An Order Paper Question from Conservative MP Andrew Lawton revealed that over $173 million in federal tax dollars were spent on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs in the fiscal year 2025-26, while 22 government organizations declined to disclose the amount they spent on DEI, saying it would take too much time.
Lawton asked each federal organization in September to provide a financial report of all government spending on DEI programs for the 2025-26 fiscal year and to break down the funding by program. Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED), Canadian Heritage and the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat were the top spenders among those who actually disclosed their spending.
Over twenty other government organizations declined to provide figures on how much they spend on DEI for various reasons, including that breaking down their DEI spending would take too long and that DEI is at the core of everything they do, so funding specific programs wouldn’t be feasible.
