2018–19 Departmental Results Report

The nature of Elections Canada's service delivery mandate and approach has long been aligned with GBA+ principles. The organization proactively applied an analytical approach to assessing the potential range of impacts that its policy and service delivery had on the multiple factors that determined the identity of the people who benefitted from its services.

In 2019–20, the organization continued to work towards establishing structures and accountability frameworks to ensure that GBA+ analysis was conducted consistently across the organization and that the complex relationships between various aspects (such as an individual's gender, sexual identity, cultural background, disability, etc.) were considered in decision making at all levels.

In doing so, Elections Canada strengthened its internal capacity for such analysis, and subsequently developed planning, monitoring and reporting frameworks to formalize this work.

Rather than relying on dedicated full-time employees, Elections Canada promotes a decentralized approach that focusses on developing champions across various disciplines and building agency-wide capacities for integrating GBA+.

This approach aligns with and leverages current organization initiatives that integrate user perspectives and other human-centered principles into its decision-making process at all levels.

During 2018–19, Elections Canada continued to operate and deliver services in highly complex settings. Many transformation initiatives were applied, including:

• polling place enhancements involving digital technologies;
• process enhancements that included both digital and paper-based changes;
• service experience improvements, and
• re-design of material.

The organization re-designed its approach to collecting gender information to replace “sex” with “gender” and to allow for the expression of gender identities other than male or female (i.e. Gender X). Decision making and monitoring at all levels proactively integrated qualitative and quantitative stakeholder research, diverse user perspectives, usability testing, best practices, and other human-centered service design.

The organization established metrics and performance frameworks that aligned GBA+ analysis with current human-centered service design approaches.

Elections Canada conducts public opinion research with multiple audiences, including electors, candidates and election workers, through its Electoral Information and Awareness Program which enables GBA+ of various programs, products and services, including the Voter Information Campaign.

These survey data allow for analysis based on gender, age, disability, Indigenous identity, immigrant status, and ethnic or cultural background.

Elections Canada does not collect microdata that are aggregated; however, the research data allows the organization to do GBA+ on its other programs.