TORONTO -- Given the racial reckoning that began in 2020, community organizers and political scientists say it鈥檚 disappointing that major political parties are still failing to have slates of candidates that fully reflect Canada's diversity.
鈥淢y sense is that that moment is passing away,鈥� Debra Thompson, Canada Research Chair in Racial Inequality in Democratic Societies at McGill University, told CTVNews.ca in a phone interview.
鈥淧oliticians are really interested in what's going to get them elected today, not what might have gotten them elected a year ago,鈥� said Thompson.
As what happened in the U.S., the murder of George Floyd by a police officer sent shockwaves across Canada, sparking calls for an end to anti-Black racism and systemic discrimination -- with political leaders, businesses, and even entertainers all lending varying degrees of support.
But throughout 2021, critics have been calling out the lack of substantive change towards racial equity when it comes to business practices, health care outcomes, and now, representation among candidates for members of Parliament.
THE NUMBERS
The five parties taking part in the debates organized by the Leaders鈥� Debates Commission were asked to break down the diversity of their candidates across all 338 ridings, including racial identity, if nominees are members of the LGBTQ2S+ community and if they identify as having a disability. The Green Party of Canada and the Bloc Québécois did not provide such data before this article was published.
LIBERALS
In this election, 147 Liberal Party candidates are women, 25 candidates identify as Indigenous, and 18 Liberal candidates identify as Black.
A party spokesperson noted that more than one in five of the party's candidates identify as racialized or persons of colour, and 17 identify as LGBTQ2S+.
CONSERVATIVES
As for the Conservatives, they will be running 114 female candidates, which a spokesperson said is the most they鈥檝e ever had. The party is running six Metis candidates and two others who identify as Indigenous.
The Tories have nominated 14 candidates who identify as Black or African Canadian, and 10 Muslim candidates. And in total, their slate has 74 candidates a spokesperson said don't identitfy as Caucasian.
They also said the party is also putting forth four LGBTQ2S+ candidates, including its first trans nominee.
BLOC QUÉBÉCOIS
The Bloc Québécois is running 78 candidates in total this election, including 37 women.
A party spokesperson said 13 of their candidates were diverse, the most in the party鈥檚 history. The spokesperson did not divulge further information, saying the party didn鈥檛 ask their candidates what communities they identified with.
NEW DEMOCRATS
The NDP has nominated 177 women, and 29 candidates who identify as Indigenous. A party spokesperson said there are 104 candidates who identify as 鈥淧OC鈥� or people of colour.
The spokesperson said 69 candidates are LGBTQ2S+, with 39 candidates saying they had a disability.
'WE DON鈥橳 ALL EXPERIENCE DEMOCRACY IN THE SAME WAY'
Thompson said having diverse slates isn鈥檛 about checking off a box, but about empowering decision-makers to have a 鈥渂etter sense of all the nuances and complexity of particular issues.鈥�
鈥淭here's a lot that happens in this country that white Canadians simply don't see and don't experience,鈥� said Thompson.
鈥淭he perspectives of white Canadians are limited in the same way that everyone's perspective is limited to their own experience,鈥� she said. 鈥淏ut having people with different backgrounds is really important because they begin to bring those experiences to bear in the halls of power鈥� it changes how we view even the nature of institutions or democracy.鈥�
Evidence shows Black, Indigenous and other marginalized communities have vastly different experiences when it comes to encounters with police, the health-care system, experiencing hate crimes, and the child welfare system.
鈥淲e don't all experience democracy in the same way," Thompson said.
'WE NEED TO BE BETTER': OPERATION BLACK VOTE CANADA CHAIR
Based on the election race so far, Thompson said she doesn鈥檛 have a lot of hope racial disparity will be at the forefront of leaders鈥� electoral concerns.
But that isn鈥檛 to say there hasn鈥檛 been any progress when it came to marginalized groups.
A record number of Indigenous candidates are running in the federal election this year, with a Canadian Press analysis finding there are at least 77 candidates this year compared with 62 in 2019.
And according to Equal Voice, a not-for-profit organization that tracks gender diversity in Canadian politics, women and gender-diverse candidates account for 43 per cent of all nominees across the five major parties 鈥� a slight increase from the 42 per cent total in the 2019 federal election.
said there has been a slight increase in the number of Black candidates overall since the last election.
In 2019, roughly 45 candidates were Black but only five ending up getting elected. And so far, the advocacy group has counted roughly 60 Black candidates across all of the political parties, including independents. But candidate numbers don鈥檛 tell the whole story.
鈥淎 lot of these candidates are not in winnable ridings for the particular party that they're running for,鈥� Velma Morgan, chair of non-partisan Operation Black Vote Canada, told CTVNews.ca in a phone interview.
She also noted that Black candidates are mostly running in Ontario and Alberta. 鈥淚 think we need to be better. We're disappointed,鈥� she said.
LACK OF SUPPORT FROM PARTIES
Morgan said that the bulk of Black candidates overall were nominated fairly late in the process, including by the Liberals.
鈥淧olitical parties need to engage our community a lot sooner,鈥� she said.
Erin Tolley, Canada Research Chair in Gender, Race and Inclusive Politics at Carleton University, echoed Morgan, saying it also matters how much actual backing those candidates get from leadership.
鈥淒o they have a chance of winning? Is their party supporting them with the organizational and financial resources that will help them be successful?鈥� she told CTVNews.ca in a phone interview.
鈥淏ecause often鈥� parties pat themselves on the back just for having a racialized candidate,鈥� she said, adding that research shows white male candidates continue to be better financed and put in the most competitive and winnable ridings overall.
PARTIES COULD GIVE RACIAL STATS 'IF THEY WANTED TO'
Another huge barrier to increasing racial diversity political parties鈥� unwillingness to share information on candidates from racialized and marginalized groups, Tolley and others said.
They said parties aren鈥檛 forthcoming with consistent data. Every election cycle, Operation Black Vote Canada has counted and kept track of every Black candidate themselves.
鈥淸Parties] know who their candidates are. They鈥檝e had to vet them. They鈥檝e had to interview them,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hey could actually give us the data on particular groups of people if they wanted to," Morgan said.
鈥淲hen we leave it the parties to come up with their own categories of information, they obviously put forward their best foot,鈥� Tolley said, adding that without some sort of standardized system, political parties can keep hiding behind blanket phrases such as 鈥渄iverse candidates鈥� or 鈥減eople of colour.鈥�
And she said parties can鈥檛 be relied on to be transparent.
And Tolley noted that even the Library of Parliament, the main research resource for elected officials, doesn鈥檛 even go beyond listing MPs鈥� gender or potential Indigeneity. And that means stats on race, LGBTQ2S+ identity or whether people have disabilities are mostly left for others to find out, she said.
Thompson said that simple representation in parties鈥� candidate slates is simply the first step.
鈥淛ust having a slate of non-white candidates or women in it of itself doesn't do anything to fix structural racism, and it doesn't fix institutionalized misogyny,鈥� Thompson said. 鈥淧ower concedes nothing with a demand.鈥�
With a file from CTVNews.ca's Jackie Dunham and The Canadian Press
Edited by CTVNews.ca's Ryan Flanagan
