Trudeau set a high bar on diversity in appointments. Will Carney match it?

I started collecting this data in early 2016 as I was curious to see how the “because its 2015” cabinet gender parity and the “government’s commitment to transparent, merit-based appointments, to help ensure gender parity and that Indigenous Canadians and minority groups are better reflected in positions of leadership” in ministerial mandate letters would translate in practice. This analysis demonstrates that this is one area where the Trudeau government delivered:

The Trump administration’s assault on diversity in government appointments is undoing years of progress in the United States toward more equitable representation in key positions of power. It stands in sharp contrast to the trend established by the Trudeau government over the last 10 years, which saw diversity in Senate, judicial, governor-in-council and heads-of-mission appointments increase dramatically.

Given this tension, it is fair to wonder what approach Prime Minister Mark Carney will adopt when it comes to diversity in government appointments. What is clear, as we explore below, is that the Trudeau government has given Carney an impressive challenge to match. But will he?

Trudeau delivered on diversity

Nearly a decade after the Trudeau government came to office promising gender parity in cabinet and a commitment to diversity, the data clearly shows that this was a promise largely kept.

Diversity as currently defined and measured by the Government of Canada includes women, Indigenous, visible minorities and persons with disabilities. They also increasingly report on LGBTQ+. Here’s an overview of the Trudeau government’s key contributions to improving diversity in government appointments:

• Women formed the majority of Trudeau Senate, judicial, and governor-in-council (GIC) appointments.
• Visible minority representation quintupled among judicial appointments and more than doubled among GIC appointments, tripling for deputy ministers.
• Senate visible minority appointments only increased slightly compared to the Harper government.
• Indigenous representation more than quintupled among Senate appointments, more than doubled among judicial appointments and tripled among deputy ministers.

Where readily available, this analysis also shows dramatic increases for LGBTQ+ and moderate increases for persons with disability.

The general benchmark comparisons are the overall percentages of the population: 50.9 per cent women, 26.5 per cent visible minorities, and five per cent Indigenous Peoples. For appointments requiring Canadian citizenship (Senate, judges, the majority of governor-in-council, heads of mission), the benchmark for visible minorities who are citizens is 19.5 per cent.

The following series of tables contrast the 2016 baseline with 2024 data….

Source: Trudeau set a high bar on diversity in appointments. Will Carney match it?