A. Governance
  • B. Human Resources:
  • C. Major Initiatives to Enhance GBA Plus Capacity:
• Section 2: gender and diversity impacts, by program
  • Core Responsibility 1: Creativity, arts and culture
  • Core Responsibility 2: Heritage and Celebration
  • Core Responsibility 3: Sport
  • Core Responsibility 4: Diversity and Inclusion
  • Core Responsibility 5: Official Languages

Section 1: Institutional GBA Plus governance and capacity

A. Governance

In 2023–24, Canadian Heritage (PCH) 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 analyses. 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 2023–24 to share training, resources, and information pertinent to GBA Plus work, including innovative GBA Plus tools and projects that have been developed by other teams at PCH as well as a guidance document regarding a new GBA Plus considerations in Treasury Board submissions that has been developed by the GBA Plus Responsibility Centre.

In 2023–24, the GBA Plus Responsibility Centre undertook efforts to strengthen the rigour and intersectionality of GBA Plus, including leading a GBA Plus approach 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 Diversity, Inclusion and Persons with disabilities 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.

Established in October 2023, the Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Accessibility (IDEA) Office offers departmental guidance to support the re-evaluation of biases and the transformation of departmental practices across professional and personal lives. The IDEA Office’s work is informed by evidence that reflects the lived experiences and distinct needs of diverse people and communities in Canada. Efforts are undertaken through a GBA Plus intersectionality lens, in partnership with equity-deserving groups, adhering to the principle of “Nothing Without Us”, as well as underscores existing inequities and systemic disparities.

The following committee structure supports the development of advice and decision-making on reconciliation and inclusion, diversity, equity, and accessibility initiatives in the Department:

• The Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Accessibility Committee, chaired by the Deputy Minister, is a decision-making body that ensures senior management is aware and makes decision to advance inclusion, diversity, equity and accessibility in the Department.
• The Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation Committee, chaired by the Deputy Minister, includes senior leaders and employees from Indigenous communities to support the Department’s reconciliation efforts and to address the barriers faced by Indigenous employees.
• The Advisory Committee on Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Accessibility, chaired by an ADM and the Corporate Secretary, includes corporate representatives from across PCH who sit alongside Employment Equity and Diversity network chairs. The Committee offers comments, suggestions and insights on inclusion, diversity, equity and accessibility in the Department.

In addition, the following groups at PCH have mandates that enhance the depth and breadth of GBA Plus within the Department, as well as within the Government of Canada:

• The Youth Secretariat aims to facilitate youth engagement, to amplify youth voices to effect positive change and to ensure youth have opportunities to share their perspectives with government policy and decision-makers. Youth impact analysis is part of the implementation of Canada’s Youth Policy, a whole-of-government approach which seeks to engage youth perspectives to shape federal priorities, policies, and programs and improve outcomes for young people in Canada. A youth impact analysis should be conducted when a new initiative is proposed, or an existing initiative is reviewed. Efforts undertaken to support the youth impact analysis help further deepen GBA Plus analysis of age considerations and other intersecting factors.
• Under the modernized Official Languages Act, Canadian Heritage is, among other things, mandated to advance the equality of status and use of English and French in Canadian society, and to inform Canadians about policies and programs relating to the promotion and achievement of the equality of status and use of English and French in Canadian society. To this end, the Department is strengthening its collaboration with other departments and stakeholders through the implementation of the Action Plan for Official Languages 2023–2028, including the launch of the Initiative for Strengthening part VII of the Act, which aims to foster closer ties between English and French speakers and cooperation between federal institutions and minority communities, for the benefit and increased visibility of our official languages. Efforts undertaken to support the implementation of the Act help further deepen GBA Plus analysis of language considerations and other intersecting factors.
• Sport Canada’s Gender Equity, Inclusion, and Innovation Unit informs sport policy and programming on considerations of intersecting identities in the context of sport equity, diversity, inclusion, and accessibility. Furthermore, the Unit supports input and decision-making related to international and domestic sport policy engagement with governmental and non-governmental stakeholders. In June 2023, Sport Canada received funding approval for gender equity and equity, diversity and inclusion research and programming, and to support organizational capacity. Programming was launched in October 2023 by the existing staff of the Gender Equity, Inclusion, and Innovation Unit. In December 2023, Sport Canada received more than 300 projects and governance activities for consideration. Program funding for projects and governance activities for fiscal years 2023–24 and 2024–25 was approved by the Minister of Sport and Physical Activity in early 2024. Funding will sunset and projects will end March 31, 2025.
• The Reconciliation, Treaties and Engagement Branch at PCH plays a crucial role in advancing reconciliation objectives by providing strategic policy analysis, engagement support, and departmental planning. The Branch leads the Department’s reconciliation agenda, ensuring alignment with the Department’s policies and programs and measuring progress. It oversees treaty negotiations and implementations, coordinates commitments under various Indigenous rights and reconciliation frameworks, and supports meaningful engagement with Indigenous partners. Additionally, the Branch conducts policy development and analysis to address systemic barriers and reports on the Department’s reconciliation progress.

B. Human Resources:

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

• 1 ADM Champion;
• 3.0 full time equivalents (FTEs) in the GBA Plus Responsibility Centre, including 1 GBA Plus Focal Point for the Department; and
• 47 members of the GBA Plus Community of Practice.

Furthermore, a total of 11 FTEs has been dedicated within the following specific teams:

• Strategic Policy, Planning and Corporate Affairs (excluding the GBA Plus Responsibility Centre at PCH): 5.25
• Sport, Major Events and Commemorations: 3.15
• Cultural Affairs: 1.15
• Community and Identity: 0.6
• Corporate Services: 0.50
• Official Languages, Heritage and Regions: 0.35

C. Major Initiatives to Enhance GBA Plus Capacity:

Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Review

• Following the Program’s participation in the Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Review completed in March 2023, the Building Communities through Arts and Heritage Program continued work in 2023–24, towards better addressing issues of accessibility of funding for equity-deserving groups. This work also follows the program’s commitments in its Management Response Action Plan, following a Program evaluation that concluded in 2022–23. A program-level review was coordinated in collaboration with two other PCH programs (Young Canada Works and the Celebrate and Commemorate Program) and with the support of the PCH Innovation Lab. This review helped to initiate the process of identifying opportunities to improve accessibility within the Program.
• In response to the Deputy Minister’s directive at the conclusion of the Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Review in March 2023, the Celebration and Commemoration Program undertook a review of its programs through an inclusion, diversity, equity and accessibility lens. A core group of program officers met weekly to investigate and understand barriers to inclusion, especially for potential new clients, and met monthly with Young Canada Works and Building Communities through Arts and Heritage to share and deepen reflection. The recommendations in the final report of the core group aligned with the conclusions of the March 2023 Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Review Final Report, underlining the need for structures to collect and analyze meaningful data about diversity and inclusion; for continuous learning about inclusion, diversity, equity and accessibility; for regular program review; and for diversity in hiring. Participation in this review exercise strengthened the capacity of program officers to uncover and confront implicit biases, who will in turn bring this perspective to ongoing efforts to update program guidelines, application forms, and assessment processes.
• The Heritage Policy and Programs Branch started to implement its Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Accessibility Action Plan, including establishing a structure to advance the plan, developing an Indigenous engagement strategy, implementing flexibilities, updating program guidelines, reviewing program terms and conditions, and developing tools. The work on implementing the Museums Assistance Program Action Plan has continued to increase institutional GBA Plus capacity within the branch.
• Several Cultural Affairs sector programs implemented measures to improve access to programs for equity-deserving communities, including collecting more disaggregated GBA Plus data and GBA Plus training for staff to integrate GBA Plus considerations into their work.

Awareness, resources, and training

• The Museums Assistance Program implemented two advisory committees composed of program advisors from each region. The roles of the Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Accessibility and the Indigenous Heritage Advisory Committees are to guide and support the implementation of program changes, building capacity to dismantle systemic barriers and to engage meaningfully with Indigenous and equity deserving communities. The committees will continue into 2024–25.
• Created in 2021, the Museums Assistance Program Repatriation Working Group, continued its Indigenous Heritage Learning Series and organized two virtual sessions, with an average of 55 participants per session. For the first session, the Working Group invited representatives from the Canada Border Services Agency and PCH to engage in a discussion on international repatriation. The second session featured representatives from an Indigenous nation in British Columbia who spoke about their repatriation project and the resulting increased access to their cultural heritage. The Learning Series will continue into 2024–25.
• The Canadian Conservation Institute and the Canadian Heritage Information Network’s internal working groups on Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Accessibility and on reconciliation with Indigenous communities continued to work towards identifying ways to reduce inequalities in the delivery of services to the heritage community.
• Launched through Budget 2018, Sport Canada’s Gender Equity, Inclusion and Innovation Unit continued to ensure that GBA Plus and considerations on diverse populations in Canada are integrated into decision-making processes, including Cabinet and Budget submissions. As well, based on funding for gender equity in sport announced in October 2022, the work of 9.25 full time equivalents continued to support program and policy work towards a more inclusive and equitable Canadian sport system. As of May 2023, 66% of staff at Sport Canada had indicated completion of the Introduction to GBA Plus course.
• The Reconciliation, Treaties, and Engagement Branch conducted an analysis of the culturally relevant GBA Plus frameworks currently available. These frameworks were developed by several National Indigenous Women’s Organizations, including the Native Women’s Association of Canada, the Ontario Native Women’s Association, Les Femmes Michif Otipemisiwak, and the Minister’s Advisory Council on Indigenous Women of British Columbia. Based on best practices and guidelines from these organizations and Indigenous Services Canada, PCH has been in the process of developing its own culturally relevant GBA Plus framework which will be available in 2024–25.
• As per the Treasury Board Policy on Results, the Canadian Heritage Evaluation Services Directorate continues to use GBA Plus for all evaluations. An internal evaluation tool developed to guide the integration of GBA Plus, questions of inclusion, diversity, equity and accessibility, as well as reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples is updated as needed.
• The Community Building and Youth Branch continued to invest in capacity-building in GBA Plus by supporting training opportunities in this domain and, following the successful completion of a GBA Plus for the Exchanges Canada Program, shared best practices with colleagues across the Department to help support employees conducting GBA Plus for Memoranda to Cabinet, Treasury Board submissions and GBA Plus Annexes of Budget proposals.
• The Human Resources and Workplace Management Branch pursued its commitment to ensure a range of GBA Plus identity factors are considered during the development of tools, surveys, programs, policies, as well as during consultations with PCH employees. To do so, the Branch has:
  • Developed sector scorecards that include performance indicators and specific objectives for each of the designated groups. These are supported by a series of disaggregated data that enable sectors to track their progress. The document includes data such as the representation by occupational group, position type, employee status as well as hiring, promotion, acting opportunity, and departure rates. Each sector management team had the opportunity to familiarize themselves with the performance measures and discuss the results with a multidisciplinary human resources team. In addition to being available on the PCH intranet site, the scorecards were also presented to departmental equity-deserving groups and federal employees’ networks;
  • Launched a sponsorship initiative for gender diverse employees to support them in their career development, in order to support the Department’s 2SLGBTQI+ community;
  • Adjusted appointment processes and hiring practices to make them more accessible and inclusive while ensuring that job advertisements meet the requirements of the Public Service Employment Act (PSEA) (art. 36.2) by using clear, simplified, and appropriate language; and
  • Provided support mechanisms to better inform, equip, and increase awareness among staffing advisors and managers on inclusive hiring practices.

Research and analytical tools and data collection

• The Policy Research Group is the central coordinating link with Statistics Canada and sits at the table of committees that relate to best practices relating to disaggregated data. Examples include the General Social Survey Steering Committee, the Interdepartmental Collaborative Committee on Indigenous Data and others.
• Canadian Heritage began updating its Data Strategy, which will strengthen departmental capacity to collect and use disaggregated data that supports GBA Plus. Disaggregated data is one of the four key focus areas of the strategy. As part of the consultation process for the Data Strategy, the Policy Research Group established a working group with members from the GBA Plus Responsibility Centre at Canadian Heritage as well as the IDEA Office to advance best practices for disaggregated data.
• To measure the impacts of the $500 million Recovery and Reopening Fund—a temporary pandemic measure—the Department designed and administered the second and final wave of a survey of funding recipients. The results complemented those from the first wave of the Recovery and Reopening Fund recipient survey conducted in 2022–23 and are one of the data sources that is helping the Department design next steps to support the arts, culture, heritage, and sports sectors, which are at the heart of Canadian life, our economy, and individual and collective well-being.
• The survey also collected detailed disaggregated data to help policymakers better understand the lived experiences of specific population groups that may face challenges in the equal access, opportunities, and resources to participate within the larger Canadian community. Specifically, the survey collected information on the ways in which funded activities had an impact on equity-deserving communities and/or helped to advance equity, diversity, accessibility, and inclusion, as well as on the diversity of recipient organizations’ leadership. Departmental officials continued to work closely with stakeholders and monitor a variety of data sources to ensure a holistic view of recovery.

Section 2: gender and diversity impacts, by program

Core Responsibility 1: Creativity, arts and culture

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:

Table 1: Distribution of benefits

Distribution	Group
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:

1. Directly benefits: All Canadians
2. Indirectly benefits: The employees working within the funded organizations and cultural workers.
3. Demographic 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^{Footnote 1} on gender and diversity:

Table 2: Key program impact statistics

Statistics	Observed Results	Data Source	Comment
Disaggregated data on the demographic characteristics of the Harbourfront Centre employees, per language of communication, gender and sexual orientation, race and Indigenous identity, and disability.	Communicate in a language(s) other than English: 76 (62%) Female: 86 (70%) Male: 30 (25%) 2SLGBTQI+: 35 (29%) Gender-fluid or non-binary: 6 (5%) Diverse backgrounds (includes Indigenous and racialized): 38 (34%) – approximately 5% did not identify with a group in the survey Identify as a person with a disability: 16 (13%)	2024 Staff Diversity Survey	In 2023–24, the Harbourfront Centre released its third set of GBA Plus data for the Harbourfront Centre Board and management as part of the Harbourfront Centre Program Evaluation (2018). Of 321 employees, 122 participated.

Other Key Program impacts on gender and diversity:

The Arts and Culture Sector Strategy Branch will continue to deepen its understanding of employment in the arts sector by analyzing data disaggregated by multiple identity factors, including gender, from the Labour Force Survey and the Census.

GBA Plus Data Collection Plan:

Following the 2023–24 Equity, Diversity and Inclusion review, the Arts and Culture Sector Strategy Branch developed an Action Plan to advance inclusion, diversity, equity, and accessibility priorities and actions over two fiscal years (2023–25). One of the five pillars of the Plan prioritizes Data and Information Management to address the lack of disaggregated program data.

The Arts and Culture Sector Strategy Branch continues to review statistical information to inform GBA Plus considerations and completed analysis of the 2021 Arts and Heritage Access and Availability Survey. The analysis was shared with arts programs and provided insights into improving GBA Plus data collection.

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:

Table 3: Distribution of benefits

Distribution	Group
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:

1. Direct beneficiaries: All Canadians
2. Indirect beneficiaries: Workers in the movie, television, and/or publishing sectors as well as foreign investors and/or foreign entrepreneurs; consumers at large.
3. Demographic groups facing barriers and/or experiencing negative impacts: Not available

Key program impacts^{Footnote 1} on gender and diversity:

Not applicable

Other Key program impacts:

Launched in 2019, the Digital Citizen Initiative aims to strengthen Canadians’ resilience to online harms and supports the Government’s work in the Gender Results Framework, which is aimed at eliminating Gender-Based Violence and increasing Access to Justice. To this end, Bill C-63, the Online Harms Act was introduced on February 26, 2024. Bill C-63 allows for the creation of stronger online protection and better safeguards from online hate. This is a key issue for equity-deserving communities, as online hate often has a disproportionate impact on women, the 2SLGBTQI+ community, and other groups.

The Digital Citizen Initiative tracks results with its partners and assesses how it fulfills GBA Plus requirements. In 2023–224, 52% of the Digital Citizen Initiative funded projects directly and specifically addressed ethnic, racial or religious communities, minority communities, in both official languages and in Indigenous communities.

In supporting the Government in its commitment to extend the copyright terms of protection and address other copyright issues, such as artists’ resale rights, the Copyright policy team has routinely used GBA Plus processes, deepening its analysis and systematically incorporating diversity considerations into policy advice. Resulting work will be cognizant of the diverse groups (e.g., Indigenous communities, 2SLGBTQI+ communities, French language creators and racialized and ethno-cultural communities) and how they may experience copyright policies.

For its screen sector policy analysis and development work, Film and Video Policy and Programs continue their work to put forward considerations for a better representation of diversity, including, Indigenous Peoples, Black and other racialized communities, 2SLGBTQI+ communities, official language minority communities, women, and people with disabilities.

Film and Video Policy and Programs continue to work with its partners, including the Canada Media Fund, Indigenous Screen Office and the CBC, to prioritize data collection on these communities in order to better respond to their needs.

GBA Plus data collection plan:

The Cultural Marketplace Framework contains multiple components. Some components collect sufficient data to enable monitoring and/or reporting on program impacts by gender and diversity, while others are working on strategies to improve data collection.

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, 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:

Table 4: Distribution of benefits

Distribution	Group
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:

1. Directly benefits: All Canadians
2. Indirectly benefits: Individuals working in television and audiovisual projects
3. Barriers to access/to participate: Not available

Key program impacts^{Footnote 1} on gender and diversity:

Table 5: Key program impact statistics

Statistics	Observed Results	Data Source	Comment
Key Roles by Gender, for funded applications from the Canada Media Fund - Linear programs and Interactive Digital Media programs	Linear: Women: 40.2% Men: 36.9% No participation: 17.5% Prefer not to answer: 3.9% Gender Diverse: 1.5 % Interactive: Men: 45.9% Women: 31.3% No participation: 16.9% Gender Diverse: 4.0 % Prefer not to answer: 1.9%	Canada Media Fund 2022–23 Demographic Report	-
Key Roles by Diverse Communities representation, for funded applications from the Canada Media Fund - Linear programs and Interactive Digital Media programs	Linear: No: 38.9% Yes: 31.9% No participation: 18.0% Prefer not to answer: 11.1% Interactive: Yes: 46.3% No: 28.7% No participation: 17.2% Prefer not to answer: 7.8	Canada Media Fund 2022–23 Demographic Report	-
Community Breakdown among Key Roles in Diverse Communities, for funded applications from the Canada Media Fund - Linear programs and Interactive Digital Media	Linear: Racialized Communities: 55.0% 2SLGBTQI+: 25.5% Indigenous Peoples: 21.6% Persons with disabilities: 11.0% Interactive: Racialized Communities: 56.8% 2SLGBTQI+: 38.7% Persons with disabilities: 22.6% Indigenous Peoples: 5.6%	Canada Media Fund 2022–23 Demographic Report	Note: Totals may exceed 100% as one can identify with more than one community.
Number of recipients of the Indigenous Screen Office’s Story Fund, by province or territory	British Columbia: 42 [34%] Ontario: 24 [20%] Alberta: 19 [16%] Quebec: 12 [10%] Manitoba: 9 [7%] Saskatchewan: 7 [6%] Nova Scotia: 2 [2%] Nunavut: 4 [3%] New Brunswick: 2 [2%] Prince Edward Island: 1 [1%] Newfoundland & Labrador: 0 Northwest Territories: 0 Yukon: 0	Indigenous Screen Office 2023–24 Annual Report	A total of 130 individual projects were funded.
Percentage of recipients of the Indigenous Screen Office’s Story Fund, by location	Urban centre: 67% First Nations or Indigenous community: 19% Rural township or municipality: 10% Small town near reserve or other: 4%	Indigenous Screen Office 2023–24 Annual Report	A total of 130 individual projects were funded.
Number of recipients of the Indigenous Screen Office’s Story Fund, by Indigenous representation	First Nations: 86 [70%] Métis: 17 [14%] First Nations and Métis: 11 [9%] Inuit: 8 [7%]	Indigenous Screen Office 2023–24 Annual Report	A total of 130 individual projects were funded.
Percentage of recipients of the Indigenous Screen Office’s Story Fund, by gender	Female: 53% Male: 34% 2Spirit: 8% Non-Binary: 5% Other or prefer not to answer: 0 Transgender: 0	Indigenous Screen Office 2023–24 Annual Report	A total of 130 individual projects were funded.
Percentage of recipients of the Indigenous Screen Office’s Story Fund, by sexual identity	Straight: 56% Other or prefer not to answer: 18% 2Spirit: 9% Bisexual: 10% Queer: 7% Lesbian: 0 Gay: 0	Indigenous Screen Office 2023–24 Annual Report	A total of 130 individual projects were funded.
Percentage of recipients of the Indigenous Screen Office’s Story Fund, by abilities	Non-visible disability: 61% Prefer not to answer: 39% Visible disability: 0 Deaf person: 0	Indigenous Screen Office 2023–24 Annual Report	A total of 130 individual projects were funded.
Number of the Indigenous Screen Office’s Story Fund projects, by Indigenous language	Nêhiyawêwin-Cree: 19 Other: 11 Mohawk: 9 Inuktitut: 8 Blackfoot: 8 Anishinaabe: 6 Various: 6 Ojibwe: 5 Michif: 4 Dene: 3 Mi’kmaw: 3	Indigenous Screen Office 2023–24 Annual Report	A total of 130 individual projects were funded.
Number of the Indigenous Screen Office’s Story Fund by projects supported in Official Languages	English language: 84 Indigenous language: 13 French language: 25	Indigenous Screen Office 2023–24 Annual Report	A total of 130 individual projects were funded.
Number of journalists supported by the Local Journalism Initiative, by target groups	Official language minority communities: 161 Ethnocultural communities: 84 Indigenous communities: 60 2SLGBTQI+ communities: 11	Final reports from third-party administrator organizations, 2023–24	-
Number of publishers supported by the Canada Book Fund who had book sales from authors from underserved communities	Publishers with eligible sales from books authored by: An Indigenous author: 112 ($14.3 million) A member of a racialized community: 97 ($12.2 million) A member of an official language minority community: 46 ($1.9 million)	-	In 2023–24, there were 264 publishers supported by the Canada Book Fund.

Other Key Program impacts on gender and diversity:

The Canada Media Fund is a third-party delivery program, pursued strategies aimed at improving gender parity in its programs. The Fund has put in place measures wherein 40 to 60% of all content supported by the Fund would be female-led. The Fund published its first Diversity Report in 2023–24, which includes disaggregated data on gender, representation from diverse communities and other demographic information. Key findings from the 2023–24 Diversity Report include the following:

• Gender Parity: 40% of all key roles across the Fund’s linear programs, including in the Performance Envelope, were held by women, which corresponds with the minimum “Gender Balance” threshold. 30% of all Key Roles in interactive programs were held by women. In Innovation and Experimentation and the Commercial Projects Programs combined, a quarter of all funded applications met the Gender Balance incentive criteria.
• PERSONA-ID participation: 83% of key personnel reported had created a PERSONA-ID profile. Engagement is higher in French-language linear productions.
• Indigenous representation: Individuals identifying as First Nations, Métis, and Inuit made up a combined 7% of all reported key roles, and 6% of ownership shares in linear programs.
• Diversity in Key Roles: racialized communities accounted for the largest proportion of diverse community key roles at 18% overall for linear programs, while almost half of all key roles in interactive programs identified with one or more diverse communities.
• Inclusion of 2SLGBTQI+ and disabilities: The inclusion of individuals identifying as 2SLGBTQI+ and persons with disabilities in Key Roles stands at 8% and 4% respectively in linear programs but is much higher in interactive programs at 20% and 10% respectively.

The Local Journalism Initiative’s third-party administrator organizations collect data on coverage of Indigenous, ethnocultural, official language minority and 2SLGBTQI+ communities, including self-reported data on journalists that belong to these communities. The program does not currently collect gender-based data on journalists employed through the program.

The Indigenous Screen Office is required to report annually to the Department on gender, geographic location, language and other gender and diversity indicators of its recipients.

In 2023–24, 66% of Indigenous Screen Office development and production funding recipients were female or gender diverse. While these data are self-reported by recipients, the strong results in this area highlight the positive impacts the Office is having among these underserved groups.

While no data collection plan is envisioned for News Remuneration, efforts are being made to integrate GBA Plus considerations, stemming from Census data, into the news remuneration regime, to the extent that is appropriate for the scope of that legislative tool.

The renewed Creative Export Canada program includes reserved funding under both streams for businesses and organizations that are majority-owned or led (at least 50%) by Indigenous Peoples, racialized communities, and/or members of equity-deserving communities (racialized persons, persons with disabilities, women, official language minority communities). Creative Export Canada applicants from equity-deserving groups are asked to identify through a voluntary self-identification questionnaire. Only those who submit the voluntary self-identification questionnaire may be considered for reserved funding.

As formal efforts to collect inclusive, diverse, equitable, and accessible data began with the renewal of the Creative Export Strategy in March 2023, to date, data has only been collected for the 2023–24 program intakes. In 2023–24, 244 applicants completed the questionnaire, representing 63% of all applicants. For the Export-Ready Stream, there are 21 ready-stream projects and 80 early-stage projects receiving funding, Of the 21 ready-stream projects, 9 had taken into account gender or diversity considerations and for the 80 early-stage projects, 32 had taken gender or diversity considerations into account.

In 2022–23, the Canada Book Fund started collecting data on sales of books by authors from official-language minority, Indigenous and racialized communities.

The Canada Music Fund’s initial recipients, FACTOR and Musicaction, make continuous efforts to solicit applications from a broad range of Canadian artists and music entrepreneurs from all regions of Canada, from official language minority groups, Indigenous peoples, and other underrepresented groups including women and 2SLGBTQI+ people, racialized persons, and persons with a disability.

Canada Music Fund provides funding to not-for-profit organizations that are required to adopt equity, diversity, and inclusion policies for executive positions and board of directors. The Fund also collects information on the representation of Indigenous peoples and equity-deserving groups among the boards and management teams of funded organizations, both not-for-profit and for-profit.

The Canada Music Fund continues to monitor issues relating to equity, diversity, inclusion, and accessibility 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+, persons with disabilities, as well as members of official language minority communities.

In 2023–24, Musicaction also launched a new initiative to strengthen the capacity of the music industry infrastructure within Francophone official language minority communities to develop audiences for Francophone artists from these communities.

The Canada Periodical Fund finalized a review on equity, diversity and inclusion, and issued a summary report of findings and recommendations. Following the review, the program has been working on advancing a regional outreach strategy to publishers and organizations of equity-deserving groups, in collaboration with the National Ethnic Press and Media Council of Canada to explore best ways to support equity-deserving group publications; and how to best support the National Ethnic Press and Media Council of Canada through the Collective Initiatives component of the Fund.

The Canada Periodical Fund is also reviewing its guidelines and eligibility criteria, in collaboration with the National Ethnic Press and Media Council of Canada, to develop options specific to periodicals from and for equity-deserving groups, in time for 2024–25 intakes.

In response to recommendations from the Canada Periodical Fund’s January 2022 program evaluation, in additional to other policy priorities, The Periodical Publishing Policy and Programs Directorate took significant actions in 2023–24. Three industry studies were commissioned to analyze the anglophone, francophone, and Indigenous magazine markets, focusing on post-pandemic market conditions, employment, funding changes, and equity, diversity, and inclusion.

An equity, diversity and inclusion review of the Canada Periodical Fund was conducted, leading to a summary report and the development of a communications and outreach strategy to enhance program access for equity-deserving communities.

The results from a magazine benchmarking study were issued in the report The State of the Canadian Magazine Industry. A section of the report provides insights on equity, diversity and inclusion as it relates to employment in the Canadian magazine industry. It also profiles the industry by region, language market and equity deserving groups.

GBA Plus data collection plan:

The Cultural Industries Support and Development Program contains multiple components. Some components collect sufficient data to enable monitoring and/or reporting on program impacts by gender and diversity, while others have strategies in place to improve data collection.

The Canada Media Fund is responsible for data collection and reports on its results annually to the Department. As part of its 2021–23 Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Strategy, the Canada Media Fund has been conducting initial data collection using its new Persona-ID tool on members of underrepresented communities applying to its programs. The Persona-ID tool continues to support evidence-based decision-making and tracking progress on the communities’ participation and in securing funding.

The Local Journalism Initiative’s third-party administrator organizations collect data on coverage of Indigenous, ethnocultural, official language minority and 2SLGBTQI+ communities, including self-reported data on journalists that belong to these communities. The program does not currently collect gender-based data on journalists employed through the program.

While no data collection plan is envisioned for the News Remuneration program for now, efforts are being made to integrate GBA Plus considerations, stemming from Census data, into the news remuneration regime, to the extent that is appropriate for the scope of that legislative tool.

In 2023–24, the Canada Book Fund continued its collection of data on sales of books by authors from official-language minority, Indigenous and racialized communities.

Core Responsibility 2: Heritage and Celebration

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:

Table 6: Distribution of benefits

Distribution	Group
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:

1. Direct beneficiaries: All Canadians
2. Indirect beneficiaries: Indigenous and racialized or minority groups – Program activities highlight the unique perspectives, history, and culture of these groups.
3. Demographic groups facing barriers and/or experiencing negative impacts: Rural/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 rural and/or remote communities to host their own celebrations and activities.

Other Key Program impacts on gender and diversity:

Activities and events organized or funded by the Celebrations and Commemorations 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, the Celebrate Canada period (June 21 – July 1), National Flag of Canada Day, National Acadian Day, National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, as well as the various ad hoc and special events that took place in 2023–24 such as the celebration of the Coronation of His Majesty King Charles III and the State funerals, highlight anniversaries and milestones of national significance. These events were designed to ensure diverse participants have opportunities to learn and appreciate Canada’s linguistic, cultural, historic and regional diversity.

As part of the assessment process for National Day for Truth and Reconciliation funding, the Program worked collaboratively with the Knowledge Circle for Indigenous Inclusion, the Reconciliation, Treaties and Engagement Branch as well as subject experts from other departments, to promote an inclusive assessment process that fostered the sharing of Indigenous perspectives and diverse points of view. This external advisory committee reviewed, commented and provided 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.

In 2022–23, the Celebration and Commemoration Program established partnerships with nine Indigenous organizations to undertake engagement with Survivors, their families, and community members to learn how best to create awareness and commemorate the history and legacy of Residential Schools. This engagement process is now complete, and the Program has mandated an Indigenous organization for the analysis of the information resulting from the engagement sessions as well as for the writing of a final report anticipated in late 2024.

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:

Table 7: Distribution of benefits

Distribution	Group
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:

1. Direct beneficiaries: All Canadians, including 2SLGBTQI+ and Indigenous peoples (through funding of 2SLGBTQI+ events as well as Indigenous cultural celebrations and treaty commemorations).
2. Indirect beneficiaries: Individuals of all ages and backgrounds, who participate as attendees, volunteers, live presenters, artists, artisans, cultural carriers, and heritage performers.
3. Demographic groups facing barriers and/or experiencing negative impacts: Not available

Key program impacts^{Footnote 1} on gender and diversity:

Table 8: Key program impact statistics

Statistics	Observed Results	Data Source	Comment
Geographical distribution of funded projects	29% in Quebec Region 22% in Atlantic Region 22% in Ontario Region 19% in Western Region 7% in Prairies and Northern Region	Grants and Contribution Information Management System or Program Data	Includes funded projects from all program components. These results are also reflective of the number of eligible applications receive from each region, as all eligible applications receive funding.
Number of projects funded through outreach activities by Building Communities through Arts and Heritage, by equity-deserving community and fiscal year	2SLGBTQI+ events in 2022–23: 37 2SLGBTQI+ events in 2023–24: 35 Indigenous cultural celebrations in 2023–24: 85 Indigenous cultural celebrations in 2022–23: 54	Grants and Contribution Information Management System	-
Total amount ($) provided to local groups organizing 2SLGBTQI+ events in 2023–24	$1,702,600 in 2022–23 $1,063,600 in 2023–24	Grants and Contribution Information Management System	Measures the contribution that government funding makes to arts and heritage activities at 2SLGBTQI+ festivals (e.g., Prides) throughout Canada. In 2023–24 the amount of funding provided to 2SLGBTQI+ events decreased by $639,000 compared to the previous year (total amount provided in 2022–23 was $1,702,600). The number of supported 2SLGBTQI+ events decreased by only two, from 37 in 2022–23 to 35 in 2023–24. The decrease in funding levels between 2022–23 and 2023–24 is due to the expiration of $5.7 million in temporary resources provided through the Budget 2021 Reopening Fund. The reduction in overall resources coupled with increased financial demand on the program resulted in decreased funding amounts for all levels of requests between 2022–23 and 2023–24.
Total amount ($) provided to local groups organizing Indigenous cultural celebrations and commemorations	$2,379,100 in 2022–23 $2,651,100 in 2023–24	Grants and Contribution Information Management System	Measures the contribution that government funding makes to arts and heritage activities at Indigenous cultural celebrations and commemorations. The amount of total funding provided to Indigenous cultural celebrations and commemorations increased by $272,000 compared to the previous year. This increase correlates to an increase in the number of recipients, from 54 in 2022–23 to 85 in 2023–24. The increased number of recipients was substantial enough to result in a higher total amount provided to Indigenous cultural celebrations and commemorations despite individual funding amounts for program recipients being lower in 2023–24 due to fewer overall program resources and increased financial demand.

Other Key Program impacts on gender and diversity:

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

To better engage Indigenous communities interested in organizing Treaty Commemoration events, the Program continued to offer an additional application deadline under the Community Anniversaries component, specifically for these applicants, as well as reduced administrative complexities through simplified application forms. In 2023–24 the Program received 16 such applications. Assessments and funding decisions will be completed in 2024–25.

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. In response to the evaluation, the Program is working to improve its performance data by developing updates to its performance measurement strategy, including improvements to equity, diversity, inclusion, and accessibility indicators and data collection. The Program is also using a lens based on equity, diversity, inclusion, and accessibility to undertake a program-level review of tools and processes in order to identify opportunities to address accessibility issues.

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. 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 or 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 documentaries 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:

Table 9: Distribution of benefits

Distribution	Group
By gender	Fourth group: 60-79% women
By age group	First group: Primarily benefits youth, children and/or future generations

Specific Demographic Group Outcomes:

1. 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 2023–24 is as follows: Atlantic Region—32, Ontario Region–105, Prairies and Northern Region–24, Quebec Region–63, Western Region—57. 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 increasing 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.
2. Indirect beneficiaries:
   • Museums Assistance Program: Employees working in the funded organizations. The demographic makeup of arts, culture, heritage, and sport sectors is disproportionately composed of workers from 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, while 24% are between the ages of 45 to 59 and almost 8% are 60 years of age and over.
   • Young Canada Works – Heritage: Employees of the delivery organizations that deliver the program, the employees of the heritage, arts and cultural organizations that receive funding to hire 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, also benefit directly from learning opportunities offered by the Canadian Conservation Institute and the Canadian Heritage Information Network.
3. Demographic 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 or visibility of the Program. The Museums Assistance Program identified these barriers through participation in the PCH 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. Young Canada Works-Heritage 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 by the Canadian Conservation Institute and the Canadian Heritage Information Network 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 from ethnocultural communities. Furthermore, 65% of the expert services were given to large institutions. The geographic distribution of the expert services revealed that the Canadian Conservation Institute overserves Ontario and Quebec while some provinces have not received certain services at all. The Canadian Conservation Institute and the Canadian Heritage Information Network established a cross-disciplinary Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Accessibility working group as a central mechanism to drive change. The working group is developing a comprehensive Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Accessibility Action Plan that will address the root causes of disparities in our culture, policies and operations.

Key program impacts^{Footnote 1} on gender and diversity:

Table 10: Key program impact statistics

Key Impacts: Statistics	Observed Results	Data Source	Comment
Number of funded organizations serving or located in official language minority communities	Museums Assistance Program: 51 reported having projects that reached both English-speaking and French-speaking communities.	Programs Administrative Systems (Grants and Contribution Information System) 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.
Number of funded organizations located in remote or rural areas	Museums Assistance Program: 52 reported having projects that reached remote or rural audiences.	Programs Administrative Systems (Grants and Contribution Information System) and Museums Assistance Program Final Reports	-
Number of funded organizations that belong to, or whose project or activities targeted or served, Indigenous, ethnocultural or racialized communities	Museums Assistance Program: 34 reported having projects that reached Indigenous communities and 22 reported having projects that reached ethnocultural or racialized communities.	Programs Administrative Systems (Grants and Contribution Information System) 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 component than the Indigenous Heritage component.
Number of organizations identified as official language minority communities that received services	Canadian Conservation Institute and the Canadian Heritage Information Network: 13 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 the Canadian Heritage Information Network: 39 organizations identified as Indigenous or as being part of an ethno-cultural community received a total of 55 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 or training opportunities provided to youth, and/or individuals who self-identified as Indigenous, ethnocultural (and/or visible minority) participants, communities from official language minority communities, from rural/remote areas, etc.	Young Canada Works-Heritage: Of a total of 1,479 youth that completed the Participant Evaluation Questionnaire: 1,028 self-identify as women 212 self-identify as ethnocultural or racialized youth 209 self-identify as youth with disabilities 121 self-identify as youth in rural/remote areas 94 self-identify as an official language minority community member 90 self-identify as Indigenous youth Canadian Conservation Institute and the Canadian Heritage Information Network: Of a total of 293 respondents to participant surveys: 60 self-identify as a member of an ethnocultural community; 31 self-identify as a racialized person; 12 self-identify as Indigenous; and 18 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 summer or short-term jobs 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 Network, 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 on gender and diversity:

Young Canada Works-Heritage is increasingly aiming to serve equity-deserving youth as part of the Youth Employment and Skills Strategy.

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.

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, including 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.

In 2023–24, the Canadian Conservation Institute and the Canadian Heritage Information Network’s internal working group on Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility began to examine ways to advance inclusiveness and to reduce inequalities in the delivery of their services. As part of these efforts, the working group developed work objectives for employees related to inclusion, diversity, equity and accessibility and recommended to employees certain training on those concepts. The working group also designed and delivered a series of three engagement sessions for all employees, which provided concrete ideas for addressing the barriers to equity identified by stakeholders. The working group also developed tools to help employees and managers navigate inclusion, diversity, equity and accessibility in their day-to-day work.

Also in 2023–24, the Canadian Conservation Institute and the Canadian Heritage Information Network’s internal working group on reconciliation undertook a detailed and critical review of projects that involved Indigenous communities, institutions, or belongings. The purpose of the review was to identify work being conducted by both organizations that connect to Indigenous communities. This review laid the groundwork for consideration of possible changes to policy and practical operating procedures to build relationships with Indigenous communities and advance reconciliation.

In 2023–24, the Department advanced the renewal of the Canadian Museum Policy by completing extensive consultations with Canadians, Indigenous partners, and heritage stakeholders. A What We Heard report on these consultations was published in January 2024 on the museum policy consultation webpage. The input provided will inform an updated Museum Policy and its future impact on how we protect our heritage and how Canadians will be able to access it.

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 of 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 2023–24 and implemented changes in its evaluation questionnaires to collect new data as of 2024–25.

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 continued to review its data collection and program reporting on diverse communities in 2023–24 and to explore ways in which it might improve the methodology.

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 Canadian Conservation Institute and Canadian Heritage Information Network’s impact on equity-deserving communities. This will inform decision-making in the delivery of services.

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 carried out 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.

Other Key Program impacts on gender and diversity:

The Canada History Fund prioritizes funding recommendations for projects that address posted priorities, such as the history of official language minority communities and the history of Indigenous peoples, which include projects that integrate themes of inclusion and diversity. In spring 2024, the Canada History Fund launched a special call for proposals for projects related to equity, diversity, and inclusion.

In 2023–24, 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;
• We Belong: Celebrating 2SLGBTQ+ History, a project of the Canadian Centre for Gender and Sexual Diversity;
• The History of Schooling in Canada: Learning from the Past to Inspire Upstanders for the Future from Facing History and Ourselves;
• “If the Land Could Speak” Embracing the Living Knowledge of Indigenous Peoples in Canada from the Legacy of Hope Foundation; and
• BLK History Curriculum Project from Hungry Eyes Media Inc.

The Canada History Fund supported the Canadian Studies Program at Glendon College, York University, to create and promote a video and podcast series along with complementary learning materials for an audience of 7,500 Canadian history teachers, teacher candidates, and other Canadian history educators, to address inclusion and diversity in Canadian history. The project provided opportunities for primary and secondary school students to learn about Canada’s past while addressing the traditional and often exclusionary narrative of Canadian history. York University created 25 long-form video and podcast episodes about Canadian history and 15 bilingual reaction videos to facilitate greater access to the content in French and English.

GBA Plus Data Collection Plan:

The Canada History Fund will undergo a program evaluation beginning in fall 2024. It is expected that the findings of the evaluation will 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

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 other 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 and 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:

Table 11: Distribution of benefits

Distribution	Group
By gender	Third group: Broadly gender-balanced
By age group	Second group: Primarily benefits youth, children and/or future generations

Specific Demographic Group Outcomes:

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.

Key program impacts^{Footnote 1} on gender and diversity:

Table 12: Key program impact statistics

Statistics	Observed Results	Data Source	Comment
Number of athletes supported by the Athlete Assistance Program, by gender	Total: 1859 Male: 948 [50.1%] Female: 911 [49.0%]	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 277 [14.9%], of which: Male: 166 [59.9%] Female: 111 [40.1%]	Athlete Assistance Program Management Information System	-
Number of athletes supported by the Athlete Assistance Program that self-identify as Indigenous	18 [0.97%]	Athlete Assistance Management Information System	-
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 Provincial/Territorial Aboriginal Sport Bodies that benefited from Stream Three of the Sport for Social Development in Indigenous Communities	10	-	Stream Three ensures that Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQI+ people have access to meaningful sports activities.
Number of Indigenous governments, communities and organizations that benefited from Stream Three of the Sport for Social Development in Indigenous Communities	37	-	Stream Three ensures 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	39	Community Sport for All initiative Grants and Contributions data collected by Sport Canada; and final reports from funding recipients.	Community Sport for All Initiative (to reduce barriers to sport participation for equity deserving populations, particularly Black, Indigenous, Racialized, 2SLGBTQI+, low-income, Persons with a disability, and Newcomers.) It is projected that approximately 443,000 participants from various equity-deserving groups in every province and territory will be reached through this initiative.
Number of projects funded through the Innovation Initiative, by population served	Women and girls (pilot to address sport participation issues): 1 Women and girls from racialized communities: 2 Youth facing barriers: 2 Newcomers: 2 Indigenous Peoples: 1 2SLGBTQI+ populations: 1	Innovation Initiative Grants and Contributions data collected by Sport Canada and final reports from recipient organizations.	9 Innovation projects were ongoing in 2023–24, of which 1 continues through 2024–25. The nine pilot projects were delivered by nine organizations (one multisport service organization; one national organization; seven regional/community organizations).

Other Key Program impacts on gender and diversity:

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 for all Canadians through strategic investments in Canada’s sport system. These investments help to increase access to safe and welcoming sport programming, to remove barriers to sport participation and assist in sport promotion and to teach the basics of physical activity (physical literacy) for individuals from all communities and all intersectional identities. Many of the Sport Development and High Performance Program’s initiatives are geared towards underrepresented groups and historically marginalized individuals in an effort to make our sport system reflective of Canadian society.

Supplementary Information Sources:

• Actively Engaged: A Policy on Sport for Women and Girls
• Women and Girls in Sport: Report of the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage
• Federal-Provincial/Territorial Sport Committee Work Group on Women and Girls in Sport Recommendation Report (PDF format)
• COVID Alert: Pandemic Impact on Girls in Sport (PDF format)
• The Sporting Experiences of BIPOC Women & Girls in Canada (PDF format)
• The Rally Report: Encouraging Action to Improve Sport for Women and Girls (PDF format)

GBA Plus Data Collection Plan:

As part of the new Gender Equity, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion component of the Sport Support Program, applicants provided disaggregated data on future participants to support funding decision-making. Disaggregated participant data relating to gender, Indigenous identity, ability, race, age, newcomer status, and language was also incorporated into the funding reporting designed to support better understanding of program funding investment. Interim reporting is due from recipients in the fall of 2024, and final reporting will be received in 2025–26.

Due to the delayed launch of the application process for Community Sport for All Initiative projects in 2023–24, disaggregated data from this initiative is not yet available. It is anticipated that Sport Canada will receive disaggregated data on geography and on priority populations, which will include Black, Indigenous, racialized, 2SLGBTQI+, low income, persons with a disability and newcomers.

Additionally, in 2023–24, Sport Canada allocated $1.5 million to advance research projects focused on equity-deserving people in sport. These projects include:

• A partnership with Statistics Canada to deliver a sport module on a large-scale social survey exploring racial equity and experiences of racism in Canadian sport.
• A collaboration with the Canadian Institutes of Health Research to advance sex and gender-based research

Sport Canada recently completed a national public opinion research project led by a research firm and Indigenous researchers to review all streams of the Sport for Social Development in Indigenous Communities program. The program review engaged and consulted with Indigenous stakeholders, including Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQI+ representative organizations, on how to improve the design and delivery of the three Sport for Social Development in Indigenous Communities funding streams, to ensure the program serves their self-identified social development outcomes and goals.

Core Responsibility 4: Diversity and Inclusion

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 is able to fully participate in its economic, cultural, social and political spheres. Its activities and funding address issues that affect diverse populations across Canada in consideration of GBA Plus.

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:

Table 13: Distribution of benefits

Distribution	Group
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:

1. Direct beneficiaries: Communities that have experienced racism and discrimination, such as racialized groups, religious minorities, and Indigenous Peoples, while considering intersectionality, including gender.
2. Indirect beneficiaries: Employees working for the funded organizations, whose demographic profile is not currently available.
3. Demographic groups facing barriers and/or experiencing negative impacts: Not available

Other Key Program impacts on gender and diversity:

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.

Funding for the Canada’s Anti-Racism Strategy renewed for 2024–28 was approved in September 2023, and builds upon the foundation set with the first Strategy in 2019–22 to provide a community-driven framework offering a more effective approach to eliminating systemic racism and discrimination in Canada. It will continue to support community projects that ensure that Indigenous peoples, Black and other racialized and religious minority communities, including Asian, Jewish, and Muslim communities in Canada have access to resources that support their full participation in the Canadian economy, while also raising awareness of issues related to racial and religious discrimination in Canada.

The Program’s objectives also lend themselves to addressing intersectional issues, and many funded initiatives incorporate it into their own goals.

The Multiculturalism and Anti-Racism Branch planned and delivered the Black History Month event, including an in-person reception that welcomed over 700 community participants. The 2024 theme for Black History Month was “Black Excellence: A Heritage to Celebrate; a Future to Build.” This theme was selected to celebrate the rich past and present contributions and accomplishments of Black people in Canada, while aspiring to embrace new opportunities for the future.

GBA Plus Data Collection Plan:

In September 2022, the Multiculturalism and Anti-Racism Branch launched a survey for its projects funded through the Anti-Racism Action Program, which will collect data on the gender, ethnicity, and religious affiliation of program participants. The information collected through the survey is being used for internal performance measurement. Survey results will help the Multiculturalism and Anti-Racism Branch improve its funding programs and better serve communities. Best practices from this survey will be applied to future program surveys. The survey remained open throughout 2023–224 and results will be available in 2024–25.

As part of investments to renew Canada’s Anti-Racism Strategy, Budget 2022 committed $1.7 million over four years to renew existing research projects by Statistics Canada and Justice Canada, which were ongoing in 2023–224. The initiatives aim to improve our understanding of racism and discrimination facing Indigenous people and racialized and religious minority communities, including a portrait series on racialized groups by Statistics Canada to make these communities better understood by policy makers and other stakeholders; and the Canadian Legal Problems Survey by Justice Canada to identify the kinds of serious legal problems people face, how they attempted to resolve them including outside of formal systems such as courts, and how these experiences have impacted their lives. The data is being disaggregated to highlight experiences of different populations groups in different provinces.

Program Name: Human Rights

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:

Table 14: Distribution of benefits

Distribution	Group
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:

1. Direct beneficiaries: Members of vulnerable and racialized groups or official language minority communities.
2. Indirect beneficiaries: All those protected by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
3. Demographic groups facing barriers and/or experiencing negative impacts: 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 fall 2024 and is expected to provide more insight on the GBA Plus impacts of the program.

Program Name: Indigenous languages and cultures

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 support to Indigenous men, women, girls, boys, 2SLGBTQI+ people and people with disabilities to increase their proficiency in their Indigenous language, that are age and gender appropriate.

Target Population:

Indigenous Peoples

Distribution of Benefits:

Table 15: Distribution of benefits

Distribution	Group
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:

1. Direct beneficiaries: Indigenous Peoples that are looking to learn their Indigenous languages.
2. 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.
3. Demographic groups facing barriers and/or experiencing negative impacts: Not available

Key program impacts^{Footnote 1} on gender and diversity:

Table 16: Key program impact statistics

Statistics	Observed Results	Data Source	Comment
Gender balance of participants from projects funded	Women: 62% Men: 38% Other gender: 0.5%3	Participant data from projects funded during 2022–23, the last year for which data is available.	-
Age distribution of participants from funded projects	Under 25 years-old: approximately 70% Between 25 and 44 years-old: 15% Over 45 years-old: 15%	Participant data from projects funded during 2022–23, the last year for which data is available.	-

Other Key Program impacts on gender and diversity:

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.

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:

• Norris Research (in English only)

GBA Plus Data Collection Plan:

Data is collected from reporting mechanisms of funding recipients to the Program. The Program is working with Indigenous partners on the collection of disaggregated data through new reporting mechanisms to support analysis of gender-based impacts of the Program and inform program improvements.

In addition, the Indigenous Languages Branch previously funded a research project that analyzed Statistics Canada data to determine additional trends and perspectives taking into account distinction, age, gender, language and place of residence.

Program Name: Youth Engagement

Program goals:

The Youth Engagement Program, which includes the Exchanges Canada and Youth Take Charge grants and contributions programs, as well as the Youth Secretariat, aims to strengthen young people’s connection to Canada. 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. The Youth Secretariat provides specialized advice to help government departments and agencies apply a youth lens in the design and implementation of policies and programs. The Program aims to reflect the diverse youth population in Canada, including by targeting Indigenous youth, racialized youth, youth with a disability, youth from rural communities, and youth from low-income households^{Footnote 2}, and creates opportunities for their active involvement in federal policy and decision-making.

Target Population:

Youth (ages 12–25 under the Exchanges Canada Program, 7-30 under the Youth Take Charge Program, and ages 15 to 30 under the Youth Secretariat).

Distribution of Benefits:

Table 17: Distribution of benefits

Distribution	Group
By gender	Entire Program: Third group: Broadly gender-balanced Youth Secretariat: Fourth group: 60% to 70% women
By income level	Exchanges Canada program and the Youth Secretariat: Second group: Somewhat benefits low-income individuals (somewhat progressive) Youth Take Charge program and the Youth Secretariat: Third group: No significant distributional impacts
By age group	Entire Program: First group: Primarily benefits youth, children and/or future generations

Specific Demographic Group Outcomes:

1. Direct beneficiaries: Youth
2. Indirect beneficiaries: Non-profit youth-serving organizations in Canada. In addition, the Youth Secretariat’s activities indirectly benefit the lives of the entire Canadian population.
3. Demographic 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, except for visible minority or racialized youth. The Program started working on a program review project in 2022–23, which they continued in 2023–24 and included a GBA Plus report outlining recommendations for changes to the Program to further reduce barriers and improve program participation among diverse groups.

Key program impacts^{Footnote 1} on gender and diversity:

Table 18: Key program impact statistics

Statistics	Observed Results	Data Source	Comment
Percentage of participants in the Exchanges Canada Program who report having a better understanding of what Canadians have in common.	Women: 80% Men: 79% Non-binary: 77%	Exchanges Canada Program 2022–23 Post-Participation Questionnaires for Youth Participants	Target: 85% Overall average result: 79% 2023–24 results from participant questionnaires will be available in the 2024–25 Departmental Results Report.
Percentage of participants in the Exchanges Canada Program who report having a greater appreciation of how diverse Canada is.	Women: 90% Men: 89% Non-binary: 85%	Exchanges Canada Program 2022–23 Post-Participation Questionnaires for Youth Participants	Target: 90% Overall average result: 88% 2023–24 results from participant questionnaires will be available in the 2024–25 Departmental Results Report.

Other Key Program impacts on gender and diversity:

The Exchanges Canada Program funded “Connecting Young Canadians,” managed by Experiences Canada. This initiative offered reciprocal exchanges for 2,088 youth, including 413 participants focused on official language minority communities. Youth from different regions participated in community visits, cultural exchanges, and interactive sessions, experiencing diverse facets of Canadian life. The project aimed to enhance youth attachment to Canada by increasing their knowledge of the country, creating new connections, and appreciating Canadian diversity.

Supported by the Youth Take Charge Program, “Commit to discovering Canada” was delivered by Place aux compétences, a not-for-profit organization working with private and public sector partners to promote, develop, and manage innovative and creative projects and programs for youth in New Brunswick. This project engaged nearly 2,000 school-aged Francophone youth from official language minority communities in New Brunswick. Youth designed and implemented their own initiatives, aimed at educating their peers and community members about Canada from their perspective.

In 2023–24, the Youth Secretariat continued to promote a whole-of-government approach to youth initiatives through a senior-level horizontal committee comprising members who have a role in advancing the priorities in Canada’s Youth Policy, including for youth facing barriers to equity. The Youth Impact Analysis Tool, created by the Secretariat, remains a vital resource for incorporating a youth perspective into the work of the Government of Canada as it pertains to gender and diversity.

The Secretariat’s recruitment for the seventh cohort of the Prime Minister’s Youth Council prioritized equity through digital outreach and targeted efforts to reach underrepresented groups, including Indigenous youth, 2SLGBTQI+ youth, youth from official-language minority communities, and youth not in education, employment, or training.

The Prime Minister’s Youth Council continued to advocate on issues affecting equity-deserving youth. At their August 2023 meeting, members met with Dr. Theresa Tam, Canada’s Chief Public Health Officer to discuss climate change and its impacts on public health. They also focused on reconciliation and substantive equality for Indigenous peoples, and youth involvement in the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.

GBA Plus Data Collection Plan:

The Exchanges Canada Program supported “Gathering Our Voices,” a forum organized by the British Columbia Association of Aboriginal Friendship Centres. Held in Vancouver, it brought together around 950 Indigenous youth from across Canada to the traditional territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations.

In the funding agreements signed with recipients under the Exchanges Canada and Youth Take Charge programs, organizations are required to submit demographic information on participants. This includes data on participant age, gender, province/territory of residence, and language, as well as Indigenous identity, race, disability, rurality and income. These data are tracked and monitored and are used to ensure that a range of demographic groups among youth across Canada have opportunities to be included in funded activities.

The Exchanges Canada Program contribution agreements with recipients also include targets for participant representation that are aligned with the youth population in Canada (as established by the latest Statistics Canada Census data). In 2023–24, the targets for engagement of youth from the five targeted demographic groups were generally met:

• Indigenous youth represented 25% of participants (target 7%).
• Racialized youth represented 21% of participants (target 27%).
• Youth with a disability represented 11% of participants (target 22%)
• Youth from rural communities represented 30% of participants (target 18%)
• Youth from low-income households (these data are collected under the Exchanges Canada program’s Youth Exchanges Canada component only) represented 24% of participants (target 13%).

In 2023–24, work continued to review the Exchanges Canada Program’s criteria, including through the completion of a GBA Plus, and will inform measures to reduce barriers to funding, thereby improving representation among diverse youth.

Disaggregated application data for the Prime Minister’s Youth Council continues to be monitored during each recruitment campaign to ensure diverse representation and engagement of underrepresented groups. The Youth Secretariat engages with targeted youth serving organizations to reach specific communities.

The State of Youth Report enhances GBA Plus by providing primary data from youth engagement sessions in the format of a report shaped by youth, presenting their direct input on key issues affecting them and their communities. This information helps other Government departments with data collection, youth engagement, and the development of policies and programs that impact youth. 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. Given budgetary constraints, in 2023–24, the Youth Secretariat refocused its efforts to explore options for the development of the next State of the Youth Report.

The Youth Secretariat also provides a forum for dialogue between the Government of Canada departments to promote a whole-of-government approach to youth initiatives, policies and programs. Discussion findings, decisions, research, tools, and data 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. To this end, the Youth Secretariat continued to facilitate a senior-level horizontal committee comprising members who have a role in advancing the priorities in Canada’s Youth Policy, and by engaging actively on other interdepartmental committees.

Core Responsibility 5: Official Languages

Program Name: Official languages

Program goals:

The Official Languages Branch supports two funding programs: the Development of Official Language Communities Program, which enhances the vitality of Canada’s English and French linguistic minority communities and enables them to participate fully in all aspects of Canadian life, and the Enhancement of Official Languages Program, which promotes a greater understanding and appreciation of official languages among Canadians.

Target Population:

All Canadians, including official language minority communities and individuals learning French or English in the country

Distribution of Benefits:

Table 19: Distribution of benefits

Distribution	Group
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:

1. Direct beneficiaries: Official language minority communities; English and French language learners
2. Indirect beneficiaries: community-sector organizations in the area of official languages and their employees; education-sector professionals
3. Demographic groups facing barriers and/or experiencing negative impacts: Not available

Key program impacts^{Footnote 1} on gender and diversity:

Table 20: Key program impact statistics

Statistics	Observed Results	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 their 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, which fell 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 (Environics 2022)	-

Other key program impacts on gender and diversity:

Indicators focus on official languages in general. The primary focus is on official language minority communities across Canada, but indicators also speak to people and communities in Canada, as a whole. Moreover, the Official Languages Branch has measures in place to obtain disaggregated data. This data is used to support in-depth analyses of official language minority communities and of the peoples and communities in Canada, as well as to highlight issues specific to equity-deserving groups.

Supplementary Information Sources:

• Study on the Appreciation and Perception of Canada’s Official Languages
• Statistics on official languages in Canada
• Language – 2021 Census promotional material
• While English and French are still the main languages spoken in Canada, the country’s linguistic diversity continues to grow
• LANGUAGES Statistics (2021)
• Children eligible for instruction in the minority official language, 2021
• Some facts on the Canadian Francophonie
• Canadian Heritage’s official languages annual reports
• Language projections for Canada, 2011 to 2036/by René Houle and Jean-Pierre Corbeil
• English, French and official language minorities in Canada

GBA Plus Data Collection Plan:

In early 2024, a public opinion survey on the appreciation and perception of official languages among official language minority communities was conducted by VoxPop Labs for the Official Languages Branch. The results of this survey will help refine the Department’s understanding and track the evolution of public opinion on themes such as community confidence, access to and satisfaction with services in the minority language, minority-majority relations, and the level of support for government programs. PCH is currently awaiting the results of this survey.

The Official Languages Branch also conducted an in-depth analysis of disaggregated data for official language minority communities and the general population in Canada to highlight group-specific issues for equity-deserving groups. Such analyses are conducted to better understand the intersections between official languages and other population characteristics. There are challenges with obtaining disaggregated data for certain sub-segments of the population within official language minority communities for many reasons, particularly when the number of community members is limited. When this is the case, the use of qualitative data can more adequately reflect the realities experienced by these groups of people.