Supplementary Information Tables: Gender-based Analysis Plus (GBA+) – 2020–21 Departmental Plan

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

In 2020–21, the agency will continue to work towards establishing structures and accountability frameworks to ensure that GBA+ analysis is 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.) are considered in decision making at all levels.

In doing so, the agency will keep strengthening its internal capacity for such analysis, and, subsequently develop 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 agency initiatives that integrate user perspectives and other human-centered principles into its decision-making process at all levels.

Elections Canada operates and delivers services in highly complex settings. The last general election resulted in a minority government. Because of this, Elections Canada will be focusing on a smaller number of initiatives as it prepares and is ready for a general election that may be called at any time.

Some of the agency's key initiatives involve the effort of the newly formed Gender-Inclusive Services working group. In 2020–21, the working group will review the inventory of forms and systems that the agency uses with a view to ensuring their compliance with the Policy Direction to Modernize the Government of Canada's Sex and Gender Information Practices. This review is a part of the agency's analytical process to ensure its policies, forms and systems consider and address the diversity of the nation.

The agency is proactively integrating qualitative and quantitative stakeholder research, diverse user perspectives, usability testing, best practices, and other human-centered service design, and design thinking principles into its decision making at all levels, as well as into the monitoring of these complex initiatives This work will be further supported by the agency's participation in the Design Jam workshop hosted by TBS in support of gender-inclusive service design. Elections Canada will continue establishing metrics and performance frameworks that will align 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 program microdata that are aggregated; however, the research data allows the organization to do GBA+ on its programs.