New research finds the vast majority of Canadian university job postings include DEI criteria that restrict applicants based on race, gender, or sexuality.
Recent media reports indicate that many Canadian universities engage in targeted discriminatory hiring practices that restrict eligibility, among other things, based on race, sexuality and gender. For example, the University of Toronto restricted applications for an associate professor to women, gender minorities, Indigenous peoples, or persons with disabilities.
The University of Waterloo restricted the hiring of several science, technology, engineering and mathematics research chairs to candidates who “self-identify” as women or another gender minority.
There are many other recent examples.
A 2025 study by the Aristotle Foundation for Public Policy found that all 10 sampled universities (which accounted for 477 of the 489 job advertisements reviewed) employed some form of DEI requirement or strategy when filling academic vacancies. It reported that "98 percent of the academic postings directly or indirectly discriminated against candidates and/or threatened academic freedom."
These "DEI" policies require hiring committees to exclude people based on gender, race, religion and/or sexuality. In practice, this often means discriminating against straight men and/or Jews and Christians of European ethnic background. The policies are based on the false premise that past discrimination can be remedied by present discrimination.
While Canadian courts have, unfortunately, found that some of these policies may not offend the Charter or human rights legislation, they are immoral and corrosive to civil society. In a multicultural society such as Canada, they racially divide and antagonize people, incentivize them to identify tribally and encourage sectarianism. The federal and provincial governments should reverse these policies and prioritize merit-based hiring.
About The Democracy Fund:
Founded in 2021, The Democracy Fund (TDF) is a Canadian charity dedicated to constitutional rights, advancing education and relieving poverty. TDF promotes constitutional rights through litigation and public education. TDF supports an access to justice initiative for Canadians whose civil liberties have been infringed by government lockdowns and other public policy responses to the pandemic.