FACT SHEET Overview SOCIAL IDENTIFICATION OF RACE IN CANADA

FACT SHEET Overview SOCIAL • Canada’s Indigenous population is rapidly growing, along with the country’s racial and ethnic diversity IDENTIFICATION OF ⇒ increasing the likelihood of inconsistencies between RACE IN CANADA different measures and understandings of race and identity, which can negatively impact health and other social and psychological aspects of life. [...] What is the issue? Canada is lagging in the collection of population-based, disaggregated, and high-quality data on race and ethnicity, which is crucial for our understanding of equity and diversity issues across the country. [...] History of Data Collection in Ontario For a long time, Ontario lacked a systematic approach to race and identity-based data collection which limited comparability across sectors and the ability to use data to measure and address inequities.8 However, the passage of the Anti-Racism Act in 2017 mandated public sector organizations within child welfare, education, and justice to collect and report ra. [...] Policy Bench Fact Sheet 3 Implications and Recommendations Implications for research o Better understanding of the process of social identification of race and how it differs from self- identification would allow for ⇒ More informed strategies for the measurement of race and the collection of race-based data to improve data accuracy. [...] o Training and guidance for anyone who is collecting race-based data and using both self- identification and social identification measures of race would allow for ⇒ more consistent, reliable, and complete data for public reporting and interpretation.