What do Canadians (and Americans) actually think about DEI?
May 5, 2025
Earlier this year (and even last year) discussions have been heating up about the value of DEI policies and initiatives. Walmart, Warner Bros, Goldman Sachs and others shifted language or removed these policies altogether last year, with many more following suit. But where is this shift coming from? Is it being driven by an anti-DEI narrative among citizens, or somewhere else?
The data below is from two online surveys. The first, with n=3,000 living in Canada from February 5th to 10th 2025. The second is an online survey fielded with n=1,500 living in the United States from Janaury 23rd to 25th 2025.
DEI: The personal argument
Just under half of Canadians do not see an impact on their lives from DEI policies (positive or negative). When it comes to the impact of DEI policies on individuals, opinions are mixed. 35% say DEI policies help people like them, 45% say they have no impact, and 20% say DEI policies hurt people like them.
Those who say DEI has a positive impact on their lives tend to be the groups DEI policies are designed to help. These are:
- Younger Canadians: 47% (vs the 35% average)
- Women: 38%
- And those who identify as a visible minority (55%, even higher for minority women)
And those who say DEI policies hurt people like them tend to be middle-aged (45-59), particularly middle-aged men, and those who do not identify as a visible minority (22%).
DEI: The societal argument
There is however more agreement that DEI policies have a net positive impact on society overall. 51% of Canadians agree with this, 25% say they have no impact, and 24% say they have a net negative impact on our society.
Some similar trends emerge here as well.
Women (56%), and those who identify as a visible minority (59%) are more likely to see a positive impact on society from DEI.
And middle-aged Canadians, particularly men, and those who do not identify as a visible minority are more likely to say there is a net negative impact on society.
DEI: The economic argument
Canadians are less certain about economic benefits but the idea that DEI has a net positive impact on the economy rather than a net negative wins out 2:1. 46% say there’s a net positive impact on the economy from DEI, 21% say net negative, and 32% say no impact at all (positive or negative).
Similar trends emerge here as well. Those who may be more likely to benefit from DEI policies (women and those who identify as a visible minority) are more inclined to see the benefits of DEI on the economy. While middle-aged Canadians (again middle-aged men driving the trend) are more inclined to see net negative impacts on the economy.
Finally, about 4 in 10 Canadians are invested in pushing for more diversity in leadership positions, 44% say it isn’t important to them either way. Only 14% say we need less diversity in leadership positions.
The divide between men and women
There has been a lot of narrative about the divide between young men and young women on the political spectrum. When it comes to DEI (for the most part) men and women aren’t on opposite ends of a spectrum. Instead women are far more active supporters than men, particularly young women, with their male counterparts being rather indifferent.
On all dimensions (personal, economic, societal) young women show a lot more support for the benefits of DEI (often 10+ points higher than their male peers). The gap between young men and women is biggest when it comes to DEI’s impact on society.
But it’s older men (those 45 to 59) that are most likely to be anti-DEI. Around 30% of this cohort of men believe DEI has a net negative impact on themselves, the economy, and society overall.
The political angle
While it is still a minority, CPC voters (those voting CPC today) are more likely to be ‘anti-DEI’ than their LPC and NDP peers. For example, 36% of CPC voters say DEI has a net negative impact on society. Another way of looking at it is they are also a lot more likely to be moderate about DEI- saying it has no noticeable impact on themselves.
NDP voters are most likely to see the benefits of DEI.
Canadians vs Americans
The views of our American counterparts are not that distant from our own when it comes to general trends but there are some notable differences. 37% of Americans say DEI policies help people like themselves (35% among Canadians). 40% say they have no impact and 23% say they hurt people like themselves. All nearly identical to the views of Canadians.
On the societal argument: 54% say DEI policies have a net positive impact on society (51% among Canadians), 15% no impact (25% among Canadians) and 32% a negative impact (up 8 points compared to Canadians).
On the economic argument: 45% of Americans say DEI policies and investment have a net positive impact on the economy, 26% say no impact and 28% say a net negative impact (7 points higher than Canada, notably).
The Upshot
If there has been a shift, it has landed on soft positive support for DEI policies. The most likely response is that DEI is good- but almost just as probable is that DEI policies have no impact (good or bad). Few have an issue with DEI policies- and those who do tend to be groups that were best positioned to have benefited from past status quo, generally.
There are 3 key findings that stand out to me:
1. Those who are set to benefit most from DEI are most supportive, but still only a minority feel the current approach to DEI is having a positive impact on them and society. Perhaps it is worth evolving our approach to DEI to ensure these policies are more successful at reaching their intended outcomes.
2. Very few Canadians see DEI initiatives as a negative- many see positive impacts of DEI, while the other prevailing view is that they don’t have much of an impact on their lives at all. The narrative that DEI efforts are harming progress and opportunities has not taken root in the mainstream in Canada.
3. DEI is not an issue that sows deep divide between younger men and women but it helps explain how the priorities and values of these two groups differ. Younger men aren’t anti-DEI but they also aren’t prioritizing it to the same extent as young women. This means there is still a clear difference in the value set between these two groups- and likely to play out in their views on other social issues too.
Methodology
The first survey was conducted with 1,500 eligible American voters from January 23 to 24, 2025. A random sample of panelists were invited to complete the survey from a set of partner panels based on the Lucid exchange platform. These partners are typically double opt-in survey panels, blended to manage out potential skews in the data from a single source.
The margin of error for a comparable probability-based random sample of the same size is +/- 2.6%, 19 times out of 20.
The data were weighted according to census data to ensure that the sample matched the US population according to age, gender, ethnicity, and region. Totals may not add up to 100 due to rounding.
The second survey was conducted with 3,000 adult Canadians over the age of 18 from February 5 to 10, 2025. A random sample of panelists were invited to complete the survey from a set of partner panels based on the Lucid exchange platform. These partners are typically double opt-in survey panels, blended to manage out potential skews in the data from a single source.
The margin of error for a comparable probability-based random sample of the same size is +/- 1.79%, 19 times out of 20.
The data were weighted according to census data to ensure that the sample matched Canada’s population according to age, gender, educational attainment, and region. Totals may not add up to 100 due to rounding.
Abacus Data follows the CRIC Public Opinion Research Standards and Disclosure Requirements that can be found here: https://canadianresearchinsightscouncil.ca/standards/
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