The Canadian Federal Election of 2021; Still Not There: Diversity and Inclusion in the 2021 Canadian Election Campaign

Despite the rhetoric of industry leaders, “there is no research support  for the notion that diversifying the workforce automatically improves a company’s performance” (https://hbr.org/2020/11/getting-serious-about-diversity-enough-already-with-the-business-case). Robin J. Ely and David A. Thomas’ takeaway is that leveraging diversity doesn’t happen without meaningful integration. Diversity for diversity’s sake, doesn’t work.

In "The Canadian Election of 2021", I was drawn to Erin Tolley, Aneurin Bosley, and Nana aba Duncan’ essay “Still Not There: Diversity and Inclusion in the 2021 Canadian Election Campaign” in which they present several alarming findings:

• Parties seemed to only “offer up diverse candidates in losing situations” and equipped them with “fewer resources” (pg 193)
• As a topic, Diversity was not absent from the 2021 campaign, “but its presence was largely symbolic” (pg 193)
• While 2021 saw an increase in the amount of diverse nominated candidates (pg 199) candidates were more likely to be white and male in more favourable districts (pg 201)
• Parties did not pursue “explicit inclusion agendas” but instead tried to fit “diversity into issue positions or promises they would have advanced anyway” (pg 207)

They conclude that Canadian political parties need to do better when it comes to diversity. Our political leaders must seriously address and introduce policy that would dismantle systems of discrimination and subordination. Where the goal of 2015 was a “cabinet that looks like Canada”, the new goal should be one in which Parliament ‘looks like Canada’ and “where a broad range of perspectives are included and empowered to shape a more equitable future for everyone” (p. 213).

In failing to adequately address diversity, political leaders signal to Canadians that diversity is not a worthwhile pursuit. Ely and Thomas suggest that when haphazard diversity initiatives fail to deliver, “people are likely to withdraw their support for them”. We can do better.  

The Canadian federal election of 2021  Contributors: Dornan, Chris, editor. ; Pammett, Jon H., editor.  Book , 2022 , 368 pages ;    ISBN: 0228013828, 9780228013815, 9780228013822