Gender-based analysis plus

Section 1: institutional GBA Plus governance and capacity

Governance

Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) continues to advance inclusive outcomes for all Canadians through the integration of Gender-Based Analysis Plus (GBA Plus). Key support functions by NRCan’s GBA Plus Centre of Expertise include:

• Providing guidance and challenge functions to integrate GBA Plus across departmental policies and programs.
• Enhancing data collection and impact measurement for diverse Canadian populations.
• Providing a challenge function on GBA Plus in Cabinet proposals.
• Collaborating with key internal partners to advance NRCan’s Pathways to Reconciliation Action plan

Capacity Building

To strengthen departmental capacity and awareness of GBA Plus, the Centre has undertaken several initiatives:

• Training Programs:
  • GBA Plus 101 launched in April 2023; 327 employees trained.
  • GBA Plus Data Module launched in January 2024; 112 employees trained.
• Community of Practice:
  • Established in July 2022; now includes ~200 employees across sectors and networks.
  • Featured presentations on practical applications of GBA Plus from the NRCan Black Employees Advisory Council, and the Science and Technology Internship Program – Green Jobs.
• Awareness Events:
  • GBA Plus Awareness Week (May 5–9, 2025) celebrated 30 years of Canada’s GBA Plus commitment.
  • Activities included employee-wide communications and promotion of resources and tools.
• Data and Analytics:
  • Developed a repository of disaggregated and GBA Plus indicators to support gender and diversity impact tracking.
  • Contributed case studies to the ADM Federal Disaggregated Data Committee to enhance federal data collection capabilities.

Human resources (full-time equivalents) dedicated to GBA Plus

The department had 3 FTE’s dedicated to working on GBA Plus during the 2024-25 fiscal year.

Section 2: gender and diversity impacts, by program

Core responsibility: Natural Resource Science and Risk Mitigation

Canadian Geodetic Survey: Spatially Enabling Canada

Program goals:

This program supports the introduction of digital services in underserved parts of the country and aims to level the playing field for remote Canadians by making improvements to the Canadian Spatial Reference System. Additionally, the program supports increasingly autonomous systems requiring precise positioning, which have the potential to assist mobility-challenged Canadians.

Target Population: All Canadians

Distribution of benefits: Not Available (N/A)

Specific demographic group(s) to be monitored

The infrastructure expansion that CGS has been carrying out in the north is expected to benefit the precise positioning required by infrastructure development for northern communities, particularly: All Canadians

Key program impacts* on gender and diversity: N/A

Key program impact statistics: N/A

Other key program impacts

The program supports infrastructure development (e.g. for natural resource extraction) in remote regions through the Space-Based Earth Observation (SBEO) Project, aiming to add 22 real-time Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) receiving stations to the program’s existing network. Eight new and three upgraded stations were added in 2024-2025 in SK, ON, QC, NT, NFL, YK and NU in rural and remote locations; work is underway for nine additional installations in 2024-25. While addressing gender and Indigenous career barriers falls beyond SBEO's scope, GBA Plus considerations are applied.

Supplementary information sources: N/A

GBA Plus data collection plan

The Program is exploring a GBA Plus data collection plan as it develops its capacity to meet the needs of underserved Canadians. A GBA Plus reassessment is proposed at the conclusion of the Space Based Earth Observation (SBEO) project in 2026, when impacts will be better understood. While the GBA Plus assessment conducted at the close of the project would focus on the awarding and implementation of contracts, future assessments may focus on how SBEO data meets user needs and benefits Canadian society.

Geological Knowledge for Canada’s Onshore and Offshore Land

Program goals:

Onshore, the Geo-mapping for Energy and Minerals program (GEM-GeoNorth) is focused on mineral potential and sustainable land use for economic development in Canada’s North in the context of a changing climate. The program’s capacity-building opportunities, which will be designed with the guidance of partners in Northern educational institutions, could also increase labour market readiness among Northerners and Indigenous Peoples, including women.

In the offshore, geoscience knowledge serves to confirm the farthest extents of the Canadian landmass. The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) Program works with Global Affairs Canada and Fisheries and Oceans Canada to delineate the outer limits of Canada’s continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles in the Atlantic and Arctic oceans. This program promotes the participation of women, including the hiring of the first female marine technician in the Geological Survey of Canada, and Indigenous individuals in scientific activities, engagement with the public and Indigenous communities, and will ensure that employment opportunities are equally available to women, men, minority groups, and Indigenous Peoples. Upcoming surveys in the Arctic Ocean, as part of the UNCLOS Program, will facilitate an early career scientist program managed by the Swedish Polar Research Secretariat.

Target Population: The region of Canada’s North and Arctic

The program’s target client groups are:

• Federal departments and/or agencies, regulatory bodies, communities, mining industries, and the general public;
• Scientists and technicians, via program hiring;
• Early career scientists through research opportunities at sea;
• Northern and Indigenous geoscience professionals, via participation in program leadership, program hiring, and participation in capacity-building opportunities;
• Rural and remote based support staff; and,
• International scientific collaborators.

Distribution of benefits: N/A

Specific demographic group(s) to be monitored

These programs have direct benefits on women, individuals from remote and Northern regions, Indigenous Peoples, with indirect benefits to workers in the mining sector, which is composed predominantly of men.

Key program impacts* on gender and diversity

Key program impact statistics

The UNCLOS Program has filed two submissions with the United Nations showing Canada’s entitlement to approximately 3 million square kilometers of seafloor on the continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles in the Atlantic Ocean and Arctic Ocean. Sovereign rights to the living and non-living natural resources on the seafloor and below in the subsoil will benefit all Canadians. The Addendum to the Executive Summary of Canada’s Arctic Ocean submission was translated into two dialects of Inuktitut and was filed with the UN in June 2024, making Canada the first nation to file its UNCLOS submission in an Indigenous language. This accomplishment was highlighted in the 2024-25 annual report of the Commissioner of Indigenous Languages.

Statistic	Observed results*	Data source	Comment
United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) Program: Increasing employment opportunities in marine geoscience, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) professions, in fields where Employment Equity (EE) groups have traditionally been under-represented	50% of the scientific team is represented by women, including the Executive Director and Program Manager The first female marine technician in the Geological Survey of Canada was hired using funds supplied by the UNCLOS Program. This financial support will continue until 2030.	Program	The UNCLOS Program is committed to a diverse and inclusive workplace; future hires will target EE groups (women, people with disabilities, visible minorities, and Indigenous Peoples).
Geo-Mapping for Energy and Minerals (GEM-GeoNorth): Number of opportunities for students and early-career researchers, that are given to individuals who belong to one or more groups of people traditionally underrepresented in the earth sciences sector, particularly women, visible minorities, and Indigenous Peoples.	FY 2024-25 Female Students: 13 (7 Research Affiliate Program (RAP), 6 students) Female Early Researchers: 4	Voluntary disclosure of demographic information by applicants for student/early-career researcher opportunities. HR records from the GEM-GeoNorth Coordination Office.	The decrease in the number of female students compared to last year is a result of the completion of 18 activities.
GEM-GeoNorth: Number of grants awarded to Canadian academic institutions (including Northern educational institutions) or Indigenous groups, pertaining to geoscience research and/or capacity-building	Northern Academic Institutions: 2 Other Canadian Academic Institutions: 0 Indigenous groups & NGOs: 0	Financial records from the GEM-GeoNorth Coordination Office.	92.5% of grants have been awarded to Canadian academic institutions, Northern organizations and Indigenous groups which represents investment of 98.4% of total grant funds since the inception of GEM-GeoNorth in 2020.
GEM-GeoNorth: Number of opportunities created for Northern students and early-career researchers (directly hired or awarded bursaries).	FY 2024-25 19 RAP students (7 female, 12 male) 8 PRPs (4 female, 4 male)	Human resources records from the GEM-GeoNorth Coordination Office	Doubled the number of post-doctoral researchers since the 2013-2020 period.
GEM-GeoNorth: Number of engagement activities with Northern communities and Indigenous groups regarding geoscience	FY: 224-25 Sixteen engagement trips were taken by 28 individuals to various communities	Database of GEM-GeoNorth Engagement Activities; Reports from completed engagement activities	Communities are enthusiastic for engagement; in person meetings remain the most meaningful and successful, but virtual meetings are becoming more possible as bandwidth in Canada’s North improves. Relationships have been established with some communities thereby reducing the number of in-person engagement activities. In FY 2024-25, This resulted in an expenditure of $179,475 to support field operations.
GEM-GeoNorth: Annual number of meetings involving the Advisory Group of Northerners (AGN) or provinces & territories (P/T) in research priority-setting	FYs: 24-25 AGN: 1 virtual meeting, 0 in-person meetings 2 meetings with all Directors of P/T geological surveys 10 meetings with individual P/T Directors	Folder in shared site containing meeting dates, agendas, and minutes.	17 meetings held from 2013-2020
GEM-GeoNorth: Number of contracts with Northern and/or Indigenous businesses to support the program’s fieldwork or engagement.	FY 2024-25 51 contracts valuing $784k 20 additional non-contract purchases valuing $48.5k	Records from the GEM Coordination Office and Procurement Corporate Reporting.

*2024–25 or most recent

Other key program impacts

United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) Program

During the fieldwork component of the program, more women and Indigenous individuals were introduced into the team to assist in the acquisition of scientific data and engagement with the public and Indigenous communities. At the conclusion of the surveys, science team members have visited the high school and elementary schools in Nunavut to explain the science undertaken and to encourage students to consider careers in STEM. When in Nunavut, tours of the Coast Guard ship and the science labs are given to members of the Junior Canadian Rangers. The program also promoted and supported the participation of women at scientific conferences and international workshops, and all team members in professional development activities and the publication of scientific research.

The program has translated Canada’s Addendum to the Executive Summary of the 2019 Arctic Ocean submission into the two dominant dialects of Inuktitut, increasing access by Inuit people to Canada’s submission to the UN. The program filed the English, French, North Baffin, and Inuinnaqtun versions of the Addendum with the UN in June 2024. Canada became the first nation to file a submission in an Indigenous language under the UNCLOS Treaty process.

Future hiring in the Program will be carried out in accordance with the Public Service Employment Act to ensure employment opportunities are equally available to women, men, minority groups, and Indigenous Peoples.

Geo-Mapping for Energy and Minerals (GEM-GeoNorth)

The membership of the GEM-GeoNorth Advisory Group of Northerners (AGN) was strategically renewed in 2024-25. The renewed AGN included modifications to the Terms and Conditions as well as the Roles and Responsibilities of the members. Two new members joined the AGN, and recruitment efforts are ongoing. The AGN continues to be a centrepiece of the GEM-GeoNorth program, ensuring advice from Northern, rural and Indigenous Peoples is considered for program development and implementation. Furthermore, during the 2024-25 FY, the Polar Continental Shelf Program (PCSP) reached out to leverage the advice of GEM-GeoNorth’s AGN to help inform the modernization of the PCSP program. One virtual meeting was held in March of 2025 and further in-person meetings are scheduled.

During FY 2024-25, the GEM-GeoNorth Grants and Contributions Program continued to support all three Northern academic institutions as well as three Indigenous organizations, which together represent 70% of the grant recipients. GEM-GeoNorth held its third call for grant proposals. Twenty-one proposals were received as well as one solicited proposal. Eight two-year grants were recommended for approval for the following two FYs, of which four grants were to Indigenous groups, and two to Northern Academic Institutions.

GEM-GeoNorth has focused the program to improve economic development outcomes for Northerners. This includes capacity building in the geosciences to increase the participation of people from underrepresented groups in the labour force as well as through procurement of services to support GEM-GeoNorth research. In 2024-25, the reduced funding profile saw a reduction in 18 activities. However, it is important to note the numbers of underrepresented groups continues to increase. The program also engages local communities to build relationships and improve outcomes in the short and long-term. Finally, GEM-GeoNorth is enabling Northern organizations to provide local training opportunities through its Grants and Contributions Program.

Supplementary information sources: N/A

GBA Plus data collection plan

The GEM-GeoNorth program collects data to enable it to monitor and/or report program impacts by gender and diversity (depending on the voluntary disclosure of demographic information by applicants or people involved).

Regarding its immediate outcome of “Involvement of stakeholders and Indigenous groups in geoscience knowledge and data generation,” the program’s performance indicators include the annual collection of disaggregated data. Several performance indicators also measure program impacts in the North, regarding availability of geoscience knowledge, and support for the Northern economy.

Core Geospatial Data

Program goals:

The delivery of national standards-based core geospatial data, collected and utilized throughout the federal government, supports many objectives such as open government and open data, economic growth, public safety, security, environmental management, and social well-being. GBA Plus considerations are integrated from planning through evaluation to ensure diversity and inclusion (D&I) outcomes are achieved.

Target Population: All Canadians

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(s) to be monitored

Direct beneficiaries: Indigenous Peoples and communities; economically advantaged groups such as researchers, decision-makers, and scientists; rural, remote, and Northern communities

Groups that may face barriers to access/participation: Women and other underrepresented groups in STEM

Key program impacts* on gender and diversity

The program led to increased female participation in STEM, particularly through career discussions with diverse women leaders and social media campaigns showcasing female employees in STEM roles. Additionally, Indigenous inclusion was bolstered through projects like the Indigenous Technical Working Group on Flood Mapping and support for Indigenous data sovereignty, promoting community engagement and capacity building.

Key program impact statistics: N/A

Other key program impacts

Core geospatial data is used for evidence-based decision making and contributes to Canada’s innovation and productivity improvements. The delivery of national standards-based core geospatial data, collected and utilized throughout the federal government supports many objectives, including economic growth, public safety, security, environmental management and social well-being. Foundational data is critical to ensuring responsible and sustainable natural resource development to the benefit of all communities.

Climate change disproportionately impacts the most marginalised who are more exposed and vulnerable to its impact. Without actions to adapt to climate change, environmental impacts will continue to amplify inequalities. As natural disasters related to climate change continue to increase in frequency and magnitude, it is imperative that a foundation of data and information is made available to communities at risk and to federal agencies tasked with responding.

The Canada Centre for Mapping and Earth Observation (CCMEO) Core Geospatial Data program provides the baseline data fundamental to supporting Canada’s diverse landscape and population.

The program inspires girls to pursue STEM and supports Indigenous inclusion through earth observation for flood hazard management and UAV mapping. Activities include:

• Inspiring high school students into STEM by facilitating career discussions with women in diverse leadership roles.
• Raising awareness by highlighting Indigenous female employees’ contributions in mapping projects.
• Featuring women in STEM through social media campaigns.
• Co-chairing the Indigenous Technical Working Group on Flood Mapping.
• Supporting Indigenous data sovereignty in the Flood Hazard Identification and Mapping Program.

The program also adheres to NRCan’s employment equity guidelines to address underrepresentation in STEM.

Additional activities include:

• Building Indigenous capacity for geographical place naming by supporting an Indigenous Nation in the development of a handbook of best practices for place naming with the goal of helping other Indigenous communities repatriate their own place names.
• The Minister of NRCan re-appointed the Métis Advisor to the Geographical Names Board of Canada (GNBC) in 2024 and appointed a new Inuit Advisor in 2025. Previously voluntary positions, as of 2024, compensation is now provided to these important roles as they assist in developing national policy guidelines on Indigenous naming and improve collaboration with Indigenous Nations.
• With the support and coordination of CCMEO, the GNBC naming authorities are now making progress to review and replace derogatory names, typically in consultation with Indigenous communities. Actions were taken by five provinces to rescind and/or change 20 offensive place names in 2023.
• Supporting engagement between Indigenous communities and provincial/territorial partners by providing Indigenous Engagement Guidelines encouraging meaningful engagement under the Flood Hazard Identification and Mapping Program, enhancing intergovernmental collaboration, and increasing the uptake of flood mapping in vulnerable communities.

Supplementary information sources: N/A

GBA Plus data collection plan

CCMEO researchers continue to work in collaboration with Indigenous communities on scientific research projects to collect core geospatial (baseline) data related to impacts of mining, permafrost, and vegetation (e.g., lichen) among others. CCMEO works with Nòkwewashk to ensure meaningful and respectful partnerships with Indigenous communities and include consideration of First Nations’ Ownership, Control, Access, and Possession principles in data collection and sharing.

Canada-US International Boundary Treaty

Program goals:

This program ensures that the Canada/US international boundary is clearly visible to citizens and law enforcement agencies of each country. The Canadian section of the International Boundary Commission (IBC) is a key player in the NRCan Land Surveyor Development program, helping shape tomorrow’s land surveying professionals. IBC offers unique and diverse work experience to SGB’s articling students by providing them valuable life and field experience all over Canada.

Target Population: All Canadians (i.e., people carrying out activities along the Canada-US international boundary)

Distribution of benefits: N/A

Specific demographic group(s) to be monitored

All Canadians

Key program impacts* on gender and diversity

Key program impact statistics: N/A

Other key program impacts

The IBC workforce has a diverse team, in terms of nationality, region of residence, first language, age, socio-economic background, academic training, and ethnic origins. IBC continues to hire several co-op students for the summer from all over Canada and with diverse backgrounds and origins to provide them training and unique work experiences.

Supplementary information sources: N/A

GBA Plus data collection plan

Given the nature of the bi-national treaty organization in providing a service to governments, there are no plans to implement a GBA Plus Data collection Plan. As for diversity of the workforce, the IBC Canada section team is limited to a dozen of individuals. While it is not possible to collect quantitative GBA Plus data, due to privacy risks impacting a small group, the program will continue collect qualitative GBA Plus data and information on an ad-hoc basis. For the recruitment of new talent and expertise, the IBC Canada section fully adheres to the departmental Human Resources policies and is striving for greater diversity.

Canada Lands Survey System

Program goals:

The Canada Lands Survey System (CLSS) provides the regulatory framework to delineate, demarcate, and legally recognize through publication in a land registry the boundaries and extent of real property rights on Canada Lands – the North, First Nations lands, national parks and offshore. The framework includes survey standards, the regulation of the Canada Lands surveying profession, and the custody and access to legal survey documents to support all land transactions on Canada Lands. The program encourages diverse gender and Indigenous participation in the land surveying and geomatics industry.

Target Population: This survey program supports multiple target populations in various capacities, including all Canadians, Indigenous Peoples, industry, and federal, provincial, and territorial governments.

Distribution of benefits: N/A

Specific demographic group(s) to be monitored: All Canadians, Indigenous Peoples (a particular demographic group), industry and federal, provincial, and territorial governments (specific regions or sectors of the economy) on Canada Lands – the North, First Nations lands, national parks and offshore.

Key program impacts* on gender and diversity

Key program impact statistics: N/A

Other key program impacts

The program instigated a Land Surveying Capacity Development Program for First Nations communities in 2018. Its objectives are to:

• increase awareness and understanding of land surveying processes and techniques;
• adapt the program to align with the needs of the community;
• raise awareness about the land surveying profession and encourage Indigenous participants to pursue a career in land surveying; and,
• strengthen NRCan staff's Indigenous knowledge for program integration.

The program recruits young land surveying professionals for NRCan by offering on-the-job training and experience through the Land Surveyor Development Plan. It targets underrepresented groups with existing recruitment incentives.

The program also collaborated with Academia and the eleven (11) self-regulatory bodies that regulate the practice of land surveying in Canada, with financial support from Employment and Social Development Canada to develop a path towards delivering an on-line Bachelor in land surveying. The ability to obtain a University Degree on-line will facilitate access to education to Canadians from diverse backgrounds and living in remote areas and particularly allow indigenous people to remain on the land in their communities. The program will aim to use departmental hiring practices as a tool to increase diversity in recruitment. The University of New Brunswick launched their on-line degree in the winter of 2024 and is currently running.

Supplementary information sources: N/A

GBA Plus data collection plan

The program tracks participation through a gender/diversity lens using daily sign-in sheets for participants to be able to track gender participation in the sessions. A summary of attendance and participation was completed for each engagement session with the First Nation communities involved in the Knowledge Exchange Program. Additionally, the CLSS program plans to integrate GBA Plus into its cyclical client satisfaction survey every five years, particularly targeting better knowledge of Indigenous Peoples, the largest population base that the system serves. Additionally, the program will closely follow the progression and participation in the Association of Canada Lands Surveyors (ACLS) online degree program through a gender and diversity lens.

Geoscience for Sustainable Development of Natural Resources

Program goals:

The science activities under this Program Profile all produce geoscience knowledge, models and tools to support sectors such as mineral exploration, energy, and environmental management. Across these activities, NRCan aims to hire and award bursaries to underrepresented groups in the earth sciences. Further, many of its science activities are actively working to re-design its studies to support the inclusion of Indigenous Peoples and their knowledges, as well as inclusion, diversity, equity, and accessibility (IDEA) principles, as it delivers its science mandate.

Target Population: Federal departments and/or agencies, regulatory bodies, mining, and/or oil & gas exploration industries.

Distribution of benefits: N/A

Specific demographic group(s) to be monitored

One or more groups of people traditionally underrepresented in the earth sciences sector, particularly women and visible minorities.

Key program impacts* on gender and diversity

Key program impact statistics

Statistic	Observed results*	Data source	Comment
Targeted Geoscience Initiative (TGI) Percentage of opportunities (for students and early-career researchers) that are given to individuals who belong to one or more groups of people traditionally underrepresented in the earth sciences sector, particularly women and visible minorities	In the current phase of the program (2020-2025), approximately 43% of students hired and bursary recipients were women.	Voluntary disclosure of demographic information by applicants for student/early-career researcher opportunities. Collected annually and used internally to inform mid-year and end of year reporting.	Voluntary disclosure; complete data is not available as it is retained by HR as confidential data and not all applicants disclose information.
Critical Minerals Geoscience and Data (CMDG) Initiative Employment associated with the CMGD initiative will adhere to departmental targets for equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI).	Approximately 60% of the term and indeterminate staff and 47% of the students recruited under the program are women	Voluntary disclosure of demographic information by applicants for student/early-career researcher opportunities. Collected annually and used internally to inform mid-year and end of year reporting.	Voluntary disclosure; complete data is not available as it is retained by HR as confidential data and not all applicants disclose information.

*2024–25 or most recent

Other key program impacts

By following federal guidelines for inclusive, merit-based hiring practices, Critical Minerals Geoscience and Data (CMGD) and the Targeted Geoscience Initiative (TGI) aim to employ and award bursary funding to underrepresented groups. The programs have a GBA Plus performance indicator that measures the percentage of opportunities (for students and early-career researchers) that are given to individuals who belong to one or more groups of people traditionally underrepresented in the earth sciences sector, particularly women and visible minorities.

Supplementary information sources: N/A

GBA Plus data collection plan

The TGI and CMGD programs collect information on a voluntary basis from applicants from equity seeking groups who are hired or awarded a bursary to support program research.

The Environmental Geoscience Program is dedicated to aligning its activities with the Government of Canada’s renewed commitment to implement GBA Plus in program and policy design, as well as NRCan’s effort to cultivate a more inclusive and diverse scientific community that upholds these principles in its everyday practices. New mechanisms to deepen the program’s understanding of who may be impacted by its activities, how it may meet the needs of diverse people, in addition to anticipating any potential barriers to accessing or benefitting from the initiative may be considered in the current cycle.

Pest Risk Management

Program goals:

The Pest Risk Management (PRM) program delivers science-based solutions to forest pest issues negatively affecting Canadian forest values, resources, and trade of forest products.

Target Population: All Canadians

Distribution of benefits

Information on D&I is currently being collected for 2024-25 under the Spruce Budworm Early Intervention Strategy (SBW EIS) initiative, and it is expected that benefits extend to a diverse group of Canadians.

Specific demographic group(s) to be monitored

The PRM program is intended to benefit the quality of life of all Canadians resulting from healthy forest environments. By reducing negative impacts of forest pests on Canada’s forests, the PRM program helps protect forest-sector jobs, including for rural and remote communities whose economic well-being depends on the forest industry.

Key program impacts* on gender and diversity

Key program impact statistics: N/A

Other key program impacts: N/A

Supplementary information sources: N/A

GBA Plus data collection plan

The Pest Risk Management (PRM) Program incorporates GBA Plus data collection into its annual call for proposals process. Applicants are encouraged to answer questions related to GBA Plus, IDEA, and Indigenous engagement. GBA Plus data is also being collected as part of the Spruce Budworm Early Intervention Strategy – Phase III Program. Information about the diversity of new hires is being collected and articulated in reports from recipients of federal contributions to measure representation of women and visible minorities in program activities and reduction of potential differential impacts of the initiative (e.g., employment) on these two groups. Information about impacts on Indigenous communities and the resolution of concerns raised by Indigenous groups is also being collected and reported as part of project proposals and reports to NRCan.

The Spruce Budworm Early Intervention Strategy – Phase III Program also encourages recipients of contribution funding to report baseline workforce demography and diversity data as part of a voluntary survey. NRCan provides them with a template for a D&I plan that can be considered to guide the development of specific employment equity measures for their respective organizations. Combined, these efforts will support the program in identifying new or enhanced ways to facilitate more equitable and equal opportunities and outcomes through its work, reporting capacity and improved database.

Forest Climate Change

Program goals:

The Forest Climate Change program informs mitigation and adaptation activities involving forests, provides forest carbon estimates for the National Inventory Report, and considers GBA Plus principles in internal allocation processes. The 2 Billion Trees (2BT) program contributes to the federal government commitment to plant two billion incremental trees by funding a range of recipients to plant trees across Canada. This includes $500 million in Indigenous distinctions-based funding to support Indigenous-led tree planting and capacity building projects. The program will continue to track disaggregated data and representation of currently under-represented groups in tree-planting and related activity workforce among funding recipients.

Target Population: The Forest Climate Change Program, including the 2BT program, supports multiple target populations in varying capacities within the context of the forest sector, including: all Canadians, Indigenous Peoples, for-profit and non-profit organizations, academia, and federal, provincial, and territorial governments.

Distribution of benefits

While information on population demographics is not collected at this time, it is expected that end users of the program outputs represent a diverse group of Canadians across the country.

Specific demographic group(s) to be monitored

All Canadians, Indigenous Peoples, and lower-income and racialized communities

Key program impacts* on gender and diversity

Key program impact statistics

Statistic	Observed results*	Data source	Comment
Percentage of projects funded through the Forest Climate Change Program that have direct and established partnerships with Indigenous communities	In 2024-25, 16% (6 of 38) of forest carbon mitigation and adaptation research projects funded through the Forest Climate Change Program had active and direct engagement with indigenous partners.	Program reporting data – self identified in common call for proposals	Not Available

*2024–25 or most recent

Other key program impacts

The Forest Climate Change Program’s activities contribute to the resilience of the forest sector and forest-based communities by developing integrated systems and tools to advance adaptation and resilience of Canada’s forests to a changing climate, and by advancing forest carbon modelling and science to better understand how forests and the forest sector can contribute to reaching net-zero.

The 2BT program’s co-benefits include the creation of green spaces for recreational activities and connecting with nature; better regulation of temperature in cities; improved mental health; and reduced risk of wildland fire and floods to our communities. In summer 2023, the program announced that the $500M co-developed Indigenous Funding Stream would deliver distinctions-based funding. Indigenous governments and organizations engaged through the co-development process were unanimous in their desire to see funding delivered using a distinctions-based approach. Distinctions-based funding allocates funding to each of the recognized Indigenous groups (First Nations, Inuit, and Métis), along with a dedicated stream for unaffiliated or cross-distinction groups. This funding approach is a first for NRCan.

In 2024-25, 2BT provided funding to 46 projects led by 43 Indigenous organizations with over $61.8 million in grants and contributions funding, representing 32% of projects supported by 2BT in that fiscal year.

Supplementary information sources: N/A

GBA Plus data collection plan

The Forest Climate Change Program currently reports on the percentage of projects funded through the Forest Climate Change Program that have direct and established partnerships with Indigenous communities. Additionally, the Program continues to collect GBA Plus input from funded forest carbon mitigation and adaptation research projects to better understand GBA Plus impacts, including IDEA, as research matures through time.

NRCan has developed a self-assessment tool, which is currently available, to advance inclusive science and provide researchers, scientists, science directors, and managers with practical steps to integrate IDEA and GBA Plus and braiding Indigenous knowledge systems in scientific research design, practice, and reporting.

2BT has used GBA Plus to incorporate D&I considerations into program design and implementation, has engaged with NRCan’s Programs Working Group on Diversity, and continues to explore mechanisms to further track and monitor GBA Plus data.

Climate Change Adaptation

Program goals:

Climate change impacts are disparately experienced, affecting marginalized communities more severely. The Climate Change Adaptation Program (CCAP), Climate-Resilient Coastal Communities Program (CRCC), National Assessments Process, and Canada’s Climate Change Adaptation Platform are designed to consider aspects of social equity, inclusion, and accessibility that both increase resilience and reduce disparities in vulnerable populations impacted by climate change.

Target Population: All Canadians

Distribution of benefits: N/A

Specific demographic group(s) to be monitored

All Canadians

Key program impacts* on gender and diversity

Key program impact statistics: N/A

Other key program impacts

Members of Canada’s Climate Change Adaptation Platform identified the need to include social equity in adaptation activities, prompting forum discussions on these topics. In 2024, invitations were extended to under-represented groups to participate in and present at the last three Adaptation Platform Plenary sessions efforts to increase participation by and value for equity-seeking groups.

Throughout the scoping phase of the National Assessment Process, the Secretariat ensured underrepresented groups participated in all meetings, surveys and webinars. An EDI lens was applied to the public expressions of interest calls for both the National Advisory Committee and for authorship roles. The Secretariat also engaged frequently with NRCan Youth Council and is currently working on outreach initiatives to Indigenous and Canadian Schools.

The first Indigenous-led assessment report For Our Future: Indigenous Resilience Report was released in May 2024. The report draws on Indigenous knowledge, perspectives and experiences and explores multidimensional and intersecting aspects of climate change impacts and adaptation.

Both the CCAP and CRCC programs included processes designed to reduce barriers for Indigenous applicants to apply for funding, as well as dedicated funding for Indigenous-led projects. The programs are funding up to 100% of eligible project costs for Indigenous organizations and Territorial governments. These efforts resulted in more Indigenous-led projects being selected for funding than in previous iterations of the program.

Supplementary information sources: N/A

GBA Plus data collection plan

Proposals submitted to the CCAP for funding were evaluated in part by the EDI considerations contained in their workplans. The CCAP does not currently collect specific data to enable reporting on impacts by gender and diversity; however, it will be working with funding recipients during the 2023-28 program cycle to collect information and data in support of monitoring and evaluation of GBA Plus-related project outcomes. This will include collecting data on who is receiving any adaptation skills training supported by the program, characterizing the audiences based on profession, and uptake of various other adaptation capacity-building products and outcomes. The program is also tracking how many projects are Indigenous-led and how many include Indigenous partners.

The CRCC Program pilot projects include rural, remote, and Indigenous communities, recognizing that they are disproportionately impacted by climate change. Proposals submitted to the CRCC for funding were evaluated in part by the EDI considerations contained in their workplans. The program will collect disaggregated data on the numbers and types of communities being engaged in projects by region to ensure national representation across Canada’s diverse coastal environments, and whether communities are rural and remote, or Indigenous. This information will be collected during the 2023-28 program cycle through the project reporting process in support of monitoring and evaluation of GBA Plus-related project outcomes.

Explosives Safety and Security

Program goals:

NRCan’s Explosives, Regulatory and Business Services Branch (ERBSB) is the national regulator of explosives and their restricted components (precursor chemicals), as well as the centre of expertise for commercial explosives testing and research. Through its mandate, it contributes to the safety of the public and all workers involved in the explosives industry in Canada, as well as national security.

Target Population: All Canadians

Distribution of benefits: N/A

Specific demographic group(s) to be monitored

Workers in explosives sectors tend to be middle-aged men and have an average income of $64,000. The men-women employee ratio within the industry was approximately 55:45 in 2023. Immigrant owned explosives enterprises make up 5.2% of total enterprises and Indigenous owned explosives enterprises make up 3.1% of total explosives enterprises. However, all Canadians are expected to benefit from an updated regime that increases safety and security, by reducing criminal and terrorist access, accidents and incidents, and non-compliance surrounding the handling of explosives and restricted components.

Key program impacts* on gender and diversity

Key program impact statistics: N/A

Other key program impacts

In 2021, NRCan initiated a comprehensive review of its explosives regulatory regime which included significant outreach with sector stakeholders to seek views and input on current challenges with the regime. In the feedback received, stakeholders identified the need for an updated regime with a modern approach to oversight. In discussions, stakeholders identified their wish for more robust compliance and enforcement to address individuals and companies who may be operating unsafely or even illegally for economic advantage. They expressed an interest for greater support from the Program’s science and technology capability in authorizing new explosives and explosives materials. In light of this, program officials have moved forward with modernization initiatives including comprehensive regulatory amendments. While stakeholders support reduced administrative and regulatory burden and efficient transactions, they also see the economic and reputational advantages to addressing safety and security risks and addressing any unsafe or illegal activities in the explosives industry.

Supplementary information sources: N/A

GBA Plus data collection plan

With regard to the Regulatory Review, ERBSB engaged and consulted regionally on proposed updates to the Explosive Regulations, 2013 and tracked the feedback received in all engagements and consultations. As regulatory proposals are brought forward for consultation, assessments related to the environment and Indigenous Reconciliation are conducted to ensure all rights are addressed and any downstream impacts are identified and mitigated. ERBSB continues to follow departmental hiring practices and goals focused on D&I when staffing positions.

The explosives sector does not currently collect gender or diversity information for any of their activities. ERBSB has developed a data strategy and data team, as part of its modernization efforts, with the goal of enhancing its data collection and analytics to support risk-based decision-making. This strategy will enable further collection and reporting of disaggregated administrative data going forward. ERBSB is also seeking to fill knowledge gaps by using external data and tools. For example, work with Statistics Canada on GBA Plus indicators has given the ERBSB data on the larger population working directly with explosives. With this information, ERBSB will be able to compile data needed and continue to build analytics capacity and conduct trend analysis on explosives stakeholders and the industry as a whole.

Geoscience to Keep Canada Safe

Program goals:

The Geoscience to Keep Canada Safe (GKCS) program comprises activities from the Canadian Hazards Information Service (CHIS), and the Natural Hazards and Climate Change Geoscience Program (NHCCGP). These programs provide authoritative information in terms of alerts and forecasts, plus foundational research and tools to support Canadians in their analysis, preparation and adaptation and response to hazards and climate change.

The CHIS program conducts monitoring and provides hazard information and products on an ongoing basis and in response to emergency situations (e.g., earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, geomagnetic storms, and radiological / nuclear incidents).

The Natural Hazards and Climate Change Geoscience program often works in areas where the proportion of Indigenous, remote, or low-income residents is high and the work it conducts has an influence on the communities and the citizens who reside there. These range from hiring residents (including students) to assist with fieldwork, to how their final science outputs might contribute to community planning for natural hazard and climate change impacts. Some activities have been co-developed with Indigenous communities to both support the research within NRCan but also directly support the community. Their intent is to support upstream understandings of the scale of impact natural hazards and climate change have on underrepresented communities.

Both programs are national in scope and aim to provide all Canadians the necessary information needed to plan, prepare for, and respond to hazard events. GBA Plus considerations are being applied to consider the actions that can reduce barriers Canadians may face when trying to access information provided, efforts to make information widely comprehensible, and by providing educational and employment opportunities to underrepresented groups.

Target Population: All Canadians

Distribution of benefits: N/A

Specific demographic group(s) to be monitored

Direct Benefits: Women, children, the elderly, and low-income groups are disproportionately affected by natural hazard events.

Indirect Benefits: Most of the work produced through the three programs supports policy development, planning, and adaptation which will subsequently impact vulnerable Canadians.

Barriers to Access: Most of the available resources produced through all three programs is provided online to the Canadian public. In some rural and remote areas, online connectivity is a barrier. Some material is fairly technical. The program is working to ensure that alerts use various distribution methods to reach rural and remote communities, and to ensure hazard information is reviewed for ease of comprehension and presented in a range of languages including minority languages.

Key program impacts* on gender and diversity

Key program impact statistics: N/A

Other key program impacts

The knowledge and data generated in this program is made available so others can make evidence-based decisions. Natural disaster events disproportionately impact women, seniors, children, low-income groups, and other vulnerable parts of society as highlighted in the United Nations Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction. GKCS improves our understanding of hazards and their impacts, allowing policy makers, planners, and emergency managers to identify vulnerable populations and to tailor preparedness and emergency response plans to assist these groups (i.e., specific regions, women, elderly, low-income, children). The program is working with Indigenous groups to ensure the research is useful in their decision making to protect their citizens.

The Natural Hazards and Climate Change Geoscience Program’s national seismic risk assessment includes a social vulnerability model to help understand the social drivers of risk. The program further convenes a steering committee that helps ensure that the risk assessment made relates to decisions on the ground to help reduce risk for vulnerable peoples in Canada. This helps decision makers look at risk from the perspective of absolute losses (total) or losses based on the capacity of a jurisdiction.

The CHIS provides authoritative, actionable, and timely information about geological hazards, space weather phenomena, and nuclear and radiological incidents. CHIS is augmenting the information it provides for earthquakes through the development of an Earthquake Early Warning (EEW) system. Starting in 2024, this program provides free-to-recipient alerts in an easy-to-understand format provided seconds to tens-of-seconds prior to the arrival of strong shaking from major earthquakes to help reduce impacts including to those most vulnerable to natural disaster events. The EEW system has been operational since spring 2024 in British Columbia where it has so far delivered two alerts and will be expanded to Ontario and Quebec later in 2025.

Supplementary information sources: N/A

GBA Plus data collection plan

While the program does not collect sufficient data to monitor impacts by gender and diversity, information is collected for internal use for the program’s mid-year and end of year reports. It is working on a plan to collect data to enable it to monitor and/or report program impacts by gender and diversity.

The program is working to determine how to measure the downstream effects on GBA Plus of the science and research related to natural hazards. Across programs, the feedback on the usefulness of the data and science by stakeholders would be useful for planning and making any required adjustments toward data and science that best serves the Canadian public.

Wildfire Risk Management

Program goals:

This program provides fundamental and applied science to help governments, industries, communities, and citizens adapt and live with wildfire impacts. GBA Plus was applied by providing and developing resources that help planners and emergency services to protect most-at-risk populations from wildfires, especially Indigenous and rural and remote communities in forested areas.

Target Population: All Canadians, especially those threatened by wildfires or their effects.

Distribution of benefits

While this program benefits all Canadians, the distribution of benefits are felt most by those demographic groups and populations who are disproportionately vulnerable to and threatened by wildfires, and their effects.

Specific demographic group(s) to be monitored

Rural and remote citizens, as well as Indigenous people – primarily First Nations and Métis in forested areas - are disproportionately affected by wildfire in Canada.

Key program impacts* on gender and diversity

Through the Training Fund of the Fighting and Managing Wildfires in a Changing Climate program, 90% of community-based projects were with or for Indigenous organizations or communities. Their training projects provided wildfire training to 211 participants, of which 97% were Indigenous, 70% were youth and 27% were women. This had the impact of increasing community capacity to prepare for and respond to wildfires.

Key program impact statistics

Statistic	Observed results*	Data source	Comment
Not Available	Indigenous People are disproportionately evacuated due to wildfires. From 1980 to 2021, 41.9% of wildfire evacuations events in Canada occurred in communities with predominately (i.e. >50%) Indigenous population.	Canadian Forest Service science publications and Evacuation database	Not Available

*2024–25 or most recent

Other key program impacts

The program continues to engage Indigenous partners on research projects, including co-development, fieldwork, data analysis, and knowledge exchange. Through the Emergency Management Strategy the program funded the establishment of an Indigenous-led National Indigenous Fire Working Group. Governance for the Working Group has been established by a Steering Committee, and the Terms of Reference for the Working Group were developed in 2023-24. Additionally, the Fighting and Managing Wildfires in a Changing Climate (FMWCC) contribution program strengthens capacities and capabilities in wildland fire management in Indigenous communities through investments in wildland firefighter training and the incorporation of Indigenous knowledge in wildland fire management.

Supplementary information sources: N/A

GBA Plus data collection plan

In order to maintain data on populations most impacted by wildfire in Canada, the program maintains a Canadian Wildland Fire Evacuation database that includes evacuation events from 1980 to current. This database is updated annually.

The wildfire program has incorporated measures into its grant and contribution project selection process to better assess EDI in project proposals. Applicants are required to detail how they consider the barriers, experiences and/or needs of a diverse range of individuals or groups in their project design and delivery. In addition, applicants are required to provide details about how their projects will benefit Indigenous Communities. There is an expectation for all projects to demonstrate consideration and involvement of a diverse range of individuals and groups, including Indigenous.

The wildfire program will continue to collect GBA Plus and Indigenous data for its various grant and contribution programs through its Activity and Performance Report (APR). This will include the number of training participants and highly qualified personnel, the establishment of inclusive governance structures and the number of communities implementing wildfire prevention and mitigation plans or projects. This information can be disaggregated at a high level by gender, age, racialized groups, disability, and Indigenous identity for the participant data and by rural, city, suburb, small city/town, Indigenous for the community-based prevention mitigation plans or projects. Analysis of this high-level data each year will provide an indication of how the program is reaching high-risk communities and how uptake of the program by GBA Plus and Indigenous participants changes over time.

Polar Continental Shelf Program

Program goals:

The Polar Continental Shelf Program (PCSP) enables research across a number of disciplines in Canada’s Arctic and northern regions through the provision of logistics services. The PCSP aims to strengthen the resilience of Indigenous Peoples through engagement, training, and employment opportunities; enhance economic benefits for Northerners; gain an understanding of the implications of climate change on Arctic terrestrial and marine ecosystems; and support Canada’s sovereignty in the Arctic.

Target Population: Canadian Arctic researchers, federal and territorial governments, and Indigenous and northern organizations and communities

Distribution of benefits

Not Available. With regard to distribution of benefits by gender, the distribution varies depending on measures – e.g., principal investigator vs. students.

Distribution	Group
By gender	Second group: 60 per cent - 79 per cent men

Specific demographic group(s) to be monitored

Direct beneficiaries: Men, women, minority groups, and Indigenous Peoples

Indirect beneficiaries: Indigenous Peoples as partners within research, and youth becoming the next generation of scientists.

Key program impacts* on gender and diversity

Key program impact statistics

Statistic	Observed results*	Data source	Comment
Percentage of participants who identify as Indigenous (First Nations (North American Indian), Metis or Inuit)	7% of participants identify as Indigenous, of which 60% specified as First Nations. 4% choosing not to disclose their Indigenous status (chose not to answer).	Program Data (Participant Survey)	The survey is voluntary and helps better understand the client base. These results are based on a very small sample size of the total clients served annually
Percentage of participants who identify as a member of a visible minority as described in Canada.	13% of participants identified as a member of a visible minority in Canada.	Program Data (Participant Survey)	The survey is voluntary and helps better understand the client base. These results are based on a very small sample size of the total clients served annually. The question in the survey draws the exact same language from the standard visible minority question asked of public servants.
Percentage of participants who identify as a person with disability.	6% of participants identify as a person with a disability.	Program Data (Participant Survey)	The survey is voluntary and helps better understand the client base. These results are based on a very small sample size of the total clients served annually
Percentage of participants who identify as female	46% of participants identify as female	Program Data (Participant Survey)	The survey is voluntary and helps better understand the client base. These results are based on a very small sample size of the total clients served annually. As more knowledge is gained and standards evolve, PCSPs survey will continue to update the language and scope of this question
Percentage of participants who identify as non-binary	3% of participants identify as non-binary	Program Data (Participant Survey)	The survey is voluntary and helps better understand the client base. These results are based on a very small sample size of the total clients served annually. As more knowledge is gained and standards evolve, PCSPs survey will continue to update the language and scope of this question
Percentage of participants who identify in different age groups	Most participants (28%) are in the age group 29 and under, followed by 30-39 years (27%), 40-49 years (21%) and the rest are 50+ (24%)	Program Data (Participant Survey)	The survey is voluntary and helps better understand the client base. These results are based on a very small sample size of the total clients served annually.

*2024–25 or most recent

Other key program impacts

The project selection process for University applicants considers EDI planning, as well as engagement and participation of local and Indigenous communities in the scoring criteria. As part of its annual intake and peer review process, the PCSP provides feedback to university-led project applicants to help improve the Indigenous and local involvement and EDI components of projects as requested by project leads.

Supplementary information sources

• Polar Continental Shelf Program (PCSP): Publications and related information
• Polar Continental Shelf Program Science Report 2019: Logistical support for leading-edge scientific research in Canada and its Arctic (nrcan.gc.ca)

GBA Plus data collection plan

The program collects diversity information through its application form and through a survey of participants. The application form collects information on principal investigators - including gender and early career researchers.

All university applications for PCSP logistics support are vetted against EDI scoring criteria by a Project Review Committee (PRC) comprised of university and government researchers. The scoring criteria will be monitored to ensure the implementation does not result in unanticipated effects on gender or diversity. PRC members are also asked to provide feedback on the scoring guide as part of post-mortem discussions so that improvements can be made for subsequent seasons.

In addition, an anonymous survey is used to collect disaggregated diversity information on participants by gender, age, ethnicity, and region. The survey monitors the impact of existing D&I measures in program design and will inform additional program design changes to promote diversity as indicated by data trends. The survey was conducted in 2021 and 2024 and will continue to be repeated at least every three years. The survey is anonymous to protect privacy considerations and is distributed using the department’s existing IT solutions.

Core responsibility: Innovative and Sustainable Natural Resources Development

Energy Innovation and Clean Technology

Program goals:

NRCan continued advancing integration of GBA Plus into policy and program design and delivery, knowledge sharing and appropriate data collection in order to help understand the short-, medium- and long-term impacts of its grants and contributions programs and who benefits from the funded clean energy technologies.

Target Population: Science and technology industry; Energy and/or utilities sector; Provincial & territorial governments

Distribution of benefits: N/A

Specific demographic group(s) to be monitored

Direct beneficiaries: Workers, innovators, academics, and researchers in the clean energy technology sector, who are predominantly highly educated white men.

Indirect beneficiaries: Clean energy technology sector, low-income individuals and households, rural and remote communities, women, children and youth, and Indigenous Peoples.

Groups that may face barriers to access/participation: Groups historically underrepresented in the energy sector, such as women, racialized people, and Indigenous Peoples.

Key program impacts* on gender and diversity

Key program impact statistics: N/A

Other key program impacts

Implementation of IDEA across energy RD&D programming

In 2024-25, NRCan continued to implement a Phased Approach to IDEA for its grants and contributions programs. Through this approach, NRCan has taken steps to identify, assess and implement actionable steps to address barriers to access and participation to its RD&D programs by different underrepresented groups and to integrate GBA Plus into program design and delivery as appropriate for each call, considering industry, sector, technology-specific gaps and needs, in order to advance inclusion throughout program operations for both new and ongoing programs. This method is already supporting the application of GBA Plus to program analysis and evaluation for past and current programming.

Smart Grid Demonstrations and Regulatory Innovation

Under the Smart Grid Demonstrations call and Regulatory Innovation call launched in 2024-25, applicants were asked to identify public IDEA commitments by their organization, including goals or actions to advance IDEA in their projects. The Smart Grid Demonstrations call required proponents to identify societal benefits of their projects and demonstrate how their project would contribute to affordability, access for diverse demographics and/or participation of under-represented groups. The Renewable Energy Demonstrations Call required proponents to identify the social benefits of their proposed project, including affordability, local access to the benefits, and inclusion of local stakeholders. The Renewable Energy Demonstration call also committed to supporting at least one Indigenous-led project.

Greener Neighbourhoods Pilot Program (GNPP)

The Market Development Team (MDT) funding call led to contracting one Indigenous-led project. Both the MDT and the Demonstration Projects calls allow for maximum program contribution of up to 100% of total project costs for Indigenous proponents. In total, 27% of the eligible GNPP applications received were from Indigenous-led applicants, with additional proposals that included the involvement of Indigenous communities. In 2024-25, two Indigenous demonstration projects were competitively selected and contracted for funding under the Demonstration Projects call.

Supplementary information sources: N/A

GBA Plus data collection plan

Through the implementation of its Phased Approach to IDEA, NRCan has adopted a methodical approach to increase the incorporation of IDEA considerations into program scoping, design, delivery, implementation, reporting and evaluation through GBA Plus. NRCan collects voluntary IDEA information in project proposals and annual project reports. Proponents are asked to disaggregate their training and employment results by gender and Indigenous identity, to identify whether their organization has an IDEA plan in place and, if so, to briefly describe its measures. NRCan is tracking the rate at which proponents report on this voluntary information, with the goal of achieving a progressive year-to-year increase from a baseline of 30% set in January 2023. The data collected will be used to explore possibilities for implementation of targeted interventions to reduce barriers to access and participation in NRCan’s research, development and demonstration programs.

Green Mining Innovation

Program goals:

CanmetMINING works in partnership with stakeholders to assist the mining industry adopt new technologies to meet the challenges of accessing, extracting, and transforming Canada’s critical mineral resource potential into useful products in a cost-effective and environmentally friendly manner. These best practices increase mining efficiencies while improving access to information for decision-makers, planners, and the affected communities while focusing on adaptable and carbon-neutral mining to assist with climate change adaptation and mitigation.

Target Population: Specific regions or sectors: The mining industry and the mining innovation ecosystem

Distribution of benefits: N/A

Specific demographic group(s) to be monitored

Direct beneficiaries: Workers, stakeholders, innovators, academics, and researchers in the mining sector.

Indirect beneficiaries: Mining & minerals sector households, rural and remote communities, Indigenous communities and the general public.

Groups that may face barriers to access/participation: Groups historically underrepresented in the Mining & minerals sector.

Key program impacts* on gender and diversity

Through the Green Mining Innovation program, CanmetMINING is directly bolstering Indigenous involvement in mining R&D by partnering with Indigenous groups in its research activities.

Key program impact statistics

Statistic	Observed results*	Data source	Comment
Number of active projects that are directly partnered with Indigenous groups	2 projects	Project reporting on stakeholders and collaborators	1 project collaborating with the Tłı̨chǫ Government 1 project collaborating with a mining exploration business wholly owned by the NWT’s 27 Dene First Nations

*2024–25 or most recent

Other key program impacts

Supplementary information sources: N/A

GBA Plus data collection plan

To determine key statistic indicators to understand and address GBA Plus considerations and put in place a data collection plan for the program in 2024-25, the program revised its Client Satisfaction Survey to include questions about the adherence to the company’s GBA Plus policies in the services provided during a project. This grants the opportunity for feedback and GBA data collection from those directly impacted by the program (the program’s clients). However, in 2024-25, only four clients completed a survey, and zero reported any GBA feedback or data. Therefore, the survey may need to be revised again for 2025-26 to enhance follow-through on the completion of the survey. The program anticipates an improvement in the reporting capacity and understanding of GBA Plus impacts, with the distribution of a Workshop Satisfaction Survey in 2025-26 as it begins tracking participation in CanmetMINING-led stakeholder workshops through a gender/diversity lens using voluntary disclosure of demographic information by participants attending each individual workshop.

Fibre Solutions

Program goals:

The mission of the Canadian Wood Fibre Centre (CWFC) is to develop knowledge, tools and approaches aimed at reducing the risks to the forest fibre supply of Canada. By developing and deploying innovative, sustainable solutions that meet the needs of end users, CWFC supports the resiliency of forests to climate change.

Target Population: Forest sector

Distribution of benefits: N/A

Specific demographic group(s) to be monitored

All Canadians, with direct benefits to the forest sector, women, and Indigenous Peoples.

Key program impacts* on gender and diversity

Key program impact statistics: N/A

Other key program impacts

In 2020, NRCan’s CWFC started the collection of D&I data from Forest Innovation Program (FIP)-CWFC Contribution Program recipients. Final payment upon project completion requires recipients to submit results of their GBA Plus action plans on the project’s work. This data will be analyzed for changes and trends.

GBA Plus Action Plans have been put in place by FIP external partners. They have been encouraged to increase participation by women as research and project team members and address any barriers. Due to the need for specific expertise for projects, women research project members were not always available.

Supplementary information sources: N/A

GBA Plus data collection plan

NRCan’s CWFC continues to require the submission of a D&I plan for 2023-26 FIP-CWFC contribution program proponents. Final payment upon project completion also requires recipients to submit results of their GBA Plus action plans on the project’s work. At the end of Program cycle, end of fiscal year 2025-26, data will be analyzed for changes and trends.

Data is also collected to evaluate the potential impacts of the FIP funding allocated through the National Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) Canadian Forest Sector Workforce Diversity undergraduate supplement for 2023-2026. FIP's contribution to this scholarship is another example of a CFS initiative that aims to improve representation and diversity in the forest sector. The program receives demographic data from NSERC on the recipients of this funding to get a sense of which equity seeking groups are benefitting from the scholarship and receiving support to pursue forest sector research projects and careers.

The final version is anticipated in late 2026 and will be distributed for internal review and information.

Sustainable Forest Management

Program goals:

The goal of the Sustainable Forest Management (SFM) program is to carry out research that fills knowledge gaps in forest management and forest ecosystems. This program ensures timely and accurate data and information sharing at international, national, and regional levels. It informs the improvement of forest practices.

Target Population: All Canadians

Distribution of benefits

End users of the knowledge and tools developed through this program represent a diverse group of Canadians. Currently, data on population demographics is not collected for this program to determine distribution of benefits.

Specific demographic group(s) to be monitored

The SFM program is intended to have a positive impact (directly and indirectly) for all Canadians and contribute to the long-term resiliency of forest-based, rural, and remote communities, including many Indigenous communities. Indigenous contributions are integral for the continued improvement of sustainable forest management practices to protect the socio-economic and cultural value of forests, and its biodiversity.

Key program impacts* on gender and diversity

Key program impact statistics

Statistic	Observed results*	Data source	Comment
Percentage of projects funded through the Sustainable Forest Management Program that have direct and established partnerships with Indigenous communities	In 2024-25, 29% of sustainable forest management projects had active and direct engagement with indigenous partners.	Program Reporting Data	Out of the 35 projects funded by the program in 2024-25, 10 reported established partnerships with Indigenous communities.

*2024–25 or most recent

Other key program impacts

The SFM Program continues to fund some research in collaboration with Indigenous communities on forest ecosystems. The SFM program has applied GBA Plus to support projects that are advancing engagement and collaboration with Indigenous communities. The SFM Program funded several projects that collaborated with Indigenous groups on research activities or knowledge sharing. In addition, SFM program managers and researchers are advancing ways to engage with Indigenous partners and communities though the guidance of a new NRCan Policy on Ethics for Research Involving Indigenous Peoples and their Traditional Lands. The SFM program will continue working to improve mechanisms for reporting on GBA Plus.

Supplementary information sources

Program Reporting.

GBA Plus data collection plan

The Sustainable Forest Management (SFM) Program is incorporating GBA Plus data collection into its annual call for proposals process. For 2025-26, researchers will demonstrate additional GBA Plus considerations in proposals, aligning with Government of Canada renewed commitments to implement GBA Plus in programs and policies. Applicants are required to answer questions related to GBA Plus, IDEA, and Indigenous engagement. To assist the applicants in incorporating Indigenous Knowledge (IK), IDEA and GBA Plus into research design, practice, reporting, and knowledge mobilization, an “IDEA and IK in Research Self-Assessment Tool” was developed and distributed to researchers.

The SFM Program has refined questions in project proposals and reporting on how GBA Plus considerations will be included in research design.

Cumulative Effects

Program goals:

The Cumulative Effects (CE) program develops knowledge, data and tools to minimize and mitigate cumulative effects in Canada through multidisciplinary science, collaborative partnerships, and inclusion of Indigenous Knowledge. The CE Program focuses on impacts and risks to forest ecosystems resulting from non-forestry resource development activities, in addition to natural disturbances and climate change.

Target Population: All Canadians

Distribution of benefits

Distribution	Group
By gender	Second group: 60 per cent - 79 per cent men

Specific demographic group(s) to be monitored

At a larger scale, by advancing the science and research required to prevent and mitigate the potential risks and impacts of cumulative effects in Canada’s forests, the Cumulative Effects Program has the potential to contribute to improved quality of life in rural forested communities who could benefit from reduced impacts on the environment and forest habitat. Also, knowledge products and tools developed through the program can help stakeholders engage in decision making around restoration, forest management and land use for the benefit of communities as a whole.

Key program impacts* on gender and diversity

Key program impact statistics

Statistic	Observed results*	Data source	Comment
Principal investigator	14/25 male (56%) 11/25 female (44%)	Program Reporting Data	N/A
Percentage of projects funded in 2024-25 through the Cumulative Effects Program that have direct and established partnerships with Indigenous communities	28% (7/25 projects)	Program Reporting Data	N/A

*2024–25 or most recent

Other key program impacts

The Cumulative Effects program continues to advance more equitable research opportunities in addressing the risks and impacts of cumulative effects on forest ecosystems including woodland caribou protection and habitat restoration. This includes the incorporation of Indigenous Knowledge and engagement in research efforts when and where possible. Seven CFS-led research projects were funded in 2024-25 that worked directly with Indigenous partners and other stakeholders, to collaborate and integrate both the knowledge of CE researchers and Indigenous communities to address assessment and restoration of cumulative effects on the forested land-base including caribou habitat.

Supplementary information sources: N/A

GBA Plus data collection plan

The Program currently tracks data pertaining to gender distribution of researchers receiving program funds. In addition, the internal funding process integrates GBA Plus related questions in proposal templates (such as how GBA Plus ideals will be included in project planning and implementation and how Indigenous Knowledge can be incorporated in research design) to collect data and reflect the GBA Plus component in reporting processes. The Program will continue to review GBA Plus reporting processes and consider any additional data that may be appropriate.

Lower Carbon Transportation

Program goals:

The Lower Carbon Transportation Program enhances the availability and awareness of low carbon transportation options for Canadians. GBA Plus is incorporated into applications to collect data as appropriate and through program design to eliminate barriers to access.

Target Population: Clean Fuels Sector/Industry

• Clean Fuels Fund (CFF): Clean Fuels Sector/Industry
• Green Freight Programs (GFP): Freight/Trucking Sector, Municipal and Regional Governments – Companies and organizations with fleets comprised of medium- and heavy-duty vehicles
• Zero Emission Vehicle Infrastructure Program (ZEVIP): All Canadians
• Greening Government Operations Fleet Program (GGO): Federal Departments and Agencies
• Education and Awareness Project Funding – EV Charging and Clean Fuels: All Canadians

Distribution of benefits

Distribution	Group
By gender	Second group: 60 per cent - 79 per cent men
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(s) to be monitored

Canadians with a specific focus on macroeconomic stabilization, government operations, clean environment, public safety, fundamental research, broad economic development, democratic participation, and social well-being.

Direct Beneficiaries: Private sector, provincial, territorial, or municipal governments, their departments, or agencies, institutions such as universities and hospitals, industry associations; academia; technical experts and tradespeople (e.g. electricians, construction workers, retrofitters); and Indigenous companies and community groups.

Many of the benefitting organizations have a male Caucasian majority workforce, given existing gender and ethnic disparity in the automotive industry and science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) related industries. Installation of refuelling infrastructure will also call on trades that are predominantly male such as construction, electricians, plumbers, and equipment operators.

Indirect Beneficiaries: Existing zero- and lower-emission vehicle owners and drivers, both light-duty vehicles (LDV) and medium and heavy-duty vehicles (MHDV); new ZEV owners; rural, remote, and northern communities; Indigenous Peoples; the utilities sector; the automotive industry; and Canadians who have pronounced health benefits from the reduction of air pollution, such as youth, seniors, and individuals with disabilities.

Benefits associated with new ZEV purchases are anticipated to accrue equally across gender, as 48% of passenger vehicles are owned/leased by women and 52% by men. In the medium to longer term, low-carbon fuels offer opportunities to reduce diesel dependency in Canada’s North. This supports broader Government efforts to transition remote communities across Canada off diesel and improving air quality across the country.

Groups that may face barriers to access/participation: Underrepresented groups such as women in utility companies, LDV dealerships, and the MHDV trucking industry, where women make up 28%, 22%, and 3.7% of the workforce respectively; women in Canada’s construction labour force, who represented 13% of the workforce in 2020; and Black Canadians in all sectors of the automotive industry.

Key program impacts* on gender and diversity

Key program impact statistics

The below key impact statistics are from external sources which have helped shape and inform the different program streams’ architecture through rigorous GBA Plus analyses conducted throughout program stages.

Statistic	Observed results*	Data source	Comment
Gender distribution in the trucking industry in Canada	3.5% of truck drivers were women in 2021	Trucking HD labour market data, 2022	Below the national workforce average (48%)
New Canadian gender distribution in automotive parts production in Canada	10% were women who had immigrated to Canada	Automotive Industry Labour Market Analysis, 2020 Trend Report	40% of all women employed in this sector are new Canadians
Global gender and ethnic diversity of energy sector	Globally in 2020, women account for 32% of the energy sector, while racial & ethnic minorities account for 22%	Diversio, “Equal by 30, Advancing Diversity & Inclusion in the Energy Sector”, July 2021	Women and ethnic minorities underrepresented compared to population
Proportion of young workers (between 18 and 34) in the energy efficiency workforce in Canada	42% in 2018	Budget 2021	Higher than the national workforce average (33%)
Gender wage gap in the energy sector workforce in Canada	Women earned on average 85% of the hourly wage earned by men in 2021	NRCan “Energy Fact Book, 2023-2024”	Compared to 2009, women earned on average 76% of the hourly wages earned by men
Immigrant workers in the energy sector workforce in Canada	Immigrant workers represented 17% of energy sector employees in 2021	NRCan “Energy Fact Book, 2023-2024”	Compared to 25% in the total economy
Visible minorities in the energy sector workforce in Canada	In 2021, 20% of the workforce identified as members of a visible minority group	NRCan “Energy Fact Book, 2023-2024”	Up from 17% in 2009
Age demographics in the energy sector workforce in Canada	22% of the energy sector workforce were 55 or older in 2021	NRCan “Energy Fact Book, 2023-2024”	Up from 17% in 2009
Indigenous Peoples in the energy sector workforce in Canada	6% of energy sector employees identified as Indigenous in 2021	NRCan “Energy Fact Book, 2023-2024”	Compared to a 4% national workforce average

*2024–25 or most recent

Other key program impacts

Reducing environmental contaminants and exposure directly improves health for Canadians, especially those to whom air pollution poses a pronounced health impact risk, notably young children, seniors and Canadians with disabilities. NRCan initiatives that support the reduction of GHG emissions and other harmful contaminants, and/or support the transition to clean energy are indirectly supporting the advancement of reduced poverty and improved health outcomes. In the medium to longer term, low-carbon fuels offer opportunities to reduce diesel dependency in Canada’s North and transition remote communities off diesel, improving air quality for all Canadians.

Supplementary information sources

• Diversio, “Equal by 30, Advancing Diversity & Inclusion in the Energy Sector”, July 2021
• Focal Initiative, Automotive Industry Labour Market Analysis 2020
• NRCan (NRCan) “Energy Fact Book, 2023-2024”

GBA Plus data collection plan

The various programs have taken several steps to further advance the integration of GBA Plus into program design and delivery, as well as data collection, analysis and results. GBA Plus was integrated into program measures, applications and reporting through consultation, research, and analysis.

NRCan’s Education and Awareness Project Funding – EV Charging and Clean Fuels track participation and impact through all funded outreach, engagement, training, and events. These programs have also updated their key performance indicators to require reporting on the breakdown of attendance at events, engagement of underrepresented groups, the number of individuals trained, and other relevant indicators. This data would be available for progress monitoring in subsequent years.

To support Indigenous ZEV charging deployment, ZEVIP is monitoring and targeting the deployment of 400 chargers where the applicant is an Indigenous business or organization, project partners are Indigenous businesses or organizations, or the projects (fully or partially) are on Indigenous lands. As part of its application process, ZEVIP also encourages companies to develop and submit their IDEA plans. Applicants to the program are encouraged to make their IDEA plan, where appropriate, publicly available to demonstrate their commitment to developing an inclusive, diverse, equitable and accessible economy.

All Clean Fuels Fund recipients must report on how they met their commitments identified in their Workforce D&I Plans through the lifecycle of their funding agreement. Contribution agreements also require collection and reporting of information by recipients on the number of underrepresented groups, such as Indigenous people, women, immigrants, racialized Canadians, and people with disabilities, in the workforce areas and activities supported through program funding. This information is expected to improve understanding of the diversity of workplace in the clean fuels sector.

Since 2019-20, the Green Freight Program has been able to disaggregate data by province and territory, which has helped to determine how the uptake and impact of lower carbon transportation options and awareness efforts vary by location. The program reports annually on any increases in fuel-efficiency projects by owner-operators/micro-sized companies (GBA Plus) by measuring the number of assessment, retrofit, awareness, fuel switching projects annually and verifying the data received by proponents (funding recipients). The target is for a 5% increase in SME projects each program year.

Electricity Resources

Program goals:

The Clean Energy for Rural and Remote Communities (CERRC) program will displace the use of diesel and fossil fuels in Indigenous, rural, and remote communities by deploying and demonstrating renewable energy projects, building skills, and capacity. The program prioritizes Indigenous-led projects and the participation of women and youth.

The Smart Renewables and Electrification Pathways Program (SREPs) provides funding for smart renewable energy and electrical grid modernization projects. GBA Plus analysis was applied to the initial program design, evaluation, and delivery.

The Enabling Small Modular Reactors Program funds research and development (R&D) to support provinces and territories and aims to support the conditions and enabling frameworks necessary for SMRs to displace fossil fuels and contribute to climate change mitigation while enhancing gender-equality, diversity and inclusion in the nuclear sector.

Target Population: All Canadians, the Nuclear Sector

Distribution of benefits

Distribution	Group
By gender	Second group: 60 per cent - 79 per cent men
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(s) to be monitored

CERRC

• Direct beneficiaries: Indigenous Peoples, people living in jurisdictions using fossil fuel generated heat and electricity, workers in the clean energy and electricity sectors.
• Indirect beneficiaries: clean energy and electricity sectors.
• Groups that may face barriers to access/participation: women, older people.
• Groups that may face negative impacts from program activities: Fossil fuel industry, workers in fossil fuel industry, who are predominantly men.

SREPs

• Direct beneficiaries: Indigenous Peoples, people living in jurisdictions reliant on fossil fuel generated electricity, workers in the clean energy and electricity sectors.
• Indirect beneficiaries: clean energy and electricity sectors.
• Groups that may face barriers to access/participation: women, youth, racialized people, Indigenous people, and others historically underrepresented in the clean energy sector.
• Groups that may face negative impacts from program activities: Fossil fuel industry, workers in fossil fuel industry.

Enabling SMRs

• Direct beneficiaries: men (60%-79%), highly educated individuals, individuals in particular regions (ON, SK, NB, AB)
• Indirect beneficiaries: clean energy and electricity sectors, nuclear industry, SMEs and SMR vendors
• Groups that may face barriers to access/participation: women, youth, racialized people, Indigenous people, and others historically underrepresented in the nuclear sector
• Groups that may face negative impacts from program activities: None

Key program impacts* on gender and diversity

Key program impact statistics

Statistic	Observed results*	Data source	Comment
Number of Indigenous clean energy projects	166 Indigenous projects	Program reports and program data collection	43 projects with Indigenous ownership under the Smart Renewable and Electrification Pathways Program.
Number of jobs for youth	TBD	Program reports and program data collection	24 Final Reports have been submitted, indicating that 36 job-years have been created for youth under the Smart Renewable and Electrification Pathways Program.
Number of jobs for women	TBD	Program reports and program data collection	24 Final Reports have been submitted, indicating that 83.5 job-years have been created for women under the Smart Renewable and Electrification Pathways Program.

*2024–25 or most recent

Other key program impacts

These programs help reduce Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions and encourage sustainable growth in the electricity sector by providing communities with job opportunities, skills, and training.

Smart Renewables and Electrification Pathways Program (SREPs)

The Smart Renewables and Electrification Pathways Program (SREPs) included measures to increase benefits to underrepresented groups within the electricity sector, where benefits skew towards non-racialized cis-gendered men. SREPs incorporated measures to enable the participation of underrepresented groups, for example:

• All deployment project applicants were required to submit an EDI plan or sign onto a relevant EDI commitment
• Funding was set aside for Indigenous-owned projects
• Indigenous projects were able to access favourable funding limits

Program funding was set aside for the Capacity Building stream which focuses on overcoming barriers to future deployment and includes activities such as knowledge sharing and studies (which could include technical studies and information), mentoring and apprenticeships, training or workshops, engagement opportunities, and the development of EDI plans.

Wah-ila-toos

NRCan is part of a single-window, no-wrong-door approach with Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada (CIRNAC), Indigenous Services Canada, Environment and Climate Change Canada and Infrastructure Canada to reduce barriers to accessing funding for implementing clean energy solutions to reduce diesel or other fossil fuels consumption in Indigenous, rural, and remote communities. Three programs delivered under Wah-ila-toos are the Clean Energy for Rural and Remote Communities program (NRCan), the Indigenous Off-Diesel Initiative (NRCan), and the Northern Responsible Energy Approach for Community Heat and Energy (CIRNAC).

Clean Energy for Rural and Remote Communities (CERRC) program

The CERRC program supports the reduction of diesel and fossil fuels used for heat and power in Indigenous, rural, and remote communities by supporting communities in deploying and demonstrating renewable energy projects, building skills, and capacity. The program prioritizes Indigenous-led projects and the participation of women and youth. The program's four streams include capacity building, demonstration, deployment, and BioHeat. The four streams work together to ensure that direct benefits impact a broad group of Indigenous, rural, and remote communities across Canada, including First Nations, Inuit and Métis women, men and gender-diverse people.

Indigenous Off-Diesel Initiative (IODI)

IODI is a clean energy training and funding program that supports Indigenous-led climate solutions in remote Indigenous communities that currently use diesel or fossil fuels for heat and power. IODI supports participants, called Energy Champions, in their journey from training through to project implementation. Energy Champions are encouraged to work closely with a team of clean energy leaders and to engage with their communities to support community energy literacy and ensure that projects reflect their community’s priorities. Projects supported under IODI are Indigenous-led, community-driven and focused on supporting local capacity building, community energy planning, and development of clean energy projects.

Supplementary information sources: N/A

GBA Plus data collection plan

Annual data collection and reporting templates for certain programs (e.g., Smart Grid Program, CERRC) collect gender-disaggregated data that aligns with program goals. Further, training and hiring metrics are collected at gender-disaggregated levels and align with Statistics Canada terminology (e.g., female, male, and gender diverse).

CERRC Data Collection

The CERRC program collects, disaggregates, and tracks data annually for renewable energy projects in rural and remote communities by region, Indigenous ownership, and participation. This includes measuring the percentage and number of projects led by or partnered with Indigenous groups. The program also collects information on greenhouse gases reduced to understand the health impacts of the program on communities.

SREPs Data Collection

SREPs will continue to collect disaggregated data from proponents at the final reporting stage, and via its quarterly reporting process on jobs created. The data will include total job numbers in addition to the disaggregation of data to include job numbers of men, women, gender diverse people, 2SLGBTQI+, racialized persons, Black persons, Indigenous people, newcomers, youth, and persons with disabilities. The program is also tracking data on Indigenous ownership, number of Indigenous communities involved in projects, and progress and challenges with implementing IDEA plans and commitments.

The Enabling SMR Program does not have a program indicator related to gender and diversity impacts, and as such, the Enabling SMR program does not track or collect evidence on the impact of funding on gender and diversity impacts. Proponent reporting on employment data is voluntary. The data reported by Proponents may include total job numbers or total number of highly qualified personnel trained and may include disaggregated gender and diversity data. Proponents were encouraged to consider EDI in their research proposals; however, EDI plans were not evaluated by the Program.

Energy Efficiency

Program goals:

The Energy Efficiency Program (EEP) applies GBA Plus across its programs, products and practices like collaboration, certifications, standards, building codes, tools, and funding to ensure equitable and inclusive access to energy efficiency benefits for homes, buildings, industry and equipment. It aims to reduce energy use, as well as reduce costs, improve living conditions and affordability, and enable access to meet the specific needs of diverse groups across Canada.

Target Population: The general public; Indigenous Peoples, communities and businesses; energy consumers and producers; federal organizations; service providers and stakeholders in the industry; building, housing, and equipment sectors; and provincial, territorial, and municipal governments across Canada.

Distribution of benefits

For two initiatives under the Energy Efficiency programs, Canada Greener Homes Grant (CGHG) and Oil to Heat Pump Affordability (OHPA)

Distribution	Group
By gender	Second group: 60 % - 79 % men
By income level	Second group: Somewhat benefits low-income individuals (Somewhat progressive) (OHPA) Fourth group: Somewhat benefits high income individuals (Somewhat regressive) (CGHG)
By age group	Second group: No significant inter-generational impacts or impacts generation between youth and seniors

Specific demographic group(s) to be monitored

The Canada Greener Homes Grant (CGHG) and the Oil to Heat Pump Affordability (OHPA) program provide direct benefits to energy-consuming Canadians to improve home energy efficiency through retrofits. They aim to reduce energy use, lower energy bills, and cut emissions.

Key program impacts* on gender and diversity

While CGHG is available to all homeowners, the OHPA is designed to support low- to median-income households. Launched after CGHG, OHPA helps eligible households switch from oil heating to electric heat pumps with upfront grants. With the co-delivery partners, OHPA may provide heat pumps to eligible homeowners at little to no cost, improving affordability and accelerating the clean energy transition. Both programs offer dedicated streams for Indigenous Peoples.

Key program impact statistics

Other key program impacts

Through CGHG and OHPA, NRCan has employed diverse outreach strategies with National Indigenous Organizations and Indigenous groups. With carved-out funding for Indigenous Peoples, and flexibilities to support Indigenous applicants, the suite of programs advanced the energy efficiency performance of houses and buildings in Indigenous communities. Flexibilities are built into OHPA to facilitate access to funding by Indigenous applicants. CGHG and OHPA engaged with National Indigenous Organizations and groups to align program delivery with community needs. The CGHG supported Indigenous participation through community-scale retrofits, with 38 agreements worth $42.3 million signed as of July 2025, five of which were signed in 2024-25 to retrofit up to 783 homes. The recently launched Canada Greener Homes Affordability Program (CGHAP) will streamline funding to Indigenous partners through existing flexible federal mechanisms.

CGHG’s Energy Advisor Recruitment, Training and Mentorship (EA RTM) program aimed to improve workforce equity and diversity of energy advisors from under-represented groups and in under-served areas. NRCan funded five pan-Indigenous and nine non-Indigenous organizations. Of the trained participants, 11% are Indigenous, 25% are women, and 29% are from under-served regions.

Other EEP programs - like the Codes Acceleration Fund (CAF), Deep Retrofit Accelerator Initiative (DRAI), and Green Industrial Facilities Manufacturing Program (GIFMP) - include Indigenous carve-outs or flexible approaches for Indigenous applicants. DRAI supports two Indigenous-led projects that provide deep retrofit services and training in Alberta, the Prairies, and Nunavut. CAF supports an Indigenous proponent and funded ECO Canada’s toolkit to help Indigenous communities adopt, comply with, and enforce building codes. The Toward Net-Zero Homes and Communities (TNZ) initiative supports community-led residential projects in Indigenous, rural, remote, and under-resourced areas. Applicants received a GBA Plus analysis guide and were assessed on inclusiveness before agreements were signed. Projects provide qualitative data reflecting diverse community experiences to inform future programs and policies. An Indigenous organization supports outreach and application evaluation for the 25% funding carved out for Indigenous participants. To date, 17 of 40 agreements—representing 45% of total funding—have been signed with Indigenous communities, governments, and organizations. In 2024-25, three Inuit projects were funded for the first time.

The Canada Green Buildings Strategy prioritized diversity and equity through inclusive engagement and collaboration with national and regional Indigenous organizations, considering remote and northern realities like affordability and climate resilience. EEP led extensive engagement, and led a 2023 discussion paper that included Indigenous green building priorities. EEP also commissioned the Indigenous Clean Energy (ICE) Enabling Energy Efficiency report, expanding on its 2021–22 study, to identify needs, barriers, and solutions for Indigenous energy efficiency projects and careers. Working with StatsCan, EEP gathered disaggregated data on housing and energy affordability to support tailored program delivery for less advantaged groups.

Supplementary information sources: N/A

GBA Plus data collection plan

EEP initiatives have various data collection methods (i.e., contribution agreements, progress reports, service organizations, anonymized and voluntary surveys). The aim is to enable better data collection and disaggregation. EEP conducts and commissions studies and engages with stakeholders to identify key barriers that diverse groups face when accessing energy efficiency projects and careers.

Many engagements and studies inform the development and improvement of data collection and analysis tools to assess the impacts of various initiatives.

Energy and Climate Change Policy

Program goals:

The Equality in Energy Transitions Initiative, Equal by 30 and the Awards and Recognitions Program:

Canada (NRCan) chairs the joint Clean Energy Ministerial and International Energy Agency (IEA) “Equality in Energy Transition Initiative” (EETI), which accelerates gender equality and diversity in the clean energy transition to close the gender gap by 2030. Canada leads two of its workstreams: the Equal by 30 Campaign, and the Awards and Recognition Program.

The Regional Energy and Resource Tables

Through the Regional Energy and Resource Tables (Regional Tables), engagement and collaboration with provinces and territories, Indigenous partners and key stakeholders will contribute to more coordinated and impactful federal-provincial-territorial action on shared priorities to advance regional growth opportunities, create good jobs, and deliver sustainable prosperity.

The Canadian Sustainable Jobs Act (2024; the Act) and Canada’s sustainable jobs approach

The Act’s guiding principles indicate that Canada’s sustainable jobs approach should be inclusive and address employment barriers for underrepresented groups, and Canada must report on upholding these principles. Sustainable Jobs Action Plans include workforce data on EDI; and GBA Plus is integrated into all Action Plan measures.

Target Population:

EETI - The global clean energy sector

Interim Sustainable Jobs Plan, 2023-2025 (SJP) - Canadians in sectors implicated in the low-carbon transition; Canadians interested in sustainable jobs opportunities, including from groups underrepresented in the labour force; and firms/industries who are looking for workers/skillsets in the net-zero economy.

Distribution of benefits

EETI – Group
By gender	Fifth group: Predominantly women (e.g., 80 per cent or more women)
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
SJP - Group
By gender	Second group: 60 per cent - 79 per cent men
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(s) to be monitored

The Equality in Energy Transitions Initiative, Equal by 30 and the Awards and Recognition Program:

Direct beneficiaries: Women, all marginalized communities, conduits who contribute to gender equality in the energy sector

Indirect beneficiaries: The global energy sector

Sustainable Jobs Approach

Direct beneficiaries: It is expected that the sustainable jobs approach will positively benefit workers in transition implicated sectors, notably in the natural resource, construction and energy industries in Canada.

Indirect beneficiaries: Those working in indirect or induced jobs, such as industries that supply goods and services to the energy sector like engineering construction, machinery and equipment, professional services, and transportation services.

Based on GBA Plus, key demographics relevant to sustainable jobs include:

• The environmental and clean technology (ECT) sector workforce is predominantly male, with 71% of jobs in the ECT sector held by men and 29% held by women.
• This composition is consistent with that of the high-emitting industries which will be affected by the low-carbon transition. For example, in 2021, 24% of workers in the energy sector (including oil and gas) were women. Therefore, it is expected that, in nominal terms, men will benefit more from this proposal than women.
• These industries are also significant employers of Indigenous Peoples. In 2021, Indigenous People made up 5.9% of the energy sector workforce, whereas they made up 3.6 % of Canada’s overall economy in 2021.
• Furthermore, 21% of oil and gas workers in 2021 belonged to a visibility minority.
• Finally, in 2021, immigrants represented 17.2% of energy sector employees compared to 26.6% of total economy in 2021.
• While this proposal will present an opportunity for any Canadian worker, whether low or high income, to access skills training to move into higher-paying employment, it will have notable impacts on Canadians currently in the oil and gas sector which has an above average salary, compared to the Canadian workforce overall.

Key program impacts* on gender and diversity

Key program impact statistics

Statistic	Observed results*	Data source	Comment
The Equality in Energy Transitions Initiative - Member Governments	11 member governments as of March 2024. (Australia, Austria, Canada, Chile, Czech Republic, European Commission, Finland, Germany, Italy, Sweden, United Kingdom)	Equality in Energy Transitions Initiative website	From April 2024 to March 2025, two member governments rescinded their membership: Switzerland and the United States.
Equal by 30 Number of Signatories	226 signatories joined Equal by 30 as of March 2025, representing a broad range of industries and organizations across over 25 countries and several energy sub-sectors.	Equal by 30 website	The number of signatories increased by 16 from April 2024 to March 2025.
The Awards & Recognition Program	The Program received 173 nominations in 3 categories from 31 countries and 5 continents.	The Awards & Recognition Program	The world’s interest in this program highlights its popularity and a shared interest in uplifting women in the energy sector.

*2024–25 or most recent

Other key program impacts

The Equality in Energy Transitions Initiative, Equal by 30 and the Awards and Recognition Program:

Equal by 30 Campaign

As of March 31, 2025, 226 signatories from around the world participated in the Equal by 30 campaign. Signatories have developed over 350 commitments and implemented policies and practices to support marginalized groups. This involves increasing representation, creating a more inclusive environment, ensuring fair management practices, supporting career development, and ensuring safe workplaces that are free of harassment and discrimination.

Equal by 30 acknowledges that participant commitments will differ due to jurisdictional context. Gender-based needs vary among the campaign’s global signatory base, leading to unique goals and outcomes. NRCan is committed to supporting Equal by 30 signatories and their individual circumstances through direct outreach. The campaign’s signatory guide and self-assessment tool also support signatories in understanding their strengths and how their commitments can improve.

The Awards & Recognition Program

At the 15th Clean Energy Ministerial on September 30th – October 4th, 2024, the Awards Program presented awards in three categories. 25 judges selected the winners from 173 nominations, among three countries and five continents. The high volume of interest in this program demonstrates the world’s shared desire to champion women and marginalized people in the energy sector.

These outcomes, and qualitative comments about the program, will be used to inform the next ceremony in 2026. Canada will collaborate with partners to make it a success.

Supplementary information sources

• The Equality in Energy Transitions website
• Equal by 30 website
• The Equal by 30 Reporting Framework
• G7 Report on Gender and Diversity in the Energy Sector
• Equal by 30 Self-Assessment Tool
• Sustainable Jobs Plan
• Bill C-50, An Act respecting accountability, transparency and engagement to support the creation of sustainable jobs for workers and economic growth in a net-zero economy
• Sustainable Jobs - Canada.ca

GBA Plus data collection plan

The Equality in Energy Transitions Initiative, Equal by 30 and the Awards and Recognition Program:

Canada maintains statistics on membership, participation and the activities within the Equal by 30 Campaign and the Awards and Recognition program. Equal by 30 aims to advance equal opportunities for women and other marginalized groups in the global energy sector, whereas the Awards Program highlights outstanding individuals and organizations who are contributing to gender equality in the field. Both qualitative and quantitative data is useful in understanding the growth of these workstreams, as well as participant experiences. NRCan uses this feedback to refine the programs. NRCan welcomes feedback from all members of the clean energy sector, engaging with both domestic and international parties.

The IEA also manages the Knowledge, Data and Policies workstream for the Equality Initiative. This workstream collects existing data, discovers trends, and identifies actions to increase the presence of women. The IEA also uses disaggregated data to inform its Gender and Energy Data Explorer and other activities.

Sustainable Jobs Plan

The interim Sustainable Jobs Plan, 2023-2025, commits to making improvements to labour market data availability and granularity across the Government, including data related to IDEA in the labour force as well as Indigenous specific metrics. This will allow for better tracking to support the objective that work to build the economy of the future is inclusive and equitable. Additionally, the data will support the Government in course correcting as necessary.

Regional Energy and Resource Tables

The Regional Tables are an enabling initiative. NRCan’s existing engagement approaches with PTs, Indigenous groups, and key stakeholders are inclusive of women, gender-diverse people, and Indigenous Peoples, and seek to identify and advance economic opportunities across energy and natural resource sectors. Identified opportunities and projects, once implemented, would benefit all Canadians.

Innovative Geospatial Solutions

Program goals:

This program innovates in geospatial research, developing new technologies, methods, and standardized products. It creates science, data, and tools for information sharing, supporting key Government of Canada priorities with a gender- and diversity-sensitive approach.

Target Population: All Canadians

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(s) to be monitored

Women, Indigenous communities

Key program impacts* on gender and diversity

Key program impact statistics

Statistic	Observed results*	Data source	Comment
Funded 1 project that directly support addressing geospatial issues within Indigenous communities	Project completed on time and on budget. Main collaborator/benefactor is an Indigenous community.	Project Authorities via final narrative project report	Funded through the GeoConnections Contribution Program

*2024–25 or most recent

Other key program impacts

The Innovative Geospatial Solutions program advances geospatial capacity and inclusivity by:

• Strengthening Indigenous place naming and updating Canada’s Basemap for Indigenous languages.
• Increasing Northern women’s and girls’ participation in UAV mapping and geospatial skills and enhancing geospatial capacity in Inuvik, NWT.
• Supporting Indigenous data governance and ensuring web tools meet accessibility standards and are bilingual.

Additionally, it addresses Indigenous geospatial issues (e.g., climate resilience) through targeted projects.

Contributions through the GeoConnections program include:

• Funded 1 project that directly support addressing geospatial issues within Indigenous communities. As a result, Indigenous communities benefited from improved access and management of geospatial data and insights through the development of a LiDAR web application that shows landscape changes over time as a result of climate change. Overall, the result has been improved data sovereignty, improved community engagement and provided valuable geospatial information for informed decision-making.

Supplementary information sources: N/A

GBA Plus data collection plan

Atlas of Canada

The Atlas of Canada provides interactive and pintable maps of Canada, from past to present, since 1906. It also contains a learning section, and access to the past six editions of historical maps. CCMEO conducted a GBA Plus Analysis on the Atlas of Canada web site and plan to analyze recommendations in 2025-26 for implementation.

GeoConnections

Data collected for this program is qualitative in nature. Case studies were previously used and provided information that has facilitated a better understanding of the program, but these case studies are no longer assisting the program. As such, the program is seeking guidance on the best way to enable future monitoring and results beyond narrative reports and/or case studies.

The beginning of 2023 saw the creation of a new stakeholder survey to evaluate the use of our Innovative Geospatial Solutions. Future iterations of this survey hope to provide more information on GBA Plus considerations.

Flood mapping specific GBA Plus data collection

No data collection plan is required to assess the GBA Plus impacts of this initiative given that the focus of the Flood Hazard Identification and Mapping program (FHIMP) is to increase flood hazard information and maps. However, the program will improve the resilience of vulnerable populations by increasing the availability and accessibility of flood hazard information and maps in higher risk areas – in which vulnerable communities often fall in this category. In alignment with GBA Plus considerations, the following may be collected and monitored for the duration of the program (until 2028):

• Equal Access to Flood Hazard Information and Maps: FHIMP will track key parameters identified as contributing to an individual’s vulnerability to floods to ensure the program is reaching them.
• Inclusion of Traditional Knowledge: FHIMP aims to leverage already existing Indigenous technical working-groups, governance structures, and internal expertise to offer support to PTs to engage with Indigenous communities and measure success in its new Indigenous Traditional Knowledge (ITK) contribution funding stream.
• Employment in STEM Fields: For its own internal hires, FHIMP will track how well it reflects departmental commitments on D&I to increase representation of Black people and other racialized groups, Indigenous people, and persons with disabilities.

The FHIMP represents an opportunity to identify, in collaboration with Federal, Provincial, Territorial, and Indigenous jurisdictions, areas and communities vulnerable to floods. In the future, flood hazard areas may be cross-referenced with socio-economic and demographic characteristics to derive more detailed information about the communities and used for further initiatives related to natural disasters and emergency management and help to address some of the current knowledge gaps.

Additionally, CCMEO supports engagement between Indigenous communities and provincial/territorial partners by providing Indigenous Engagement Guidelines in Flood Mapping, encouraging meaningful engagement under the FHIMP, enhancing intergovernmental collaboration, and increasing the uptake of flood mapping in vulnerable communities.

Core responsibility: Globally Competitive Natural Resources Sectors

Forest Sector Competitiveness

Program goals:

Indigenous Forestry Initiative (IFI):

IFI advances reconciliation by supporting Indigenous-identified priorities to accelerate Indigenous awareness, influence, inclusion, and leadership. Applicants are Indigenous, and benefits accrue to Indigenous communities.

Sovereign Indigenous governments are exempt from diversity requirements. Other contribution recipients report on diversity following project completion. Grant recipients are invited to report diversity outcomes.

Investments in Forestry Industry Transformation (IFIT) Program:

IFIT supports the forest sector’s transformation by investing in innovative technologies and processes that lead to the development of new bioproducts. The program aims to capture IDEA-related information on recipients. This is done through D&I plans which describe proponents’ corporate practices, at the start and end of the project. Feedback may be provided when there is potential for improvement. Data is also collected twice, at the start and the end of the project through the D&I questionnaires in order to evaluate workforce diversity in the forest sector. IFIT also supports D&I outreach measures and tracking these as well as the quality of D&I plans.

Forest Innovation Program (FIP):

FIP supports early-stage innovation that accelerates the growth of Canada’s bioeconomy through investments in research, development, and technology transfer activities in the forest sector. FIP contributes to fostering diversity in the forest sector through the NSERC’s Canadian Forest Sector Workforce Diversity undergraduate supplement and supplement for graduate students, which targets underrepresented students – incentivizing them to choose a career path related to the Canadian forest sector. FIP also administers questionnaires to collect data on D&I from its proponents.

Green Construction through Wood (GCWood):

GCWood encourages the use of innovative wood-based building systems and technologies and advanced bioproducts in construction projects to support the decarbonization of Canada’s built environment. The program has put in place new requirements for a portion of its funding recipients to report on targeted IDEA activities.

Forest Systems Information Technology Enhancement (ForSITE):

ForSITE aims to increase available information on the state of Canada’s forests, while advancing policy leadership on forest carbon and forest health in collaboration with Indigenous, industry, academic, and environmental partners. ForSITE is an operational initiative designed to enhance existing operations within the CFS.

Target Population:

Indigenous Forestry Initiative: Indigenous groups seeking to participate in the Forest Sector

Investments in Forest Industry Transformation Program: Legal entities validly incorporated or registered in Canada (including for-profit, not-for-profit, and Indigenous organizations), provinces and territories, and regional and municipal governments.

Forest Innovation Program: Various entities in the public, for-profit and not-for-profit sectors.

Green Construction through Wood: Legal entities validly incorporated or registered in Canada (including for-profit, not-for-profit, and Indigenous organizations), provinces and territories, and regional and municipal governments.

Forest Systems Information Technology Enhancement Program: Various entities in provinces and territories, national, regional and municipal governments, the public, for-profit and not-for-profit sectors.

Distribution of benefits

Distribution	Group
By gender	Second group: 60 per cent - 79 per cent men
By income level	First group: Strongly benefits low-income individuals (Strongly progressive)
By age group	Second group: No significant inter-generational impacts or impacts generation between youth and seniors

Specific demographic group(s) to be monitored

Indigenous Forestry Initiative (IFI):

Indigenous groups seeking to participate in the forest sector, along with associated Indigenous communities, community members and businesses.

Investments in Forest Industry Transformations (IFIT) Program:

Forest sector companies are the main recipients of IFIT funding, which includes a higher representation of men, Indigenous Peoples, rural or remote communities, and workers without a post-secondary education.

Forest Innovation Program (FIP):

The ultimate beneficiary of FIP funding is the broader forest sector, which is made up of a variety of forest entities including forest companies, academic institutions and research institutes, forestry schools and colleges, provincial departments, non-government organizations, First Nations, and consulting firms. The majority of industry funding recipients are concentrated under two occupations: biological technologists and technicians (NOC 2016, 2221) and architecture and science managers (NOC 2016, 0212). According to the 2016 Census, both occupations have a gender-balanced labour force. The FIP funding delivered through the NSERC supplement is exclusive to students in equity seeking groups (women, Indigenous People, visible minorities, and persons with disabilities).

Green Construction through Wood (GCWood):

GCWood supports construction industry stakeholders (high proportion of men), including but not limited to: builders, developers, building and fire code officials, architects, engineers, quantity surveyors, insurance and finance providers, trades, researchers, procurement officials, code consultants, academics, and manufacturers of wood products, technologies and systems. Contributions are also provided to research organizations and academia.

Key program impacts* on gender and diversity

Key program impact statistics

Statistic	Observed results*	Data source	Comment
Number of IFI Projects where women participated	2	Program Reporting Data
Total number of women participating in IFI projects	11	Program Reporting Data
Number women led IFI Projects	2	Program Reporting Data
Number of IFI Projects where Indigenous People participated	14	Program Reporting Data
Total number of Indigenous participants in IFI	929	Program Reporting Data
Number of IFI Projects where youth participated	3	Program Reporting Data
Number of Youth participants in IFI	26	Program Reporting Data

*2021-22 metrics (last full reporting year) Note: Reported IFI numbers are against a total number of 5 projects funded.

Other key program impacts

Investments in Forest Industry Transformation (IFIT) Program:

As part of its 2023 renewal, the IFIT program committed to funding IDEA outreach activities. This may include supporting a forest sector conference centered around IDEA issues and opportunities or working with industry associations to develop promotional activities to support underrepresented groups. These activities will be reported on in future DRRs once sufficient data is collected.

Forest Innovation Program (FIP):

In 2020, CFS created the Canadian Forest Sector Workforce Diversity Undergraduate Supplement in partnership with the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC). This award, funded by FIP and delivered through NSERC, is designed to incentivize students from underrepresented groups to pursue forest-related research. In 2023-24, 30 supplements totaling $150,000 have been awarded to students across Canada, with 53% being awarded to women, 13% to visible minorities, 13% to Indigenous recipients, and 13% to persons with disabilities. In 2023, this supplement was renewed for an additional three years, with plans to increase funding in years two and three and expand the eligibility criteria to reach new student groups in the future.

Green Construction through Wood (GCWood):

As part of its 2023 renewal, to address gender and diversity issues, GCWood committed to start collecting diversity-related outreach data from recipients under the Advancing Education and Building Capacity program stream as part of project reporting requirements. This will be reported on in future DRRs once sufficient data is collected.

Indigenous Forestry Initiative (IFI):

IFI Regional Liaison Officers across Canadian Forest Service’s research offices address systemic barriers, providing applicants with guidance.

In Fall 2023, applicants submitted Expressions of Interest proposals, with select projects invited to submit additional details. This streamlined funding process reduced applicants’ resource expenditure. IFI offers online and offline applications, vital to those with connectivity issues. In Fall 2023, 54 applications were received offline, and 109 online.

An Indigenous contractor forms majority Indigenous and gender-balanced Expert Review Panels to mitigate bias in complex project recommendations. A 2022-23 advisory review confirmed Indigenous involvement on the panel enhances the program’s authenticity and reduces barriers.

Supplementary information sources: N/A

GBA Plus data collection plan

Collectively, the renewed Forest Sector Competitiveness programs committed to collecting greater gender and diversity information from its proponents or program beneficiaries to monitor program impacts by gender and diversity.

The Canadian Forest Service created a Diversity Working Group (DWG) to support the sector in identifying measures that could contribute to addressing gender and other representation gaps in the forest sector. The DWG’s main objective was to ensure a better understanding of workforce diversity in the forest sector so that recommendations for program measures would be evidence-based, impactful, and align with other initiatives and actions.

In Summer 2020, the Treasury Board Secretariat approved the four proposed measures outlined in the DWG’s Forest Sector Workforce Diversity: Barriers, Opportunities, and Potential Solutions report. The proposed four measures would help the forest sector to improve its understanding and outcomes with regard to workforce diversity: (1) actively collecting better data; (2) requiring program recipients to have a Workforce Gender and Diversity Plan; (3) supporting efforts towards addressing education as a systemic barrier; and (4) promoting workforce diversity through collaboration. The report committed the Forest Innovation Program, Investments in Forest Industry Transformation, Indigenous Forestry Initiative, and Expanding Market Opportunities.

Since 2020, several CFS competitiveness programs have gradually been incorporating IDEA-related requirements within their application and reporting processes.

For IFIT, D&I questionnaires, which provide anonymous and aggregated information on the company’s workforce composition, have since been collected from recipients at least twice during the project, at the start and end. In 2023-24, the submission of D&I plans, which outline each company’s diversity-related priorities and actions, were mandatory under the IFIT program twice, at the application stage and at the end of the project. Similarly, in 2023-24, FIP collected demographic information from its recipients, and since 2023 GCWood is tracking and requesting that a proportion of its recipients include activities that consider EDI in the construction sector. These measures will allow the programs to better understand trends in the diversity profiles of their funding proponents, and to emphasize the importance of D&I considerations in forest sector projects from application to project completion.

It is important to note that with respect to the Indigenous government sovereignty in policy and law-making, the IFI does not require a Diversity Plan from its Indigenous Government proponents. The IFI program does track gender and diversity representation on the IFI Expert Review Panel. Further, panelists are selected to ensure an overall Indigenous majority, as well as youth and female representation. A previous Advisory Review of the IFI confirmed that Indigenous involvement on the Expert Review Panel was an important feature and enhanced the certainty of decisions being made. IFI hosted engagement in spring 2024, during which participants recognized the Indigenous representation on the Expert Review Panel as a strength of the program. The IFI program also encourages Regional Liaison Officers (RLOs) to intentionally engage diverse groups within communities during site visits (e.g., youth, Elders) to support additional understanding of program impacts. Finally, CFS HR processes prioritize hiring diverse candidates for the IFI/RLO team.

Provision of Federal Leadership in the Minerals and Metals Sector

Program goals:

The Program ensures that Canada’s minerals sector is innovative, sustainable, and globally competitive. Its work helps to provide governments, industry, and communities with the knowledge they need to make informed, evidence-based policy decisions.

Target Population: All Canadians

Distribution of benefits: N/A

Specific demographic group(s) to be monitored

Women, Indigenous Women, Indigenous Peoples, Immigrants, Racialized Canadians, Youth

Key program impacts* on gender and diversity

Key program impact statistics: N/A

Other key program impacts

Both the Canadian Critical Minerals Strategy (CCMS) and the Canadian Minerals and Metals Plan (CMMP) are working to identify strategies to increase the number of youth, visible minorities, new immigrants, and underrepresented groups in the mining sector and advance Indigenous participation, particularly that of Indigenous women.

The CCMS aims to increase the supply of responsibly sourced critical minerals and support the development of domestic and global value chains for the green and digital economy. The Strategy addresses five core objectives, including supporting economic growth, competitiveness and job creation; promoting climate action and environmental protection; advancing reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples; fostering diverse and inclusive workforces and communities; and enhancing global security and partnerships with allies.

Developing Canada’s critical minerals and associated value chains will create jobs and prosperity for communities across the country, including Indigenous communities. We want to help workers and communities thrive in the new economy, while fostering a diverse industrial sector that include Indigenous Peoples, women, and racialized Canadians, and people from rural and urban areas across Canada.

In 2024-25, the CMMP worked collaboratively with its partners to deliver initiatives to help meet these goals, including:

• Working with provinces and territories through a Workforce of the Future Task Team on strategies to diversify the mining workforce and bolster the pipeline of future talent;
• Collaborating with the Mining Industry Human Resources Council on a digital Careers Map to educate Canadians (particularly from the sector’s typically underrepresented groups, like youth, immigrants, and visible minorities) about potential mining careers and where these careers are located, so they are encouraged to enroll in mining-related educational programs or trades programs, seek out career opportunities near their own communities, or move to areas where opportunities are available; and
• Continuing the “Canadians of Mining” campaign to highlight career opportunities to help create a more diverse and equitable workforce.

Supplementary information sources

• The Canadian Critical Minerals Strategy
• The Canadian Minerals and Metals Plan

GBA Plus data collection plan

The CCMS Horizontal Initiative Results Framework (HIRF) is published online annually through the Departmental Plan and Departmental Results Report in the CCMS Horizontal Initiative Supplementary Information Table and outlines performance outcomes, indicators, and targets for the Strategy as a whole, as well as its various initiatives and activities. Under the CCMS, we are tracking efforts like creating jobs in the critical minerals sector, growing a diverse and skilled workforce and support for Indigenous communities’ participation in the CCMS. As committed to in the HIRF, the Strategy will administer a funding recipient survey to collect GBA Plus data and information from proponents to support the Strategy’s objective to foster diverse and inclusive workforces and communities. This will improve understanding of the impact of funding in alignment with key program GBA Plus related factors, such as gender, Indigenous status, racialized identity, and rural or urban location.

Many of the activities carried out under the Canadian Minerals and Metals Plan (CMMP) are delivered through the provision of grants to external recipients. Information relevant to GBA Plus is collected through discussions with grants recipients and project proponents following project completion. NRCan looks to proponents to report on their project outcomes as outlined in the grant and contract agreements with a view to release data that were collected through their activities (e.g., such as measuring the number of youths, diverse populations, or Indigenous Peoples engaged). The results help inform future program design and implementation to improve the impact of the grants and initiatives. Additionally, an exercise to Take Stock of the CMMP, beginning in 2024-25 and carrying on into 2025-26, will capture information on users, participants, and beneficiaries of these various initiatives, and in doing so, capture descriptive information to help monitor and/or report on the Plan’s gender and diversity impacts. This information will be complemented by sector-wide statistics on employment.

Energy Safety and Security, and Petroleum Resources

Program goals:

The program aims to ensure informed decision-making that promotes the safe, secure, and sustainable production and transportation of conventional and alternative fuels needed in the context of a clean energy transition, and to ensure Indigenous participation in the decision-making processes.

Target Population: Indigenous Peoples, communities, governments, Tribal Councils, National and regional Indigenous councils, and tribal organizations, and Indigenous for-profit and not-for-profit organizations.

Distribution of benefits: N/A

Specific demographic group(s) to be monitored

Indigenous Peoples, communities, governments, Tribal Councils, National and regional Indigenous councils, and tribal organizations, and Indigenous for-profit and not-for-profit organizations.

Key program impacts* on gender and diversity

Key program impact statistics: N/A

Other key program impacts

The program provides contribution funding to Indigenous communities and organizations to participate in engagement for legislative and regulatory development and implementation under the Canadian Energy Regulator Act.

The objective is to ensure informed Indigenous participation in decision-making that promotes the safe, secure, and sustainable production and transportation of petroleum resources.

Key activities include providing advice on the legislative and regulatory frameworks for federally regulated pipelines.

Supplementary information sources: N/A

GBA Plus data collection plan

The program has transferred a portion of its roles and responsibilities related to the Canada Energy Regulatory to Nòkwewashk specifically as it relates to Indigenous Ministerial Arrangement Regulations. Some responsibilities remain, such as the Designated Officer Regulations and Export-Import Regulations. Another responsibility to support Ministerial sign off on regulatory packages from the Canadian Energy Regulator (CER) was transferred to CPS.

The program collects data exclusively for Indigenous community and organization participation, based on its specific Terms and Conditions. Given that the funding did sunset on March 31, 2021, and due to its current authorities, there are no actions currently underway or planned to enable further data collection, monitoring, or reporting of impacts based on gender and diversity.

Statutory Offshore Payments

Program goals:

This program fulfills legislated obligations under the Accord Act to transfer revenues collected from offshore oil and gas to the provinces of Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador and to fund the offshore board and energy regulator.

Target Population: Provinces of Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador, as well as the Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Energy Regulator and the Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board.

Distribution of benefits: N/A

Specific demographic group(s) to be monitored: N/A

Key program impacts* on gender and diversity

Key program impact statistics: N/A

Other key program impacts

Under the offshore Accord Act with Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador, the provinces are the principal beneficiaries of offshore oil and gas resources, which are a source of important economic benefits. NRCan acts as a flow-through for these revenues and is not responsible for determining how these funds are utilized within the provincial fiscal framework.

Supplementary information sources: N/A

GBA Plus data collection plan

The Statutory Atlantic Offshore Program does not collect GBA Plus data related to how the provinces use these revenues, nor does it collect data to enable it to monitor and/or report program impacts by gender and diversity. Given the program’s limited scope, there are currently no actions being taken to enable future monitoring or reporting of the Statutory Atlantic Offshore Program’s impacts as they relate to gender and diversity.

Indigenous Reconciliation and Regulatory Coordination

Program goals:

This program enables NRCan to advance meaningful partnerships, engagement, and support for Indigenous Peoples to participate in the natural resource sectors and help ensure that Indigenous people are equal partners and beneficiaries of Canada’s transition to a net-zero economy.

The Indigenous Natural Resource Partnerships (INRP) program further advances the goals of GBA Plus through active encouragement of projects that increase the participation of underrepresented groups, including Indigenous women and gender-diverse individuals, in the natural resource sector across Canada. The INRP program also includes an assessment criterion on supporting the increased participation of underrepresented groups including Indigenous women.

As part of NRCan’s Pathways to Reconciliation Action Plan implementation, Nòkwewashk will continue to collaborate with the GBA Plus Centre of Expertise to develop and implement an Indigenous specific GBA Plus lens for the department.

Target Population: Indigenous Peoples

Distribution of benefits

Distribution	Group
By gender	Second group: 60 per cent - 79 per cent men
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(s) to be monitored

Indigenous communities, in particular those Indigenous communities affected or implicated by natural resource projects.

Key program impacts* on gender and diversity

Key program impact statistics: N/A

Other key program impacts

NRCan is the Federal Co-Chair and Secretariats for the Indigenous Advisory and Monitoring Committees (IAMCs) for the Trans Mountain Expansion Project and existing pipeline (IAMC-TMX), and the Enbridge and Line 3 Pipeline Replacement Project. The Socio-economic Subcommittee (SESC) of the IAMC-TMX looks at gendered impacts of the Project as experienced by Indigenous communities, as well as how GBA Plus can support communities as an analytical tool in early identification of, mitigation and monitoring of risks and benefits. In 2023-24, the SESC continued to monitor a set of co-developed Indigenous socio-economic indicators related to Project construction and commissioned research on the socio-economic risks and outcomes experienced in an area that hosted three work camps during Project construction.

Supplementary information sources: N/A

GBA Plus data collection plan

The INRP Program collects data through its application and project reporting processes to measure engagement and access to financial resources of Indigenous communities, with an emphasis on ensuring Indigenous women and gender-diverse individuals have expanded opportunities to contribute to and benefit from natural resource development. To strengthen this focus, the INRP program will collect disaggregated data through application and reporting processes, capturing insights into the experiences and needs of Indigenous women and gender-diverse people. This data will inform program guidelines and strategies as well as broader policy and investment decisions within NRCan to promote gender inclusivity.

Separate GBA Plus assessments are conducted for each individual resource project covered under the Impact Assessment Act through the regulatory review process. NRCan will continue to support GBA Plus through its regulatory coordination function and conduct additional analyses, if necessary. Additionally, NRCan will continue to explore measures to improve the collection of disaggregated data and support a distinctions-based approach that acknowledges the specific rights, interests, priorities and concerns of First Nations, Métis, and Inuit.

GBA Plus information is collected through quantitative data on participant funding agreements. This distinctions-based data includes the number of Indigenous communities or individual participants that have benefitted from program initiatives and is aimed at enhancing Indigenous participation in the natural resource sectors and helps to inform policy and investment decisions moving forward.

Youth Employment and Skills Strategy – Science and Technology Internship Program - Green Jobs

Program goals:

The Science and Technology Internship Program (STIP) – Green Jobs provides funding to employers across Canada to hire, train, and mentor youth (aged 15 – 30) in the natural resources sector. The program works to increase the participation of youth who experience barriers to employment and create quality and inclusive work experiences.

Target Population: The program targets youth in Canada aged 15 to 30, including youth from employment equity groups and youth who experience barriers to employment, to create quality work experiences and launch careers in the natural resources sector.

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	First group: Primarily benefits youth, children, or future generations

Specific demographic group(s) to be monitored

Key Populations:

1. Employers in the natural resources sector
2. Youth aged 15 to 30 (inclusive)
3. Youth from employment equity groups and those who experience barriers to employment, including:
   • Indigenous youth
   • Youth with disabilities
   • Racialized youth
   • Women
   • Youth living in Northern, rural, and remote communities

Key program impacts* on gender and diversity

Key program impact statistics

Statistic	Observed results*	Data source	Comment
Number of youth (ages 15-30) served	653	Program Administrative Data	Disaggregated data source omitted for privacy consideration.
Percentage of youth employed/self-employed following a placement	78%*	Program Administrative Data	Disaggregated data source omitted for privacy consideration.
Percentage of youth who returned to school following a placement	13%*	Program Administrative Data	Disaggregated data source omitted for privacy consideration.

* Results as of June 2025. Final results for FY2024-25 available December 2025.

Other key program impacts

STIP – Green Jobs applies a GBA Plus lens to all aspects of program design and delivery and regularly engages with youth to ensure program relevancy. In 2024-25, 81% of participants were from at least one employment equity group (surpassing the target of 60%), including, 51% women, 28% Indigenous youth, 27% racialized youth, and 14% youth with disabilities.

In 2019-20, following recommendations from youth engagement, the program made several design changes, including removing post-secondary education requirements and increasing wage subsidies. These changes increased participation by employment equity groups, including Indigenous youth (from 5% in 2018-19 to 28% in 2024-25).

Supplementary information sources: N/A

GBA Plus data collection plan

STIP – Green Jobs collects disaggregated participant data from employers and youth at the beginning and the end of placements. Self-identification is not mandatory, only information to determine eligibility is required (e.g., name, age, and legal status in Canada). The program invites video testimonials from youth, requests feedback from employers, and requires annual reporting by delivery organizations.

As a partner of the Youth Employment and Skills Strategy (YESS), STIP – Green Jobs reports annually on the results of four key performance indicators:

• Number of youth served;
• Percentage of youth supported from designated YESS GBA Plus communities:
  • Women
  • Indigenous Youth
  • Visible Minority Youth
  • Youth with a Disability
  • Youth living in a Northern or remote area
• Percentage of youth employed/self-employed; and
• Percentage of youth who returned to school.

This information enables the program to undertake analysis based on age, location, employment status, employment equity group, and gender.