Canada’s Best Diversity Employers 2022 by Mediacorp are putting in the work to make diversity, equity and inclusion a high priority in their organizations. Ignited by an increased awareness of injustices, these organizations are driving change with formalized policies, action plans and a multitude of innovative initiatives that are pushing best practices to new levels.
These outstanding employers understand that real change begins with more inclusive leadership, with accountability and transparency built in across their organizations. As just one example, Accenture announced 2025 internal workforce representation goals across nine dimensions of diversity to achieve its long-term goal of full workforce and leadership representation. The firm also publishes annual demographics of its Canadian workforce by gender, visible minorities, Indigenous Peoples, persons with disabilities, military and LGBTQ2S.
Companies also demonstrated a new willingness to listen and learn from employees who have encountered racism or prejudice – from the career challenges they’ve faced to the supports, such as employee affinity groups, that can help. For instance, CIBC’s inclusion and diversity leadership council hosts listening exercises to understand barriers faced by segments of its employee population and conducts confidential diversity questionnaires. Over the past year, that included consulting employees during the rise of conversations around anti-Black and Indigenous systemic racism, as well as during the rise of anti-Asian sentiment.
That kind of information is sparking a direct response. In another example, after Enbridge embarked on an employee listening journey to hear about obstacles and potential solutions, the company used employee feedback to create two targeted action plans for Black equity and Indigenous employment.
It’s important to recognize that the effort these employers are making is an ongoing process. But in striving to be better, they are an example to us all.
METHODOLOGY 2022
The Canada’s Best Diversity Employers 2022 by Mediacorp competition recognizes employers across Canada that have exceptional workplace diversity and inclusion programs. Any employer with its head office or principal place of business in Canada may apply to enter the contest.
While the selection process to choose the winners of Canada’s Best Diversity Employers by Mediacorp continually evolves to include new questions that reflect changes in the workplace, the methodology and selection criteria for the competition are essentially the same as in previous years. Those criteria include successful diversity initiatives for employees from five groups: women; members of visible minorities; persons with disabilities; Indigenous peoples; and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered/transsexual (LGBTQ) peoples.
To determine the winners, the editors of Canada’s Top 100 Employers by Mediacorp review the diversity and inclusiveness initiatives of the large number of employers that applied for this year’s national competition of Canada’s Top 100 Employers. Employers are compared to other organizations in the same field to determine which ones offer the most noteworthy and unique diversity initiatives. The finalists chosen represent the diversity leaders in their industry and region of Canada.
Canada’s Best Diversity Employers by Mediacorp is an annual national competition and all applicants must pay a fee to enter. The Globe and Mail is not involved in the judging process.
Canada’s Best Diversity Employers 2022 by Mediacorp
Accenture Inc., Toronto. Professional services; 5,471 employees. Rolled out mandatory anti-racism and unconscious bias training to their workforce to help people identify, speak up and report racism.
Accessible Media Inc. / AMI, Toronto. Television and radio broadcasting; 103 employees. Includes a dedicated strategy to integrate persons with disabilities within its content, workplace and vendor relations.
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Ottawa. Federal government; 5,293 employees. Maintains a workplace wellness programs team in support of a psychologically healthy, safe and supportive work environment.
Alberta Health Services / AHS, Edmonton. Healthcare; 49,311 employees. Established an anti-racism advisory group in September 2020, a subcommittee of the D&I Council.
Amex Bank of Canada, Toronto. Credit card issuing; 1,648 employees. Created the Diversify Your Network event to help employees develop a diverse suite of mentors and sponsors from across the organization.
Bank of Canada, Ottawa. Central bank; 1,940 employees. Launched a new diversity and inclusion strategy in 2020, along with new goals to increase the representation of diversity groups at the senior officer level.
BC Hydro, Vancouver. Hydroelectric power generation; 5,850 employees. Embeds diversity in its performance process by including an action related to diversity and inclusion on executive performance plans.
BC Public Service, Victoria. Provincial government; 32,368 employees. Employs an Indigenous applicant advisor who supports internal and external Indigenous applicants through the hiring process.
Bell Canada, Verdun, Que. Communications; 36,412 employees. Launched an accessibility advisory group in 2019 to focus on improving employment opportunities for persons with disabilities.
Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP, Toronto. Law firm; 1,333 employees. Maintains a strong focus on creating diverse pipelines for recruitment, recently establishing a series of virtual networking sessions targeting underrepresented students.
Borden Ladner Gervais LLP, Toronto. Law firm; 1,444 employees. Created the Driven by Women initiative to provide opportunities for women in business and law to connect, share ideas and support each other.
Boston Consulting Group Canada ULC, Toronto. Management consulting; 425 employees. Announced six commitments to advancing racial equality, including investing $100-million in talent resources over the next five years.
Bruce Power LP, Tiverton, Ont. Nuclear power generation; 4,040 employees. Aims to increase Indigenous employee presence at the organization and within supplier, contractor and union workforces through a dedicated Indigenous employment program.
Business Development Bank of Canada, Montreal. Secondary market financing; 2,498 employees. Ran a mentoring program to grow talent at the organization and support women in identifying career development opportunities, particularly in leadership.
CAMH / Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto. Specialty hospital; 2,638 employees. Created its first Dismantling Anti-Black Racism strategy, identifying 22 actions that aim to decrease anti-Black racism at the organization by 2022.
Canada Revenue Agency / CRA, Ottawa. Federal government; 47,016 employees. Launched a generic executive staffing process targeting Indigenous peoples and members of visible minorities to build representation at all levels of the executive cadre.
Capital One Canada, Toronto. Credit card issuing; 1,225 employees. Maintains a number of business resource groups, including VOICES, for Black Canadian employees.
CGI Inc., Toronto. Information technology; 9,074 employees. Maintains a diversity dashboard that shares a transparency report on demographics.
Children’s Aid Society of Toronto, Toronto. Child and youth services; 707 employees. Launched a racialized and Indigenous staff mentorship program to support the growth and professional development of racialized and Indigenous employees.
CIBC, Toronto. Banking; 36,744 employees. Developed a five-year accessibility roadmap to integrate inclusive design and improve accessibility for clients and its team members.
Dentons Canada LLP, Edmonton. Law firm; 1,286 employees. Announced a 10-year commitment to fund the Black Future Lawyers program, along with 13 other law firms in Canada.
Department of Finance Canada, Ottawa. Federal government; 780 employees. Established an Anti-Racism Champion, responsible for leading an anti-racism committee.
Desjardins Group / Mouvement Desjardins, Lévis, Que. Financial institution; 43,105 employees. Launched a Canada-wide network called Empowering Women, to facilitate networking and professional development.
Ecolab Co., Mississauga, Ont. Cleaning and sanitation products and services; 895 employees. Maintains a number of employee resource groups to help foster personal and professional connection.
Edmonton, City of, Edmonton. Municipal government; 9,841 employees. Is piloting a newcomers internship program to help new Canadians gain meaningful work experience that aligns with their qualifications.
Employment and Social Development Canada, Gatineau, Que. Federal government; 32,928 employees. Maintains a dedicated Indigenous recruitment, retention and advancement team, and participates in a number of programs to advance Indigenous recruitment.
Enbridge Inc., Calgary. Energy infrastructure; 7,176 employees. Embarked on an employee listening journey to hear about their challenges, obstacles faced and potential solutions.
Gibson Energy Inc., Calgary. Oil and gas distribution; 451 employees. Set targets to increase the representation of women, racial and ethnic, and Indigenous persons in the workforce, senior leadership and board of directors.
Hatch Ltd., Mississauga, Ont. Engineering; 3,534 employees. Offers scholarships and internships for Indigenous youth and mentoring for students interested in engineering.
Health Canada / Santé Canada, Ottawa. Federal government; 9,119 employees. Offered sessions on diversity, inclusiveness and advancement in the workplace as part of its 15th annual Diversity and Inclusion Week.
Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital, Toronto. Hospitals; 514 employees. Offers summer research opportunities to undergraduate students with disabilities through its Bloorview Research Institute.
Home Depot Canada, Toronto. Retail; 14,485 employees. Participates in the federally funded Ready, Willing and Able project to hire persons with intellectual disabilities and autism spectrum disorder.
IBM Canada Ltd., Markham, Ont. Software development. Created a safe space for Black employees to share their stories and perspectives through a series of Emb(race) conversations led by senior leadership.
Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada, Ottawa. Federal government; 5,631 employees. Partners with LiveWorkPlay to provide employment opportunities for persons with intellectual disabilities.
Jazz Aviation LP, Dartmouth, N.S. Air transportation; 4,298 employees. Embeds diversity and inclusion into its supplier policy and requests that supplier bids share examples of how their company supports diversity and inclusion.
KPMG LLP, Toronto. Accounting; 8,467 employees. Initiated its Gender Affirmation at Work initiative to cultivate greater inclusion of gender non-binary, non-conforming, and transgender people at the company.
Lafarge Canada Inc., Calgary. Concrete manufacturing; 6,504 employees. Launched the Women in Leadership Lafarge group to provide space for female employees to connect, network, learn and grow.
Ledcor Group of Companies, Vancouver. Construction; 4,965 employees. Supported the launch of a number of diversity-focused employee resource groups, each with charters and executive sponsorship.
Loblaw Companies Ltd., Brampton, Ont. Supermarkets and grocery stores; 28,962 employees. Set measurable goals to improve gender, racial and ethnic diversity of leadership teams.
Manulife, Toronto. Insurance; 12,404 employees. Committed to investing more than $3.5-million over the next two years to promote diversity, equity and inclusion in the workplace and the communities it serves.
McCarthy Tétrault LLP, Toronto. Law firm; 1,510 employees. Added an inclusive leadership scorecard to annual performance reviews for all senior leaders in 2021.
McMaster University, Hamilton. Universities; 6,193 employees. Established a dedicated employee resource group for Black, Indigenous and racialized staff.
Norton Rose Fulbright Canada LLP, Calgary. Law firm; 1,590 employees. Established a race equity council to provide feedback on the firm’s evolving race and cultural equity strategy.
Nunavut, Government of, Iqaluit. Territorial government; 3,633 employees. Organizes Cultural Immersion Days to provide opportunities for all departments and public bodies to develop greater understanding of Inuit societal values and languages.
Nutrien Inc., Saskatoon, Sask. Fertilizer manufacturing; 5,459 employees. Develops diverse pipelines for future talent through scholarships and internships for Indigenous and female students.
Ottawa, City of, Ottawa. Municipal government; 12,408 employees. Hosted a series of virtual action planning and engagement sessions with diverse communities of racialized residents, community partners, and stakeholders, as well as staff, to inform the city’s first anti-racism strategy.
Pfizer Canada ULC, Kirkland, Que. Pharmaceutical manufacturing; 894 employees. Rolled out a Courageous Conversations program to encourage dialogue on challenging subjects, such as equity, race, and bias.
Procter & Gamble Inc., Toronto. Consumer product manufacturing; 1,434 employees. Manages a mental health action plan, focused on creating awareness, fostering well-being and reducing stigma.
Providence Health Care, Vancouver. Hospitals; 4,466 employees. Welcomed a director of Indigenous wellness, reconciliation and partnerships, who is currently working to establish and implement a new Indigenous cultural safety training program.
Public Services and Procurement Canada, Gatineau, Que. Federal government; 16,453 employees. Created a mental health ombudsman to provide informal and confidential discussions, neutral and objective advice, and a discrete and welcoming office.
Red River College, Winnipeg. Colleges; 1,444 employees. Appointed its first manager of truth and reconciliation and community engagement to help implement the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s calls to action.
Rogers Communications Inc., Toronto. Telecommunications, cable, publishing and subscription programming; 21,066 employees. Introduced resources on anti-black racism and allyship, including a toolkit for leaders on how to talk about race at work, an employee guide and company-wide webinars.
Royal Bank of Canada, Toronto. Banking; 59,098 employees. Maintains an intranet resource called Destination Diversity, featuring extensive self-study materials, links to new social business diversity communities and diversity-related information.
SAP Canada Inc., Vancouver. Custom computer programming services; 3,316 employees. Manages over 25 employee network groups to encourage people to connect, including Women@SAP, Black Employee Network and Pride@SAP Canada.
SaskPower, Regina. Electric power generation; 3,392 employees. Maintains an Aboriginal procurement policy and hosts annual Aboriginal procurement information sessions to share details on upcoming capital projects.
SaskTel, Regina. Telecommunications; 2,699 employees. Is committed to helping new Canadians succeed in the provincial labour market and actively works with organizations such as Regina Open Door Society.
Scotiabank, Toronto. Banking; 33,397 employees. Conducted a comprehensive employee diversity survey in 2020 and used the results to set goals to increase representation over the next five years.
Sinai Health, Toronto. Hospitals; 3,846 employees. Maintains a Black History Awareness committee, which aims to educate, promote and celebrate the contributions, achievements, and activities of the organization’s Black community.
Stanley Black & Decker Canada Corp., Mississauga, Ont. Tool and hardware manufacturing; 1,369 employees. Partnered with Canada Company to assist transitioning military members through the Military Employment Transition program, providing a variety of employment opportunities.
Suncor Energy Inc., Calgary. Crude petroleum and natural gas extraction; 12,061 employees. Hosted 10 inclusion listening labs providing a psychologically safe space for small groups of employees to share their views with senior leaders.
Surrey, City of, Surrey, B.C. Municipal government; 2,051 employees. Adapted its recreational sports programming to support individuals with disabilities, such as boccia, power soccer, wheelchair basketball, and para ice hockey.
TD Bank Group, Toronto. Banking; 55,292 employees. Rolled out numerous new training programs for employees, including understanding Black experiences, anti-Black racism and anti-racism, and gender identity evolution.
Telus Communications Inc., Vancouver. Telecommunications; 25,014 employees. Conducted more than 30 roundtables and focus groups in 2020 with more than 1,200 employees representing the diversity of the company’s workforce.
Toronto, City of, Toronto. Municipal government; 21,478 employees. Manages the Toronto Regional Champion Campaign Protégée Program to help boost female participation in local government.
Toronto Transit Commission / TTC, Toronto. Public transit; 14,830 employees. Offers resources to help employees see things from different perspectives, including a diversity and inclusion lens and an inclusive language guide.
Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat, Ottawa. Federal government; 2,194 employees. Uses journey-mapping with employee networks to better understand pain points of employees throughout their career cycle and co-create solutions.
UBC / University of British Columbia, Vancouver. Universities; 14,477 employees. Has hosted IBPOC (Indigenous, Black and/or People of Colour) Connections since 2019 to provide a space for self-identifying staff to have candid conversations, collaborate and coordinate when appropriate.
Université de Montréal, Montreal. Universities; 5,568 employees. Created two action plans for Indigenous peoples and equity and inclusion, with more than 100 initiatives in each to be implemented over three years.
University of Calgary, Calgary. Universities; 5,822 employees. Launched a public-facing equity, diversity and inclusion dashboard to share the demographics of its student body, faculty, staff, and university leadership.
University of Manitoba, Winnipeg. Universities; 5,078 employees. Awards Success Through Wellness grants to staff and students who propose projects that engage the campus community in fostering positive mental health and well-being.
University of Ottawa, Ottawa. Universities; 5,013 employees. Created an action committee on anti-racism and inclusion with four working groups: student experience, pedagogy, employment equity, and equity, diversity, and inclusion in research.
University of Toronto, Toronto. Universities; 10,429 employees. Created an institutional anti-Black racism task force to advise on new, action-oriented measures and solutions to address anti-Black racism and to promote Black inclusion and excellence on campus.
University of Victoria, Victoria. Universities; 3,224 employees. Created the world’s first Indigenous law program, holding its first intake of students in 2018.
Vancouver, City of, Vancouver. Municipal government; 7,648 employees. Hired a Chief Equity Officer to lead the development of an organizational plan and integrate and strengthen an equity and justice lens in service delivery to the public.
Walmart Canada Corp., Mississauga, Ont. Retail; 41,853 employees. Is committed to gender representation and aims to achieve gender parity across all levels by 2023.
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