Funding WORBE: Workplace opportunities: Removing barriers to equity
Employment and Social Development Canada’s Labour Program, in partnership with Impact Canada, is launching a 2026 Call for Proposals under the Workplace Opportunities: Removing Barriers to Equity (WORBE) Program. This Call for Proposals will pilot the Impact Canada funding model that emphasizes funding tied to measurable results and applied solutions.
Applications will be accepted from January 5, 2026, to February 13, 2026, at 3:00 p.m. ET through Impact Canada.
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Application period
- Call for Proposals under the Workplace Opportunities: Removing Barriers to Equity (WORBE) Program will be accepting applications from January 5, 2026, to February 13, 2026, at 3:00 p.m. ET - Impact Canada Open for application
Description of the funding
Workplace Opportunities: Removing Barriers to Equity (WORBE) is a grants and contributions program. WORBE is designed to support employers subject to the Employment Equity Act (the Act) in their efforts to improve designated group representation in areas of low representation through partnerships and industry-tailored strategies.
In 2026, through a competitive Call for Proposals process, WORBE will provide funding through grants or contributions to eligible recipients to develop tailored solutions to support the four (4) designated groups under the Act (women, Indigenous peoples, persons with disabilities, and members of visible minorities).
Funding of up to a total of $3 million per year is available to distribute to eligible organizations. Eligible organizations can apply for up to $500,000 per year. Eligible projects must be completed within 36 months of the project’s start date. The maximum total funding that can be provided for a project is $1.5 million.
Objectives
- Improved representation of one (1) or more of the four (4) designated groups within workplaces, occupational groups or sectors with low representation
- Increasing understanding among stakeholders of industry-specific barriers to diversity and inclusion and effective human resources practices to address them
- Development of new inclusion tools and guides tailored to industry specific needs
Eligibility
Eligibility criteria can be found through Impact Canada.
Contact us
If you have questions or need help with this application process, contact EDSC.PMTEOE‑WORBE.ESDC@servicecanada.gc.ca
Glossary
- Employment equity
- Encourages the establishment of working conditions that are free from barriers, seeks to correct conditions of disadvantage in employment, and promotes the principle that it requires special measures to accommodate differences for the four (4) designated groups in Canada.
- Banking and financial services
- Include all major Canadian banks.
- Communications
- Included radio and television broadcasting, telecommunications and postal and courier services.
- Transportation
- Includes employers in the air, rail, bus and water transportation industries; inter-provincial trucking; pipelines; and investigation and security services.
- Other
- Includes a diverse group of employers working in industries such as grain elevators, feed and seed mills, and uranium mining and processing.