2024 annual report – Occupational injuries in the Canadian federal jurisdiction

Key findings from the 2024 annual report

• Increase in disabling injuries: The number of disabling work-related injuries reported by federally regulated employers increased slightly by 0.4% or 81 injuries, from 18,796 in 2023 to 18,877 in 2024.
• Increase in fatal injuries: The number of fatal injuries reported by federally regulated employers increased by 3 fatalities or 4.2%, from 71 in 2023 to 74 in 2024.
• Increase in hours worked: Workers in federally regulated industries worked approximately 0.4 million more hours in 2024 than in 2023, a 0.02% increase.
• Disabling Injury Frequency Rate (DIFR) increases: The national DIFR - the number of disabling injuries per 1 million hours worked - increased slightly from 7.77 in 2023 to 7.80 in 2024.
  • Industry variance: The 2024 DIFR values for 6 of the 16 federally regulated industries were greater than the federal jurisdiction rate of 7.80. The Air Transportation industry had the highest DIFR of any federally regulated industry. Its rate increased from 21.38 in 2023 to 21.41 in 2024.
• Fatal Injury Incidence Rate (FIIR) increases: The national FIIR - the number of fatal injuries for every 100,000 FTEs - increased slightly from 5.74 in 2023 to 6.00 in 2024.
• Pre- and post-COVID-19 pandemic trends:
  • Fewer disabling injuries: Compared to pre-pandemic levels in 2019, the total number of disabling injuries in 2024 decreased by 9.5%, dropping to 18,877 from 20,850. As a result, the 2024 DIFR of 7.80 is significantly lower than the 2019 rate of 9.39.
  • Varying DIFR trends: Compared to 2019:
    • The DIFR values of 7 industries - Postal Services, Rail Transportation, Water Transportation, Feed, Broadcasting, Federal Public Services and Banking - have been gradually decreasing, strongly suggesting an improving work place safety trend for these industries since the pandemic.
    • In contrast, the DIFR values of 4 industries - Air Transportation, Grain Handling, Communications and Energy - have steadily increased since 2019, signaling a worsening work place safety trend in these industries.
    • Another 3 industries exhibited stable DIFR values over the same period but the nature of this stability differs significantly - maintaining a consistently high DIFR value reflects the sustained high-risk conditions for Road Transportation, while maintaining a low DIFR shows that the First Nations band councils and Indigenous self-governments and Pipeline Transportation industries have maintained a strong safety performance despite minor post-pandemic upwards shifts.

Industries under federal jurisdiction

According to the Canada Labour Code (the Code), federal jurisdiction encompasses any work that is within the legislative authority of the Parliament of Canada. This includes all work deemed to be for the common good of at least 2 provinces and outside the exclusive authority of provincial legislatures, such as international and interprovincial transport, banking, telecommunications, the federal public service and most Crown Corporations. Part II (Occupational Health and Safety) of the Code also applies to employers and employees covered under the Parliamentary Employment and Staff Relations Act.

EAHOR submissions

Section 15.10 of the COHSR, requires employers under federal jurisdiction to submit an EAHOR to the Labour Program by March 1 each year. An EAHOR, which covers the period from January 1 to December 31 of the preceding calendar year, must include the following information:

• number of disabling injuries
• number of deaths
• number of minor injuries
• number of other hazardous occurrences
• total number of hours worked
• total number of employees (in Full-time Equivalents (FTEs)
• number of office employees
• whether they are in operation (yes/no)
• date that they ceased operation, if applicable

For the 2024 reporting year, the Labour Program received 4,720 EAHOR submissions. As illustrated in Table 1.1 the number of submissions received in 2024 decreased by 73 or 1.5%, compared to 4,793 reports included in the 2023 publication.

Eleven out of 16 federally regulated industries submitted fewer reports in 2024 than in 2023. The Road Transportation industry experienced the largest decrease in its number of submissions, from 2,507 in 2023 to 2,452 in 2024. This was followed by the Feed, Flour and Seed industry, which submitted 321 reports in 2023 and 301 in 2024. The Air Transportation industry had the largest increase in submissions, from 708 in 2023 to 724 in 2024.

Since an organisation's industry is determined by the nature of its activities in terms of products and services delivered, some Crown corporations are not classified under Federal Public Services, Public Service Departments and Crown Corporations. As an example, Canada Post is classified as a Crown corporation under the Postal Services industry due to the nature of its work.

Business size analysis

EAHOR submission trends vary significantly by business size, which is classified as small (fewer than 100 full-time equivalents (FTEs)), medium (100 to 499 FTEs), or large (500 or more FTEs).

Table 1.2 shows that the 2024 EAHOR submissions covered approximately 1.23 million FTE employees under federal jurisdiction. The total economic activity within the federal jurisdiction - measured by total hours worked - was reported at around 2.43 billion hours in 2024.

*Please note that due to rounding, percentage values in some charts and tables may not add up to 100%.

As in 2023, the majority (or 83%) of EAHOR submissions in 2024 came from small employers, yet they represented only 7% of total FTEs and nearly 8% of total hours worked within the federal jurisdiction.

The remaining 17% of reports were submitted by medium and large employers, representing 93% of the FTE population and contributing roughly 92% of economic activities under federal jurisdiction. Among these, the 211 large employers reported the greatest share, accounting for 83% of FTEs and 82% of total hours worked.

By analysing the EAHOR data provided by employers with diverse work environments and business sizes, this report explores the risk of occupational injuries facing federally regulated work places.

Prevalence of disabling and fatal injuries in 2024

In 2024, federally regulated employers reported a total of 42,910 work-related injuries, including 18,877 disabling injuries (44.0%), 74 fatal injuries (0.2%) and 23,959 minor injuries (55.8%).

The breakdown of these injuries by industry and by type of injury - disabling, fatal and minor injuries - as well as economic activity measured by total hours worked, is provided in Table 2.1. Furthermore, each industry's share of the total number of disabling injuries and share of the total hours worked are provided in Chart 2.1.

Chart 2.1 - Text description

Industry	Share of total disabling injuries	Share of total hours worked
BRID	0.02%	0.03%
PIPE	0.03%	0.2%
ENER	0.3%	0.6%
BROAD	0.4%	1.6%
INDG	0.6%	1.9%
GRAIN	0.7%	0.6%
FEED	0.7%	0.7%
WATER	0.8%	1.1%
BANK	1.9%	21.7%
RAIL	2.0%	2.6%
LONG	2.1%	1.3%
COMM	5.7%	5.9%
POST	7.8%	3.4%
PUBS	16.3%	34.9%
AIRT	25.4%	9.2%
ROAD	35.2%	14.2%

Based on the data in Table 2.1 and Chart 2.1, the 5 industries that reported the most disabling injuries and the largest shares of disabling injuries in 2024 were:

• Road Transportation (6,652, 35.2%)
• Air Transportation (4,793, 25.4%)
• Federal Public Services, Public Service Departments and Crown Corporations (3,083, 16.3%)
• Postal Services and Postal Contractors (1,480, 7.8%)
• Communications (1,076, 5.7%)

The number of disabling injuries reported in these 5 industries accounted for 17,084 or 90.5% of the total number of disabling injuries in the federal jurisdiction in 2024.

The 2024 data also reveals that 74 workers in the federal jurisdiction tragically lost their lives due to a fatal injury at work, an increase from the 71 fatal injuries that were reported in 2023.

As Chart 2.2 shows, 9 of 16 industries within the federal jurisdiction reported fatal injuries in 2024. Road Transportation accounted for 35 fatal injuries, the same amount that it reported in 2023.

Chart 2.2 - Text description

Industry	Fatal injuries in 2023	Fatal injuries in 2024
ROAD	35	35
PUBS	14	15
AIRT	7	9
FEED	0	4
INDG	4	3
RAIL	2	3
BANK	0	2
GRAIN	2	2
COMM	4	1
POST	2	0
LONG	1	0
BRID	0	0
BROAD	0	0
ENER	0	0
PIPE	0	0
WATER	0	0
Total	71	74

By analysing the prevalence of disabling injuries and fatal injuries, the report highlights the industries that reported the most work place injuries in 2024. This data-driven review provides a foundation for targeted interventions aimed at reducing severe work place incidents and improving overall safety outcomes as we move forward.

Disabling Injury Frequency Rate

The Disabling Injury Frequency Rate (DIFR) is a standard work place safety metric that measures the number of disabling injuries for every 1 million hours worked. By accounting for differences in organisational size, the DIFR enables meaningful comparisons of risks and safety performance across organisations or industries. However, because the severity of disabling injuries can vary, caution is advised when comparing industries with distinct work environments.

In 2024, the national DIFR for the federal jurisdiction increased slightly to 7.80, from 7.77 in 2023. As shown in Chart 4.1, 6 industries reported DIFR values above the national average, indicating higher relative safety risks, based on EAHOR data:

• Air Transportation (21.41)
• Road Transportation (19.39)
• Postal Services and Postal Contractors (17.67)
• Longshoring, Stevedoring, Port, Harbour Operations and Pilotage (12.31)
• Grain Handling and Grain Elevators (8.68)
• Feed, Flour and Seed (8.27)

Chart 4.1 - Text description

Industry	Disabling Injury Frequency Rate (DIFR)
AIRT	21.41
ROAD	19.39
POST	17.67
LONG	12.31
GRAIN	8.68
FEED	8.27
COMM	7.47
RAIL	5.97
BRID	5.92
WATER	5.68
ENER	4.12
PUBS	3.66
INDG	2.39
BROAD	2.06
PIPE	0.96
BANK	0.68
National DIFR	7.80

All 6 of the top industries reported an increase in their DIFR values compared to 2023. Air Transportation reported the highest DIFR across federally regulated industries, however it reported the smallest year over year increase from 2023 to 2024, among the top 6 industries. Notably, the Grain Handling and Feed, Flour and Seed industries rose above the national rate in 2024 after being below it in the previous year. Meanwhile, Road Transportation, Postal Services and Longshoring have consistently ranked as higher risk industries based on their DIFR results.

Fatal Injury Incidence Rate

Similar to the DIFR, the Fatal Injury Incidence Rate (FIIR) is another key safety metric that enables comparisons of the most severe injury risks across diverse organisations or work places. Whereas the DIFR measures the number of disabling injuries for every 1 million hours worked, the FIIR reflects the number of fatal injuries for every 100,000 FTEs.

Please note that previous annual reports have used the Fatal Injury Frequency Rate (FIFR), which calculates the total number of fatal injuries reported for every 1 billion hours worked. This report uses the FIIR instead of the FIFR as it is more commonly used in other countries and aligns better with international standards.

The national FIIR for the federal jurisdiction increased from 5.74 in 2023 to 6.00 in 2024. As shown in Chart 4.2, of the 9 industries that reported fatal injuries, 6 of them had an FIIR above the national rate, meaning that fatal injuries were more likely in these industries:

• Feed, Flour and Seed (48.51)
• Grain Handling and Grain Elevators (27.53)
• Road Transportation (21.57)
• First Nations, Band Councils, and Indigenous Self-Governments (certain activities) (12.06)
• Rail Transportation (9.91)
• Air Transportation (7.79)

Chart 4.2 - Text description

Industry	Fatal Injury Incidence Rate (FIIR)
FEED	48.51
GRAIN	27.53
ROAD	21.57
INDG	12.06
RAIL	9.91
AIRT	7.79
PUBS	3.46
COMM	1.40
BANK	0.74
National FIIR	6.00

Of the 9 federally regulated industries reporting fatal injuries, the Road Transportation, Air Transportation and Banking industries, and Federal Public Services reported more than 100,000 FTEs in 2024.

Overall, the industries with the highest risk of disabling injuries, based on their DIFR values, remain largely consistent with 2023. Closer monitoring of the work place safety performance of the Grain Handling and Feed, Flour and Seed industries may be warranted now that their DIFR values exceed the national DIFR for the federal jurisdiction. While the increase in fatal injuries and the national FIIR compared to 2023 should be noted, these changes remain relatively modest and do not yet indicate a significant overall decline in work place safety under federal jurisdiction.

Economic activity and occupational injuries

Table 5.1 presents the statistics and percentage changes in total hours worked and disabling injuries reported in 2019 and 2024 for each federally regulated industry and the federal jurisdiction overall.

Overall, the total hours worked in the federal jurisdiction increased by 9.1% in 2024 compared to 2019, but the changes varied significantly by industry. Energy reported the largest increase in hours worked at 143.7%, followed by Federal Public Services at 22.6%.

Chart 5.1 (a) categorizes changes in total hours worked between 2019 and 2024 to evaluate the level of economic recovery:

• Not yet recovered to pre-pandemic levels: Below -10% change
• Not quite recovered to pre-pandemic levels: Between -5% and -10% change
• Recovered or almost recovered to pre-pandemic levels: Between -5% and +5% change
• Surpassed pre-pandemic levels: Above +5% change

Chart 5.1 (a) - Text description 1

Industry	Change in hours worked between 2019 and 2024
PIPE	-52.7%
BROAD	-31.2%
BRID	-19.6%
RAIL	-10.0%
POST	-9.7%
COMM	-9.2%
FEED	-9.2%
AIRT	-1.9%
GRAIN	-1.7%
WATER	2.3%
ROAD	5.3%
LONG	5.7%
BANK	15.7%
INDG	21.1%
PUBS	22.6%

*ENER is removed from this chart due to its percentage change of 143.7% being significantly larger than the other industries.

By applying these categories to the data in Table 5.1, Chart 5.1 (a) shows that 9 of 16 federally regulated industries reported lower economic activity in 2024 compared to 2019, with the Air Transportation and Grain Handling industries nearly returning to pre-pandemic levels. The remaining industries, such as Federal Public Services, Banking and Road Transportation, reported a higher volume of economic activity than their pre-pandemic level.

In Chart 5.1 (b), a similar series of categories is used to compare work place safety performance between 2019 and 2024, measured by the percentage change in the number of disabling injuries between the 2 years:

• Safety performance above pre-pandemic levels: Below -5% change
• Safety performance same as pre-pandemic levels: Between -5% and +5% change
• Safety performance below pre-pandemic levels: Above +5% change

Based on these criteria and the data from Table 5.1, half of federally regulated industries have experienced a significant improvement in safety performance compared to the pre-pandemic era. It is possible that the reduced economic activity shown in Chart 5.1 (a) contributed to this.

Chart 5.1 (b) - Text description

Industry	Change in disabling injuries between 2019 and 2024
BROAD	-75.7%
BANK	-56.9%
POST	-50.5%
RAIL	-48.9%
WATER	-42.4%
FEED	-39.5%
PIPE	-37.5%
PUBS	-17.2%
ROAD	-3.7%
BRID	0.0%
LONG	17.0%
INDG	18.9%
COMM	34.3%
AIRT	36.5%
GRAIN	37.0%

*ENER is removed from this chart due to its percentage change of 307.1% being significantly larger than the other industries.

As reflected in Charts 5.1 (a) and 5.1 (b), 6 industries including Energy experienced economic activity that surpassed pre-pandemic levels based on total hours worked between 2019 and 2024. This growth may have contributed to a decline in safety performance in the Longshoring, Energy and First Nations band councils and Indigenous self-governments industries.

In contrast, the Air Transportation industry has nearly regained its pre-pandemic level of economic activity, yet its safety performance has worsened, as disabling injuries reported in 2024 exceeded those in 2019. A similar pattern emerged in the Communications industry, where hours worked fell by 9.2% compared to 2019, while disabling injuries rose by 34.3%.

However, these findings should be interpreted with caution. Industries that have either not fully recovered or have exceeded pre-pandemic economic activity levels may be experiencing temporary conditions linked to business contraction or rapid growth. Continued monitoring is essential as organisations navigate long-term operational challenges and adapt to evolving economic conditions in the post-pandemic era.

Tracking safety performance trends for federally regulated industries from 2019 to 2024

The following analysis uses Disabling Injury Frequency Rate (DIFR) values to assess trends from 2019 to 2024 and to examine variations in safety performance among federally regulated industries. The DIFR is a key metric for evaluating work place safety, as it facilitates comparisons across industries and over time.

The following overview presents aggregate DIFR trends for the federal jurisdiction as well as industry-to-industry analysis from 2019 to 2024. Each industry's performance trajectory is classified as Improving, Worsening, Stabilising, or Volatile, based on the following criteria:

• Improving: trend is clearly negative or 2024 ≤ −20% vs. 2019.
• Worsening: trend is clearly positive or 2024 ≥ +20% vs. 2019.
• Stabilising: trend levels off with fluctuations within ±20%.
• Volatile: high year-to-year trend variability, excluding pandemic peak years (2020-2021).

Aggregate work place safety in the federal jurisdiction

As Chart 5.2 shows, the federal jurisdiction exhibited a general stabilising trend and modest overall improvement in work place safety performance based on its DIFR values from 2019 to 2024.

Chart 5.2 - Text description

Year	Federal jurisdiction DIFR
2019	9.39
2020	7.29
2021	7.10
2022	7.61
2023	7.77
2024	7.80

During the peak of the COVID-19 global pandemic years (2020-2021), most federally regulated employers reported significant declines in hours worked and work-related injuries. As a result, the decline in the federal jurisdiction's DIFR during the pandemic years (2020 and 2021) aligned with large operational and staffing changes. The average decrease in DIFR was 23%, from the pre-pandemic value of 9.39 in 2019 to a mean DIFR of 7.20 over the peak pandemic years of 2020-2021.

The post-pandemic DIFR values drifted up slightly between 2022 and 2024 but remained below the 2019 baseline. The linear trend over the period of 2019-2024 is slightly negative, suggesting that work place safety in the federal jurisdiction has modestly improved over this period.

Industries with improving trends

As shown in Chart 5.3 (a) and Chart 5.3 (b), between 2019 and 2024, 7 federally regulated industries exhibited a mostly consistent downward DIFR trend. While all 7 of these industries shared this positive trajectory, the size and variability of the changes differed significantly.

Chart 5.3 (a) - Text description

Year	POST DIFR	RAIL DIFR	WATER DIFR
2019	32.26	10.49	10.11
2020	21.29	6.52	7.96
2021	21.25	4.71	9.88
2022	18.60	5.38	7.51
2023	16.43	6.85	6.06
2024	17.67	5.97	5.68

• Postal Services/Postal Contractors recorded the largest overall decline, with DIFR dropping by from 32.26 in 2019 to 17.67 in 2024. The industry saw a sharp initial decrease of 34.0% during the pandemic years and maintained a consistent year-over-year decrease after that, potentially reflecting strong and sustained safety gains.
• Rail Transportation also achieved significant improvement, with the DIFR decreasing over the 6-year period from 10.49 in 2019 to 5.97 in 2024. While the largest drop occurred during the pandemic years, subsequent years showed minor fluctuations. This indicates progress in work place safety tempered by some variability.
• Water Transportation experienced a more gradual decline during the pandemic years. However, post-pandemic improvements accelerated, culminating in a decline from 10.11 in 2019 to 5.68 in 2024, indicating a gradual improvement in work place safety.

Chart 5.3 (b) illustrates the other 4 industries with a decline in their DIFR values from 2019 to 2024: Feed, Flour and Seed, Broadcasting, Federal Public Services and Banking.

Chart 5.3 (b) - Text description

Year	FEED DIFR	BROAD DIFR	PUBS DIFR	BANK DIFR
2019	12.10	5.87	5.39	1.80
2020	9.43	5.99	3.95	1.93
2021	9.30	4.51	3.49	1.07
2022	9.39	3.60	4.77	0.61
2023	7.74	3.34	3.88	0.62
2024	8.27	2.06	3.66	0.68

• Feed, Flour and Seed had a decline in DIFR from 12.10 in 2019 to 8.27 in 2024. Although trending downward, its injury rates remained notably higher than the federal jurisdiction rate, underscoring persistent safety challenges in this industry.
• Broadcasting had a decrease in DIFR from 5.87 in 2019 to 2.06 in 2024, with the DIFR consistently decreasing across the entire period.
• Federal Public Services showed moderate improvement between 2019 and 2024, decreasing from 5.39 to 3.66, with most gains concentrated during the pandemic years and relatively stable performance post pandemic.
• Banking had a decline in DIFR from 1.80 in 2019 to 0.68 in 2024, maintaining a stable downward trajectory with minimal volatility, despite a slight increase from 2023 to 2024.

All 7 industries demonstrated measurable improvements in DIFR, with the pandemic years acting as a catalyst for initial reductions and post-pandemic years sustaining improvement in work place safety. The Postal Services industry had the largest decrease of 14.59 between 2019 and 2024.

Industries with stabilising trends

Chart 5.3 (c) illustrates the DIFR values of the First Nations band councils and Indigenous self-governments, Pipeline Transportation and Road Transportation industries. The DIFR values of these 3 industries remained relatively stable during and after the pandemic.

Chart 5.3 (c) - Text description

Year	ROAD DIFR	INDG DIFR	PIPE DIFR
2019	21.20	2.40	0.72
2020	17.88	2.46	0.88
2021	18.67	2.39	0.42
2022	19.89	2.66	0.98
2023	19.24	2.66	1.02
2024	19.39	2.39	0.96

Although these 3 industries exhibited relatively stable DIFR trends between 2019 and 2024, the nature of this stability differs significantly.

• Road Transportation maintained consistently high DIFR values throughout the period. Starting at 21.20 in 2019, the DIFR dipped moderately during the pandemic years but rebounded during the recovery, reaching 19.39 in 2024. The overall change from 2019 to 2024 was limited, indicating stable but high DIFR values.
• First Nations band councils and Indigenous self-governments displayed consistently low DIFR values, which fluctuated narrowly between 2.40 in 2019 and 2.39 in 2024. The slight year-to-year changes suggest stable safety performance despite minor increases post-pandemic.
• Pipeline Transportation also maintained low DIFR values, starting at 0.72 in 2019, decreasing slightly during the latter pandemic year (2021) to 0.42, and rising to 0.96 by 2024. Although this industry's DIFR was higher in 2024 than in 2019, the industry's rate remained among the lowest in the federal jurisdiction.

All 3 industries exhibited stable DIFR values over the 6-year period, with only minor shifts during the pandemic years. The stability of the Road Transportation industry's DIFR values reflects sustained high-risk conditions. In contrast, the First Nations band councils and Indigenous self-governments and Pipeline Transportation industries maintained low DIFR values, signaling strong safety performance despite slight post-pandemic increases.

Industries with worsening trends

Four federally regulated industries - Air Transportation, Communications, Energy and Grain Handling - exhibited a worsening DIFR trajectory between 2019 and 2024. Chart 5.3 (d) shows that while all 4 industries experienced temporary improvements during the pandemic years (2020-2021), each recorded significant DIFR increases during the post-pandemic recovery period, surpassing pre-pandemic levels.

Chart 5.3 (d) - Text description

Year	AIRT DIFR	GRAIN DIFR	COMM DIFR	ENER DIFR
2019	15.40	6.13	5.05	2.47
2020	13.34	7.16	3.69	2.05
2021	16.10	4.30	5.53	2.01
2022	17.38	5.76	5.33	3.18
2023	21.38	6.39	6.55	3.17
2024	21.41	8.68	7.47	4.12

• Air Transportation's DIFR has increased significantly from 15.40 prior to the pandemic, surging to 21.41 in 2024. Because of this sharp rise the industry now has the highest DIFR in the federal jurisdiction, underscoring the need for targeted safety interventions.
• Grain Handling and Grain Elevators mirrored this worsening trend, with its DIFR increasing from 6.13 in 2019 to 8.68 in 2024, indicating a greater risk of disabling injuries following the pandemic.
• Communications followed a similar pattern as Air Transportation. Its DIFR values decreased during the pandemic but climbed to 7.47 in 2024, higher than its 2019 rate of 5.05.
• Energy, Mining and Mineral Processing saw its DIFR increase from 2.47 in 2019 to 4.12 in 2024. This increase of 66.8% was the largest percentage increase among the 4 industries between 2019 and 2024.

All 4 industries shared a worsening post-pandemic trajectory, with their DIFR values exceeding their pre-pandemic values after initially improving during the pandemic. The Energy industry had the largest percentage increase, while the Air Transportation industry had the highest DIFR in the federal jurisdiction as of 2024. The Communications and Grain Handling industries also showed upward trends, suggesting that work place safety in these industries could be gradually worsening post-pandemic.

Industries with volatile trends

Two federally regulated industries - Interprovincial Infrastructure and Longshoring - exhibited volatile DIFR patterns between 2019 and 2024. As Chart 5.3 (e) illustrates, while both industries experienced fluctuations, the nature of these changes varies significantly.

Chart 5.3 (e) - Text description

Year	LONG DIFR	BRID DIFR
2019	11.16	4.76
2020	8.84	0.00
2021	11.74	0.00
2022	14.93	1.85
2023	9.75	2.94
2024	12.31	5.92

• Longshoring, Stevedoring, Port, Harbour Operations and Pilotage showed moderate volatility, with its DIFR increasing from 11.16 in 2019 to 12.31 in 2024. Despite this increase, further monitoring is required to determine if work place safety is declining in this industry.
• Interprovincial Infrastructure recorded an extreme shift, with its DIFR dropping from 4.76 in 2019 to 0.00 during the pandemic and increasing post-pandemic to 5.92 in 2024. These dramatic changes over time are likely due to the small size of this industry. In 2024, it reported the smallest amount of hours worked of any federally regulated industry.

Both industries experienced pandemic-era DIFR declines followed by notable changes in DIFR after the pandemic. These volatile changes suggest that these industries experienced sensitivity to operational conditions when measuring work place safety using DIFR.

The DIFR values of federally regulated industries generally declined during the pandemic and then diverged in the recovery period. By 2024, several industries sustained improvements below their 2019 levels, such as the Postal Services, Rail Transportation and Water Transportation industries. In other industries the DIFR rebounded above pre-pandemic levels, including in the Air Transportation, Communications, Energy and Grain Handling. Notable volatility was observed in the Longshoring and Interprovincial Infrastructure industries, where the year to year DIFR fluctuations warrant closer review of exposure to occupational health and safety risks, reporting practices, or operational changes.