Key government jobs, such as safety inspectors and intelligence analysts, being prioritized by race

Department of National Defence headquarters in Ottawa. A job ad posted by DND this year for a Defence Intelligence Officer said “selection may be based on qualified candidates self-declaring as belonging to one or more of the designated groups: Indigenous Peoples, members of visible minorities, persons with disabilities, and women.” Photo by Spencer Colby/Postmedia

Article content

Applicants to some of the most critical jobs in the Canadian federal government, including safety inspectors and intelligence agents, are now being explicitly told that they might be rejected if they don’t fit within an “equity-deserving” identity category.

Article content

And in some key federal government departments, 100 per cent of new hires are being screened based on race and identity.

Article content

Article content

Article content

This is all according to a new report by the Aristotle Foundation for Public Policy.

Article content

Article content

Report authors analyzed 301 government job openings advertised between February and July, 2026. Of those, 42 per cent were subject to “explicit or potential prioritization based on group identity.”

Article content

“These postings go beyond signalling an inclusive workplace culture or encouraging applications from particular communities,” it read. “They explicitly disclose that certain groups may or will receive priority consideration in the selection process.”

Article content

Article content

“To achieve a representative workforce, selection may be based on qualified candidates self-declaring as belonging to one or more of the designated groups: Indigenous Peoples, members of visible minorities, persons with disabilities, and women,” it read.

Article content

A similar caveat was contained in a recent Transport Canada posting for an air safety inspector. Applicants were told to declare whether they were a member of a “designated employment equity group.”

Article content

Article content

“Diversity and inclusion are foundational values at Transport Canada and are core to who we are,” it read. “We strive to become an organization where everyone feels that their voice, views, values and life experiences are heard.”

Article content

Article content

Equity was also prioritized in a posting for an emergency management position within Parks Canada.

Article content

“We promote employment equity and encourage you to self-declare if you belong to one of the designated employment equity groups when you apply,” it read.

Article content

Although equity-based screening was present across the federal government, the analysis identified three departments in which 100 per cent of all new job postings explicitly stated that candidates would be prioritized based on race, gender or ability.

Article content

Every single job posted by Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada and the National Research Council contained what they called an “explicit or potential prioritization based on group identity.”

Article content

And the Department of National Defence was not far behind, with 92 per cent of its job postings telling candidates they would be subject to what amounts to identity discrimination.