News Analysis
On the first day of 2025, the University of Alberta
moved away from the diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) model, becoming the first campus in Canada and one of the latest in North America to step back from the framework.
The University of Alberta (U of A) is following a trend already underway in the United States, where several universities have turned away from DEI, citing concerns about freedom of speech, saying the model emphasizes identity over merit, or arguing it leads to preferential treatment—or exclusion—of people based on their race, colour, gender, or national origin.
It was time for the institution to “evolve” by adopting aspirations that “resonate more universally,”
U of A president Bill Flanagan said in a Jan. 2
opinion piece in the Edmonton Journal, referring to DEI using the alternate acronym of EDI—putting equity first, followed by diversity and inclusivity.
“For some, the language of EDI has become polarizing, focusing more on what divides us rather than our shared humanity,” he wrote.
It remains to be seen what the change will mean, as the university is still adhering to
diversity quotas set by federal initiatives like the
Canada Research Chairs program—which requires institutions to meet identity-based equity targets or face funding reductions. However, the U of A is the first to publicly question DEI and, as Flanagan stated in his opinion piece, is “moving forward with a new framework and new language.”
Flanagan said the decision to move away from the DEI framework came after “extensive consultations” with more than 1,000 community members, one of whom said, according to the consultation
report, that DEI initiatives have deviated from their original purpose.
“The EDI movement is unfortunately no longer about equity and diversity in its purest form,” the comment reads. “Instead, EDI has morphed into a political advocacy movement that promotes certain groups deemed oppressed under EDI’s methodology.”
Canadian Universities’ Commitment to DEI
Universities Canada, a non-profit
representing 97 universities across the country including the University of Alberta, requires its members to commit to DEI
principles.
In 2017, members of Universities Canada publicly
committed to championing DEI, leading major institutions to adopt practices like hiring staff from underrepresented groups, defining these principles institutionally, and hosting events to promote them.
In 2019, Universities Canada began conducting a survey every three years to determine the advancement of DEI policies on campuses across the country.
According to its
latest survey, published in October 2023 covering the year 2022, the number of institutions implementing inclusive measures has increased since 2019.
By 2022, nearly 90 percent of its member universities explicitly referenced DEI in their strategic plan, 83 percent had a DEI action plan already implemented or in development, and 91 percent had a DEI task force or were creating one.
“Indigenizing campuses and advancing reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples at universities in Canada” is another core priority for members, Universities Canada says in the
survey, noting that while this is a goal in itself, it also intersects with advancing DEI work.
The survey outlined five challenges to advancing DEI on campuses, which Universities Canada says have persisted since 2019. They include attracting or retaining diverse faculty or staff; resource shortage for new DEI initiatives; lack of data on institutional challenges; “deeply embedded patterns of organizational behaviour,” which it said should change; and institutional systems, policies, and governance structures.
“This suggests that these barriers and obstacles are deep-rooted and there is a clear need for them to be addressed for EDI to be successfully embedded at universities,” the survey says.
A US Shift Underway
Last year, several U.S. universities, including
Harvard, the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and the
University of Michigan, dropped DEI statement requirements for hiring and promotions, with the latter two citing concerns about freedom of expression. As well, some U.S. states, including
Alabama,
Iowa, and Utah, last year banned DEI offices at public universities, following a trend led by
Florida and Texas the previous year.
Similar moves have occurred in the U.S. corporate world. For example,
Toyota Motor Corp. told its U.S. employees in an Oct. 3, 2024, memo that it would halt sponsorship of cultural events such as pride parades that fall outside of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education and workforce-focused initiatives.
Other companies, including Harley-Davidson, Ford Motors, John Deere, and Lowes have
announced similar measures after facing pushback from customers and elected officials.
When President-elect Donald Trump takes office on Jan. 20, he and his appointees are
expected to target DEI initiatives. While in office in 2020, Trump
signed an
executive order to end training sessions based on “race and sex stereotyping” in the federal workforce. He said some people were “pushing a different version of America” based on social and political identities.
“This ideology is rooted in the pernicious and false belief that America is an irredeemably racist and sexist country; that some people, simply on account of their race or sex, are oppressors; and that racial and sexual identities are more important than our common status as human beings and Americans,” reads the order.
“Our Founding documents rejected these racialized views of America, which were soundly defeated on the blood-stained battlefields of the Civil War. Yet they are now being repackaged and sold as cutting-edge insights.”
Backlash Against DEI in Canada
In May 2024, around 40 Canadian professors presented a
joint letter to the House of Commons calling on the government to “abolish” the mandated DEI policies in universities.
They argued that the policies are costly to institutions, are not based on evidence, use “flawed” metrics, and are unpopular with the taxpaying public.
“Many agree with us–including senior, tenured faculty–but will not speak publicly for fear of repercussions,” reads the letter. “That researchers are fearful of publicly speaking out against these policies reinforces our recommendation to abolish them altogether.”
The signatories of the letter, who described themselves as “academics no longer able to remain silent,” included professors from the University of Toronto, McGill University, University of Ottawa, and University of Waterloo.
Geoff Horsman, associate professor of chemistry and biochemistry at Wilfrid Laurier University and the first signatory,
testified before the House of Commons on
Dec. 5, 2024.
The Liberal government has had a major
focus on DEI initiatives since taking office in 2015. In an
interview last October,
Trudeau said there’s backlash against progressive policies but he was going to stay the course. “At this time of backlash against progressive policies of inclusion and diversity, you know, are we going to double down on making sure that everyone gets to participate?” he said.
A 2024 research
report on DEI in the Canadian marketing sector found that, while DEI initiatives received more “significant, continuous, and genuine” support last year, there was an increase in comments from respondents raising concerns about the lack of hiring based on merit alone.
“Some respondents believe the pendulum has swung too far, and that DEI initiatives can have negative consequences,” said the report, which was based on responses from 486 Canadian marketers.
Peter MacKinnon, former president of the University of Saskatchewan, Athabasca University, and Dalhousie University, has argued that DEI policies “justify widespread discrimination” through practices like limiting academic opportunities and university spaces based on gender identity or race. Such discrimination violates the Charter of Rights’ guarantee of equality under the law, he added. “Hopefully we can anticipate challenges in our courts to the discriminatory DEI practices that are sweeping the nation,” MacKinnon wrote in a commentary for the National Post.
Supporters of the framework say it addresses historical, social, systemic, and structural issues that prevent underrepresented groups from accessing the same opportunities as their peers. “An equitable and inclusive working and learning environment creates the conditions for our diverse staff and student body to maximize their creativity and their contributions,” the University of Toronto’s Institute of Medical Science says on its website. While no other Canadian universities have indicated plans to move away from DEI, the University of Alberta’s consultation report notes that recent public discourse on the framework seen lately in many U.S. institutions and the legislative changes it has led to have left DEI advocates feeling “a sense of unease.”
“This unease has grown as these conversations make their way to Canada,” the report said.
