Since its launch in 2021, the goal of the Disaggregated Data Action Plan (DDAP) has been to deliver the right data, at the right time, to the right people so policies, programs and services reflect the lived realities of all Canadians. By improving how data are collected, analyzed and shared, the DDAP empowers governments, businesses and communities to build a more inclusive and equitable society.
At its core, the DDAP was designed to enhance the quality and availability of statistics on four employment equity (EE) population groups: women, Indigenous people (First Nations, Métis, and Inuit), racialized populations (various subgroups) and persons with disabilities (various subgroups).
Recognizing that identity is multifaceted and that context matters, data are further broken down, where possible, by gender, ethnocultural background, age, sexual orientation and geography. Statistics Canada also endeavours to disaggregate data beyond identity indicators, such as by participation rate or size of business.
The 2024-25 DDAP Accomplishments Report highlights key insights from the analyses of disaggregated data and discusses how these insights are shaping policy and program decisions. While this report focuses on the 2024-25 fiscal year, the progress it highlights is built on foundational work from 2021 onward.
The report is organized into thematic categories: Economic inclusion through data; Social conditions; Health equity in focus; and Building capacity for equity. An additional section, titled "Whole-of-government impacts" details how other government departments and agencies have leveraged disaggregated data to inform policy and program design as well as decision-making.
Building capacity for equity
Statistics Canada played a leadership role in developing standards for gender of person and sex assigned at birth, which were endorsed by the Government of Canada in 2023-24. The agency has also developed supporting products, such as reference guides, to enable the implementation of these standards by all federal departments.
Statistics Canada developed three courses on disaggregated data analysis to be hosted on the Canada School of Public Service platform. These courses will help policymakers develop more targeted and effective public policies by identifying the unique needs and challenges faced by different demographic groups. The first one, "Working with Disaggregated Data for Better Policy Outcomes," was launched in November 2024. The second course, "Working with Disaggregated Data for Better Policy Outcomes: Black Entrepreneurship Case Study," was launched in fall 2025, while the third one, "Health Inequalities Case Study," is scheduled to launch in winter 2026.
Statistics Canada continued to deliver its internal workshop on disaggregated data analysis and developed a new course, the Analytical Sprint, to train analysts to write impactful disaggregated data stories. It also continued to integrate a disaggregated data lens into all its analytical courses, with the goal of reinforcing responsible disaggregation of data as a key principle to generate meaningful insights. Statistics Canada also delivered additional courses for external public servants, including a bootcamp for policy executives open to federal, provincial, territorial and municipal executives that focuses on building capacity for responsible disaggregated data analysis.
Whole-of-government impacts
Over the past few years, Statistics Canada has significantly enhanced the data landscape by increasing the availability of disaggregated data. This progress, driven by initiatives like the DDAP and a broader cultural shift within the agency, has had notable impacts across the Government of Canada.
One of the main examples of how disaggregated data are leveraged in the federal government's policies and programs lies with the application of Gender-based Analysis Plus (GBA Plus), including data from Statistics Canada's Gender, Diversity and Inclusion Statistics Hub, to better understand how intersecting identity, social and structural factors shape health outcomes. This approach supports evidence-informed decision-making and helps advance equity by ensuring that diverse lived experiences are considered in public policies and programs. The application of the Gender Results Framework (GRF) demonstrates the federal government's commitment to advancing gender equality through significant investments in key programs, policies and initiatives.
While some efforts—such as the GRF—are undertaken by all federal departments and agencies, many also leverage disaggregated data and the insights that can be drawn from disaggregated data analyses to inform their own program delivery and policy development. Some examples of this application can be found below.
Employment and Social Development Canada
Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) integrates GBA Plus and granular analysis across the policy and service continuum. As part of this approach, ESDC regularly leverages disaggregated data to inform policy and program development and to deepen understanding of the needs and experiences of clients and the impacts of programs and services.
ESDC uses disaggregated data to inform both the Disability Inclusion Action Plan and the ongoing implementation of the Accessible Canada Act (ACA). ESDC has been working with Statistics Canada to collect disaggregated data on accessibility that support the identification and removal of barriers over time.
ESDC is leveraging key disaggregated data from the 2022 Canadian Survey on Disability to create baseline information on the existence of barriers to accessibility in all seven priority areas set out in the ACA, including knowledge on how barriers are experienced in relation to the type and severity of disability. The inclusion of the Barriers Module, which explores experiences with specific types of accessibility barriers, from the 2022 CSD onward will help ESDC measure progress in the removal of barriers to accessibility over time.
Furthermore, ESDC leveraged disaggregated Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) administrative data and data from key national surveys, such as the 2016 and 2021 census, the Labour Force Survey, the Canadian Income Survey and the Longitudinal Immigration Database to assess the impact of the CERB. These data enabled nuanced analyses of benefit uptake and labour market dynamics across diverse population groups (such as CERB duration by occupation and industry, labour supply patterns, teleworkability) and the experiences of vulnerable groups. As well, these data were used to identify service gaps among underrepresented populations and drive targeted policy changes to improve program accessibility and equity.
Additionally, disaggregated data from the 2021 Census of Population played a key role in supporting ESDC's Employment Equity Act Review Task Force. To accomplish this, ESDC leveraged Statistics Canada's "labour and language of work" release to incorporate equity-relevant indicators into the final report. These indicators included detailed breakdowns of educational attainment, income, immigrant status, Indigenous identity, gender and visible minority status.
On top of this, disaggregated data enabled ESDC to examine the impacts of COVID-19 and inflation on housing affordability across Canada. Leveraging data sources, including the Labour Force Survey (2019 to 2023), the 2021 Census, and the Canadian Housing Survey (2018, 2021 and 2022), among others, revealed that low-income Canadians were hit hardest, facing greater income losses, debt burden and housing costs. These findings identified key policy implications, including the need to boost wages through human capital development and expand the skilled trades workforce to meet housing construction needs.
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) regularly uses disaggregated data to inform its policy and program development, as well as better understand issues related to its programs. For example, in 2025, IRCC undertook a research project to examine the economic outcomes of refugees resettled to Canada from 2011 to 2021. To accomplish this, IRCC used a variety of sources, including 2021 Census data tables that were disaggregated specifically to the level of the various sub-streams of the Resettlement Assistance Program (government-assisted refugees and privately sponsored refugees) as well as by period of immigration. The variables examined included highest level of education, homeowner status, citizenship uptake.
Disaggregated data have been leveraged to assess the addition and removal of priority occupations for immigrant selection. The data have informed impacts on regions, wages, employment and gender for a comprehensive GBA Plus analysis of category-based selection. As well, IRCC juxtaposes Statistics Canada data with its own international visitor data to calibrate visa policy decisions that maximize economic benefits, including attracting top talent, while also minimizing risks of irregular migration, security threats and pressure on public programs.
Canadian Heritage
Canadian Heritage (PCH) has also leveraged DDAP data to support key initiatives, including Canada's Anti-Racism Strategy and Canada's Action Plan on Combatting Hate. The collaboration between Statistics Canada and PCH has further supported the Office of the Special Representative on Combatting Islamophobia, contributing to the release of an infographic on the Muslim population in Canada in December 2024 and continuing to inform Canada's reporting to the United Nations on international human rights instruments.
PCH particularly relies on disaggregated data produced by the census, the General Social Survey and the Survey Series on People and their Communities to measure the impacts of its programs and policies. In this aspect, themes such as sense of belonging, shared values, pride in Canadian arts and culture, life satisfaction, and experiences of racism and discrimination are key.
PCH leverages disaggregated data to support budget requests, planning, high-level governance and different policy and program decisions. Identity variables made available by Statistics Canada, including gender, ethnicity and age, provide PCH with the essential data it requires to examine inclusion, diversity, equity and accessibility.
Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada
Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada (CIRNAC) uses disaggregated data to better understand issues facing Indigenous Peoples by distinction and by region. For example, CIRNAC uses Community Well-Being Index scores, which are developed from disaggregated census data, to report on the socioeconomic conditions and well-being of Indigenous communities across Canada.
Through the implementation of its data strategy, CIRNAC is taking steps towards integrating disaggregated data into its routine policy and program development processes beyond results reporting. These efforts are strongly supported by the increased availability of disaggregated data from Statistics Canada since 2021.
Indeed, increasingly granular data have made steady inroads to enabling CIRNAC to better understand the diverse socioeconomic and health disparities that First Nations, Métis and Inuit communities face compared with other Canadians.
Efforts to date have supported more targeted approaches in areas such as housing, Indigenous economic development, and social programming in northern and remote communities. These insights can help inform decision-making, support more equitable outcomes, and identify data gaps that must be addressed through stronger partnerships and data governance with Indigenous Peoples.
Public Health Agency of Canada
The Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) leverages data to target promotion, program and policy efforts, such as the National Suicide Prevention Action Plan and the Healthy Canadians and Communities Fund. Data also inform peer-reviewed research articles, reporting on topics such as hepatitis B and C mortality, HIV mortality, population estimates of people who inject drugs in Canada, and population estimates of men who have sex with men, for instance. Disaggregated data also enhance PHAC's ability to conduct or complement public health surveillance activities speaking to, among other topics, concussion, falls and other injuries, mental health, physical activity, sedentary behaviour, sleep and obesity.
Additionally, disaggregated data are used by PHAC to support intersectoral engagement. This includes efforts such as House of Commons studies on the health of LGBTQIA2Footnote 1 communities, memoranda to Cabinet on food literacy, the Mental Health of Black Canadians Initiative, as well as PHAC's engagement on Canada's Anti-Racism Strategy (CARS 2.0) and the Federal 2SLGBTQI+ Action Plan.
PHAC also leverages disaggregated data to populate and update tools such as the Health of People in Canada (HOPIC) dashboard and the Health Inequalities Data Tool. The HOPIC dashboard provides a snapshot of the health of our populations, while illustrating the wide range of health, socioeconomic and environmental factors that interact to keep Canadians healthy and well. The Health Inequalities Data Tool leverages multiple datasets and variables for analyses, in turn enabling PHAC to provide key stakeholders with detailed, population-specific data that quantify the scale of health inequalities across Canada, including breakdowns at the provincial and territorial levels. This supports decision-making and strategic planning within PHAC and with external partners by providing publicly available and downloadable information.
Taken together, these initiatives underscore a transformative shift in how disaggregated data are leveraged across the federal government. The growing emphasis on these data not only enhances the inclusivity of policies and programs, but also reinforces a commitment to evidence-based decision-making that better serves the diverse needs of Canadians.
As Canada continues to evolve, so too must the data that inform its decisions. In recent years, the DDAP has laid a solid foundation for inclusive, responsive and equitable policymaking. Moving forward, sustained collaboration and innovation will be essential to deepen our understanding of diverse lived experiences and to ensure that every Canadian is seen, heard and served.