On this page

• Overview
• Filled Canada Research Chair positions
• Representation in the program
• Representation targets and results of participating institutions

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Overview: Number of chairs allocated in the program

Total chairs allocated in the program	2,285
Total regular allocations (filled and vacant)	2,148
Total special allocations (filled and vacant)	137
Total participating postsecondary institutions	78

For more information on how the program allocates Canada Research Chairs to each institution, visit Method of Allocating Chairs.

Filled Canada Research Chair positions

The data provided in the tables are as of September 2023 (data are updated twice a year, after the results of a nomination cycle are made public).^{Footnote 1 Footnote 2}

Table 1: Total active chairholders and international recruitment

Total filled Canada Research Chair positions	2,026
Tier 1 chairholders	763 (37.7%)
Tier 2 chairholders	1,263 (62.3%)
Total active chairholders recruited from outside of Canada	122 (6.0%)

Representation in the program

All researchers who participate in the program are required to meet its excellence requirements. Excellence is assessed in a rigorous two-step process: 1) at the recruitment stage by the institution; and 2) through the peer review process once they are nominated for the program. Only individuals who pass this assessment process are awarded a Canada Research Chair.

The program requires all participating institutions to set and meet equity targets in recognition of the persistent systemic barriers faced by researchers who are women, gender equity-seeking groups, racialized individuals, persons with disabilities and Indigenous Peoples in accessing the program, despite their demonstrated research excellence, which have led to their historical underrepresentation.

Table 2: Current representation and December 2029 equity targets

	Current representation, % September 2023	December 2029 equity targets, %
Women and gender equity-seeking groups	47.8% 47.0% women 0.8% gender equity-seeking groups	50.9%
Racialized individuals	28.6%	22.0%
Persons with disabilities	7.0%	7.5%
Indigenous Peoples	4.1%	4.9%

Intersectionality in the program

As a best practice, the program collects self-identification data from all nominees and chairholders to monitor the program’s representation using an “intersectional” approach. A term coined by law professor Kimberlé Crenshaw in 1989, “intersectionality” is an approach to better understand and address the multiple barriers and often increased disadvantages that individuals with intersecting social identities, such as race, gender, sexuality and class, can face in accessing services or programs. Using an intersectional approach to developing policies and programs helps to better identify and address these systemic barriers.

Further information on the program’s self-identification form can be found in the program’s FAQs.

Confidentiality:

To protect the privacy of chairholders, numbers less than five and associated percentages have been omitted in the tables below, in alignment with the Privacy Act.

Table 3: Representation of individuals from the underrepresented groups among all active chairholders (September 2023)

	% of Tier 1 (N = 763)	% of Tier 2 (N = 1,263)	% of total (N = 2,026)
Gender
Women	38.4%	52.3%	47.0%
Men	56.5%	43.3%	48.3%
Gender equity-seeking groups: gender-fluid; nonbinary; trans; Two-Spirit; don’t identify with any option provided	-	-	0.8%
Prefer not to answer	-	-	3.9%
Racialized individuals
Yes	26.0%	30.3%	28.6%
No	69.1%	66.0%	67.1%
Prefer not to answer	5.0%	3.8%	4.2%
Persons with disabilities
Yes	6.2%	7.4%	7.0%
No	87.9%	87.3%	87.5%
Prefer not to answer	5.9%	5.3%	5.5%
Indigenous Peoples
Yes	2.2%	5.2%	4.1%
No	93.2%	91.2%	92.0%
Prefer not to answer	4.6%	3.6%	4.0%
*Rounding conventions will sometimes result in a column that adds up to 99.9% or 100.1%.

Table 4: Representation of members of the underrepresented groups by agency and by tier (September 2023)

	CIHR			NSERC			SSHRC
	Tier 1	Tier 2	Total	Tier 1	Tier 2	Total	Tier 1	Tier 2	Total
	(% of Tier 1 total)	(% of Tier 2 total)	(% of total)	(% of Tier 1 total)	(% of Tier 2 total)	(% of total)	(% of Tier 1 total)	(% of Tier 2 total)	(% of total)
Total in numbers	317	445	762	314	460	774	132	358	490
Total % of all active chairs by agency by tier (N = 2,026)	41.6%	35.2%	37.6%	41.2%	36.4%	38.2%	17.3%	28.4%	24.2%
Gender
Women	43.2%	56.0%	50.7%	28.3%	42.8%	37.0%	50.8%	59.8%	57.4%
Men	53.9%	40.5%	46.1%	65.6%	53.7%	58.5%	40.9%	33.5%	35.5%
Gender equity-seeking groups: gender-fluid; nonbinary; trans; Two-Spirit; don’t identify with any option provided	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Prefer not to answer	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Racialized individuals
Yes	22.7%	32.4%	28.4%	32.5%	32.6%	32.6%	18.2%	24.6%	22.9%
No	74.1%	65.2%	68.9%	61.5%	63.5%	62.7%	75.0%	70.1%	71.4%
Prefer not to answer	3.2%	2.5%	2.8%	6.1%	3.9%	4.8%	6.8%	5.3%	5.7%
Persons with disabilities
Yes	4.4%	6.3%	5.5%	8.0%	5.2%	6.3%	6.1%	11.7%	10.2%
No	92.1%	90.6%	91.2%	85.7%	89.6%	88.0%	83.3%	80.2%	81.0%
Prefer not to answer	3.5%	3.2%	3.3%	6.4%	5.2%	5.7%	10.6%	8.1%	8.8%
Indigenous Peoples
Yes	2.2%	3.2%	2.8%	-	-	0.9%	6.8%	12.9%	11.2%
No	95.3%	93.9%	94.5%	94.3%	95.0%	94.7%	85.6%	83.0%	83.7%
Prefer not to answer	2.5%	2.9%	2.8%	-	-	4.4%	7.6%	4.2%	5.1%

Table 5: Racialized individuals by gender (September 2023)

Gender	Racialized individuals (% of N = 580)	Non racialized individuals (% of N = 1,360)	Prefer not to answer (% of N = 86)	Total chairs (% of N = 2,026)
Women	38.6%	52.7%	14.0%	47.0%
Men	59.5%	45.5%	16.3%	48.3%
Gender equity-seeking groups: gender-fluid; nonbinary; trans; Two-Spirit; don’t identify with any option provided	-	0.9%	-	0.8%
Prefer not to answer	-	0.9%	-	3.9%

Table 6: Population groups and gender (September 2023*)

Population group	Women (% of N = 224)	Men (% of N = 345)	Gender equity-seeking groups: gender-fluid; nonbinary; trans; Two-Spirit; and/or don’t identify with any option provided (N = -)	% of total racialized individuals (N = 580)	% of total chairholders (N = 2,026)
Arab	6.3%	10.1%	-	8.6%	2.5%
Black	10.7%	6.4%	-	8.3%	2.4%
Chinese	28.1%	26.4%	-	26.7%	7.7%
Filipino	2.7%	2.0%	-	2.2%	0.6%
Japanese	2.7%	-	-	1.9%	0.5%
Korean	2.7%	2.6%	-	2.8%	0.8%
Latin American	8.0%	7.5%	-	7.8%	2.2%
South Asian (e.g., Indian, Pakistani, Sri Lankan)	16.5%	19.1%	-	17.9%	5.1%
Southeast Asian (e.g., Vietnamese, Cambodian, Laotian, Thai)	2.2%	1.7%	-	1.9%	0.5%
West Asian (e.g., Iranian, Afghan)	9.8%	11.3%	-	10.5%	3.0%
White	-	-	-	N/A	N/A
*Another population group	3.1%	4.9%	-	4.3%	3.5%
Prefer not to answer	0.5%	1.5%	-	1.2%	3.7%
* Respondents are counted in each group in which they self-identified. As a result, the total percentage by column may sum to more than 100%. The option to select “White” as a population group was introduced on the self-identification form in 2020. As self-identification data are collected at the time of nomination, data on the representation of White individuals are unavailable for 50.1% of active chairs.

Table 7: Indigenous Peoples by gender (September 2023)

Gender	Indigenous Peoples (% of N = 83)	Non-Indigenous Peoples (% of N = 1,863)	Prefer not to answer (% of N = 80)	Total chairs (% of N = 2,026)
Women	68.7%	47.5%	15.0%	47.0%
Men	24.1%	51.0%	10.0%	48.3%
Gender equity-seeking groups: gender-fluid; nonbinary; trans; Two-Spirit; don’t identify with any option provided	-	0.5%	-	0.8%
Prefer not to answer	-	1.0%	-	3.9%

Table 9: Persons with disabilities by gender (September 2023)

Gender	Persons with disabilities (% of N = 141)	Persons without disabilities (% of N = 1,773)	Prefer not to answer (% of N = 112)	Total chairs (% of N = 2,026)
Women	51.8%	47.9%	26.8%	47.0%
Men	41.8%	50.7%	18.8%	48.3%
Gender-fluid; nonbinary; trans; Two-Spirit, don’t identify with any option provided	-	0.5%	-	0.8%
Prefer not to answer	-	1.0%	-	3.9%

Nomination rates

The following graph and table are updated twice a year and outline nomination trends for individuals who are women, persons with disabilities, Indigenous Peoples and racialized individuals from 2000 to 2022.

Graph 1: Percentage of nominations submitted for individuals who self-identified as members of the four designated groups, from 2000 to 2022

Description of figure

This line graph shows the percentage of Canada Research Chair nominations submitted by institutions for individuals who self-identified as women, racialized individuals, Indigenous Peoples and persons with disabilities. Data have been collected for women since 2000. But, for racialized individuals, Indigenous Peoples and persons with disabilities, data have been collected only since 2006. Gaps in the graphic reflect data that were either unavailable or redacted in accordance with the Privacy Act.

The overarching trend is a slow growth in nominations for individuals from these groups until the launch of the 2017 Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Action Plan. With the launch of the action plan, the nomination rates have significantly increased.

The breakdown each year per designated group is as follows^{Footnote 2}:

Designated group (by percentage)	Women and gender equity-seeking groups*	Racialized individuals	Indigenous Peoples	Persons with disabilities
2000	14%	-	-	-
2001	16%	-	-	-
2002	19%	-	-	-
2003	25%	-	-	-
2004	27%	-	-	-
2005	30%	-	-	-
2006	30%	4%	-	-
2007	19%	11%	-	-
2008	22%	15%	-	-
2009	27%	12%	-	2%
2010	29%	14%	-	2%
2011	30%	9%	-	-
2012	34%	17%	3%	-
2013	30%	17%	-	-
2014	27%	13%	2%	-
2015	32%	12%	1%	-
2016	30%	17%	2%	-
2017	36%	18%	3%	2%
2018	47%	23%	4%	5%
2019	51%	27%	5%	7%
2020	52%	28%	3%	7%
2021	45%	34%	5%	7%
2022	51%	34%	6%	8%

*Data on gender equity-seeking groups was only collected beginning in 2021.

Progress made in addressing underrepresentation in the program

Representation targets and results of participating institutions

In the spirit of openness and transparency, the program makes public the results and findings of its target-setting exercises, while respecting the Privacy Act. (In keeping with the Privacy Act, numbers lower than five were removed to protect the privacy of chairholders).

Institutions continue their efforts to address the systemic barriers in their policies, processes and structures that have contributed to the historical underrepresentation of women and gender equity-seeking groups, persons with disabilities, Indigenous Peoples and racialized individuals in the program. These efforts are fundamental to ensuring that the program achieves its objectives of attracting and retaining a diverse cadre of world-class researchers and reinforcing academic research and training excellence in Canadian postsecondary institutions.

Updated population-based target-setting methodology

In 2021, the program launched a population-based methodology to set new equity targets based on Canada’s population. These targets must be reached by December 31, 2029: 50.9% women and gender equity-seeking groups, 4.9% Indigenous Peoples, 7.5% persons with disabilities and 22% racialized individuals. Refer to the frequently asked questions for more information. All institutions must submit chair nominations in consideration of their targets.

The equity targets of all participating institutions for the 2021-29 period can be found here. The deadlines to meet equity targets are December 31, 2022, December 31, 2025, December 31, 2027, and December 31, 2029.

December 2022 deadline equity target deadline results

The full dataset with the institutional results of the December 31, 2022 equity target deadline is now available at the link below. The following table gives an overview of the number of institutions that met this deadline.

Summary of December 2022 equity target results	Number of institutions	Percentage of total institutions
Institutions with fewer than 40 Chairs allocated
All targets met	50/57	87.7%
All targets but one met	6/57	10.5%
All targets but two met	1/57	1.8%
All targets but three met	0/57	-
None of the targets met	0/57	-
Subtotal	57	-
N/A*	5/62	8.1%
Institutions with 40 or more Chairs allocated
All targets at both Tier 1 and Tier 2 levels met	5/16	31%
All but one target at either the Tier 1 or Tier 2 level met	5/16	31%
All but two targets at either the Tier 1 or Tier 2 level met	5/16	31%
All but three targets at either the Tier 1 or Tier 2 level met	1/16	6%
None of the targets met	0/16	-
*N/A means the institutions had no targets (i.e., some very small institutions did not have the number of active chairs necessary to meet the threshold for setting targets at the time equity targets were set).

Download the full dataset in Excel format (see Understanding the datasets for additional information).

December 2019 deadline equity target results

As per the 2019 Addendum to the 2006 Canadian Human Rights Settlement Agreement, an institution not meeting its equity targets can submit new chairholder nominations only for an individual who self-identifies as belonging to one or more of the four designated groups and only if the institution has a target for that group. This measure remains in place until the institution meets all targets for approved, active chairholders. Renewals may continue to be submitted.

In April 2016, the program’s Steering Committee urged postsecondary institutions to make concerted efforts to address the underrepresentation of individuals from the four designated groups (women, persons with disabilities, Indigenous Peoples and racialized individuals) in their chairholder nominations.

In May 2017, when the program’s Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Action Plan was launched, the program’s Steering Committee stipulated that institutions must meet their equity targets by December 2019. The full dataset with the institutional results of the equity targets with a deadline of December 2019 is now available at the link below. The table below gives an overview of the number of institutions that met the December 2019 equity target deadline.

Summary of December 2019 equity target results	Number of institutions	Percentage of total institutions
All targets met	50	77%
All but one target met	12	18%
All but two targets met	2	3%
All but three targets met	0	0%
None of the targets met	1	2%
Total institutions with targets	65	-
N/A*	11	-
Total institutions	76	-
*N/A means the institutions had no targets (some very small institutions did not have the number of active chairs necessary to meet the threshold for setting targets at the time equity targets were set).

Download the full dataset in Excel format (see Understanding the datasets for additional information).

Target-setting exercise results 2009-16

Select the designated group* below to download the dataset in Excel format:

• Women
• Persons with disabilities
• Indigenous Peoples
• Members of visible minorities

* The language used for the designated groups at the time of the target-setting exercises may not reflect the language currently used in program reporting.

Understanding the datasets

The information in the tables provided on this page reflects the number of individuals who self-identified as members of one or more of the four designated groups. Since self-identification is voluntary, this may not include all chairholders belonging to a group. This is important to consider when interpreting the data, given that low self-identification rates may affect the results, and representation may be higher than the data suggest.

In 2009, participating institutions of all sizes completed a baseline target-setting exercise, where they set their first equity targets and measured the gap between occupied chairs and these targets.

From 2012 to 2016, each year, all institutions of one size (small, medium or large) reported on their progress toward meeting their previous equity targets and set new ones. This created a three-year cycle for collecting all the data. For example, in the 2012 to 2014 target-setting cycle, institutions reported and set targets as follows: medium in 2012, large in 2013 and small in 2014. When the Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Action Plan was launched in May 2017, institutions were given until December 2019 to meet their targets. They reported on the targets on their public accountability and transparency pages. Moving forward, the targets for all institutions will be set at the same time using the updated methodology.

Each year, the program categorizes institutions by size, defined as follows:

• Large: 40 chair allocations and more
• Medium: 11 to 39 chair allocations
• Small: 10 chair allocations or less

Learn more about the program’s allocation method.

In addition, due to limits in available statistical data, the targets for three of the four groups (persons with disabilities, Indigenous Peoples and racialized individuals) are set using approximations of the pools of potential nominees. Learn more about the program’s target-setting method.

In keeping with the Privacy Act, if the number of chairholders who self-identified as belonging to one of the four groups is less than five, it is not provided to protect the privacy of chairholders. For this same reason, the data are not presented by tier or agency.

Data by institution size

The tables below represent the data collected from the target-setting exercises completed between 2009 and 2016 by institution size at the time the data were published in May 2017.

Table 11: Representation of the four designated groups among Canada Research Chairs in 2009 by institution size^{Footnote 2}

-	Total institutions	Total chairs	Women	Visible minorities	Persons with disabilities	Indigenous Peoples
Equity target	-	-	25%	11%	5%	0.7%
Large	15	1,341	24%	12%	1%	0%
Medium	17	371	24%	12%	1%	1%
Small	33	161	27%	9%	0%	2%
Overall total	65	1,873	24%	12%	1%	0.4%

Source: This information comes from the target-setting exercise completed by institutions in 2009 and represents almost all chairs allocated to institutions at the time of reporting. Language used for designated groups at the time of target-setting exercises may not reflect language currently used in program reporting.

Table 12: Representation of four designated groups among Canada Research Chairs in 2012-14, by institution size

-	Total institutions	Total chairs	Women	Visible minorities	Persons with disabilities	Indigenous Peoples
Equity target	-	-	28%	15%	4%	1%
Large	15	1,270	25%	13%	2%	1%
Medium	16	340	25%	15%	1%	1%
Small	39	200	35%	9%	1%	2%
Overall total	70	1,810	26%	13%	2%	1%

Source: The information comes from the target-setting exercises completed by institutions in 2012 (medium), 2013 (large) and 2014 (small). It represents almost all chairs allocated to the institutions (medium and large) or occupied chairs (small) at the time of reporting. Language used for designated groups at the time of target-setting exercises may not reflect language currently used in program reporting.

Table 13: Representation of four designated groups among Canada Research Chairs in 2015-16, by institution size^{Footnote 2}

-	Total institutions	Total chairs	Women	Racialized individuals	Persons with disabilities	Indigenous Peoples
Equity target	-	-	31%	15%	4%	1%
Large	15	1,261	28%	15%	1%	1%
Medium	17	314	26%	16%	1%	1%
Overall total	-	-	-	-	-	-

Source: This information comes from the target-setting exercises completed by institutions for 2015 (medium) and 2016 (large) and represents the number of occupied chairs at the time of reporting (May 2017).

Visit the Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Requirements and Practices page for more information on the program’s commitment to ensuring access to opportunities for all qualified candidates.