Canada’s national pride may soften the DEI backlash

Canada needs to protect the spirit and application of diversity, equity and inclusion if it hopes to compete in a new economic order, say those working in the sector.

“As we’re looking to start being more self-reliant and talking about what’s homegrown, we need to recognize that we have a lot of talent here that will fuel our economy, folks who are ready to work and willing to work, but haven’t been given the opportunity,” said Agapi Gessesse, executive director of the Careers, Education, Empowerment Centre for Young Black Professionals at Carlton University.

Canada’s black youth unemployment rate currently sits at 24 per cent.

“Which tells me that’s an untapped market that Canada could be using to fuel our economy,” she said.

However, many initiatives intended to address historic inequities, particularly those developed after the 2020 murder of George Floyd in the U.S., are being rolled back in the wake of an anti-DEI backlash bolstered by the election of U.S. President Donald Trump last fall.

Research published by Revelio Labs found that DEI-related employment roles peaked in the U.S. in 2023, but fell five per cent by the end of that year, continuing to fall throughout the first months of 2024.

Comparable data doesn’t exist for Canada, but Gessesse said there’s no doubt that DEI is also declining in this country.

International companies like Walmart, Amazon, John Deere, Lowe’s, Harley-Davidson, McDonald’s, Ford and Molson Coors have all scaled back or eliminated DEI programming in the U.S. and Canada. There are also reports of institutions backing away from reconciliation initiatives like land acknowledgements.

“We’re going back to the same old, same old, that mindset where we’re not providing opportunities to people because of what they look like or what we perceive for them to be able to bring to the table,” Gessesse said.

“And I think every single sector is going to suffer if we take on that mindset.”

She said non-profits that move away from DEI risk being unable to serve clients effectively, adding that pressure from funders has pushed some organizations to, if not end equity initiatives, scale them back or rebrand them.

“So I think people are trying to reframe and rethink how they’re going to do this work, but they’re going to suffer from a leadership perspective (without it).”

Many social purpose organizations are wondering how best to protect diversity, equity and inclusion—as well as their funding—while weathering political upheaval that some seek to blame on diversity.

Organizations or businesses that ditch DEI programming and staff in response to current political trends weren’t truly committed to it in the first place, said Ako Ufodike, a professor of equity, diversity and inclusion in business at York University and Alberta’s deputy minister of trade, immigration and multiculturalism.

“This will clearly spell the death of DEI in those organizations,” he said. 

“But for those that have actually undergone some sort of genuine transformation, you know, they might be a little less visible about how they do it, they might be a little less vocal … but it won’t change anything because it’s in the organization’s DNA.”

Canadians’ dislike of Trump could help

As Canadians rally around the flag in the face of an American-led trade war, Ilan Kapoor, a professor of critical development studies at York University’s faculty of environmental and urban change, said it’s also possible DEI could be buoyed by Canadian nationalism and a dislike of President Trump.

“Canadians will be wary of following much of what the Trump regime advocates,” he said, adding that Canada also celebrates multiculturalism more than the U.S.

The Canadian Labour Congress describes attacks on DEI initiatives as part of a concerted and organized effort to undermine progress on human rights, sow division among workers and maintain power structures that benefit the few at the expense of the many.

“They aim to create a narrative, and indeed a society, where equity and social progress are seen as threats, and exclusion and discrimination are accepted, normalized and further entrenched,” said the congress’s executive vice-president, Larry Rousseau.

“We won’t stand for it.” 

And neither will the congress members, Rousseau said.

Gessesse said now is not the time for business and community leaders to be complacent.

“I don’t believe that the people actually believe this rhetoric. I think it’s being imposed upon folks, and fear is what’s driving compliance,” she said.

“I think that Canadians want everyone to feel like they belong. I think all Canadians want to be a part of the economy and contribute meaningfully, and they want their neighbours to do the same.”