Language selection

Government of Canada / Gouvernement du Canada

Search

Content page

From [Institution name]

Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency 2025-26 Departmental Plan – Gender-based analysis plus

Section 1: Institutional GBA Plus governance and capacity

Governance

The Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency’s (ACOA) core responsibility is to support Atlantic Canada’s economic growth, wealth creation and economic prosperity through inclusive and clean growth. This is why the Agency will continue to integrate Gender Based Analysis Plus (GBA Plus) into its various activities as part of its implementation strategy. To ensure accountability, the Agency will use a GBA Plus intradepartmental responsibility centre and working group led by an executive-level champion to support and monitor the implementation of GBA Plus throughout the Agency. Active participation in the broader Government of Canada GBA Plus network and training and tools development, including employee resources, disaggregated data and awareness building, will continue, with inclusion as one of its priority lenses. This lens will aim to advance the inclusion of under-represented groups and direct specific attention on Indigenous peoples and reconciliation, newcomers, international students, women and youth. This is in addition to other traditionally under-represented groups already examined by the Agency such as visible minorities and rural populations.

Capacity

Diversity and inclusion in ACOA’s workforce

The Agency will continue to implement the final year of its 2023 – 2026 Employment Equity and Anti-Racism Action Plan to promote and support a diverse and inclusive workplace. Anchored in the Clerk’s Call to Action, it focuses on recruitment, governance, talent management, and diversity and inclusion competencies and training. This will encompass and complement the Agency’s activities such as a safe, healthy and flexible hybrid work environment, its action plan on official languages, initiatives aimed at building and supporting leaders, including those from under-represented groups, and improving awareness of lived realities for Indigenous peoples.

The activities of the Office of Inclusion, Equity and Anti-Racism (IEAR) at ACOA will build organizational awareness and capacity. The IEAR is a neutral entity that provides leadership, strategic direction, policy advice, professional development and expertise with respect to inclusion, equity and anti-racism. The IEAR also engages external stakeholders in supporting corporate inclusion initiatives to remove systemic barriers.

Inclusive program delivery for Atlantic Canadians

As part of the Government of Canada’s objectives outlined in ministerial mandate letters, the Speech from the Throne, budgets and fall economic statements, ACOA delivers support through its programs that cover a highly rural part of Canada and targets under-represented groups in Atlantic Canada’s economy. In addition, the Agency continues be identified as a delivery partner for a number of national and regional initiatives, many of which are relevant to ACOA’s mandate. For new initiatives, ACOA will conduct GBA Plus analyses for various memoranda to Cabinet, Treasury Board submissions and internal documents. The Agency will continue to implement these measures with an inclusion lens as described previously, ensuring that GBA Plus aspects are part of performance measurement strategies.

Enhancing systems to improve GBA Plus information

In 2025-26 ACOA will continue developing its internal system to improve disaggregated data to facilitate monitoring and reporting on its activities. This will enable ACOA to carry out analyses on its programs using new and existing administrative data available. It will also help the Agency take stock of the GBA Plus elements of ACOA’s programs, look at trends and provide insight into areas that can be improved upon to strengthen inclusivity.

Human resources (full-time equivalents) dedicated to GBA Plus

Overall, one full-time equivalent will be dedicated to working on GBA Plus at ACOA during the 2025-26 fiscal year. This includes executive-level champions of employment equity, inclusion and anti-racism, LGBTQ+ and GBA Plus, focal points and several staff with expertise in areas related to GBA Plus issues.

Section 2: Gender and diversity impacts, by program

Core responsibility: Economic Development in Atlantic Canada

Program name: Business Growth

Program goals: ACOA invests in business growth to enhance Atlantic Canadians’ access to the information and financing they need to grow a business. This enables businesses to become more innovative and productive, and allows them to grow, which generates wealth and jobs. This supports enterprises and business associations as well as activities aimed at improving the business environment in Atlantic Canada, including underserved groups.

Program name: Diversified Communities

Program goals: Economic development in rural areas continues to be a challenge considering the decline in traditional industries, population shifts and infrastructure issues. These issues emphasize the need to support initiatives that increase the competitiveness of Atlantic Canada’s rural communities and businesses. This program is well aligned with the ACOA Act, and the types of activities mandated under the act, which include support for enterprises and for business associations and other activities related to improving the business environment, including underserved groups.

Program name: Inclusive Communities

Program goals: For an economically diversified Atlantic Canada, communities must have the capacity and resources to be more inclusive; and for sustainable growth, entrepreneurs must be equipped to be competitive on the global market. Geographic communities and communities of interest, such as industry associations and non-profit organizations, need to invest in initiatives that stimulate economic growth. The Agency works with these communities through strategic investments to increase human capacity, and with organizations to increase and sustain growth and well-being. This program is well aligned with the ACOA Act and the types of activities mandated under the act, which include support for enterprises and for business associations, and other activities related to improving the business environment, including underserved groups.

Program name: Innovation Ecosystems

Program goals: ACOA develops and facilitates strategic networks, partnerships and initiatives to develop an innovation ecosystem. ACOA aims to increase awareness, knowledge, influence and capacity to innovate in new and traditional sectors, pursue new opportunities and solve challenges. This program helps build the ecosystem by supporting competitive clusters and business incubators and accelerators, and by funding innovation infrastructure. It also helps communities of interest such as business associations and development organizations to promote innovation and mitigate risks, including in rural areas.

Program name: Policy Research and Engagement

Program goals: The Policy, Research and Engagement (PRE) program is central to identifying and effectively responding to opportunities and challenges facing the regional economy. PRE provides intelligence, analysis and well-grounded advice on a broad range of issues and topics, and it informs and supports ACOA and ministerial decision-making.

Program name: Research and Development, and Commercialization

Program goals: ACOA plays an important role in ensuring that Atlantic Canada continues to maximize benefits from national research and development (R&D) programs and builds on the momentum of rising business expenditures in R&D in the region. R&D and commercialization are fundamental to increasing the region’s competitiveness and to closing the productivity gap with the rest of the country. This is well aligned with the ACOA Act and its activities, including support for enterprises and other activities aimed at improving the business environment, including underserved groups.

Program name: Trade and Investment

Program goals: ACOA pursues trade and investment opportunities with a view to increasing the number of exporters and the volume of export sales, attracting foreign direct investment and supporting the commercialization of technology. ACOA also strives to build a foundation for long-term growth through global competitiveness thanks to its tourism work, primarily through the commercial and non-commercial elements of the Business Development Program. As an economic sector, tourism offers significant wealth and job creation opportunities for SMEs. This program is well aligned with the ACOA Act and the types of activities mandated under the Act, which include support for enterprises and for business associations as well as other activities related to improving the business environment, including underserved groups.

GBA Plus data collection plan – applies to all programs listed above

In 2025-26, ACOA will examine its internal administrative data collection system to capture microdata on GBA Plus elements to enhance monitoring, analysis and reporting. The Agency also purchases custom data analyses from Statistics Canada to gain insight into client performance and the Atlantic Canadian economy with disaggregated data, where available. These additional data are further analyzed to help strengthen analysis and decision-making within the Agency. Efforts also continue to align GBA Plus data collection with other regional development agencies.

There are sufficient data to enable ACOA to monitor and report program impacts by gender and diversity. Overall, the Agency has the capacity to disaggregate project and client data by different identifiers including women, youth, Indigenous peoples, members of official language minority communities, persons with disabilities, newcomers to Canada and immigrants, Black and racialized communities and 2SLGBTQIA+. In addition, ACOA has the capacity to track whether projects and clients are in rural or remote areas (i.e., outside census metropolitan areas) and by sector of interest (e.g., tourism). The measurement of GBA Plus impacts at the project and client level is dependent on self-reported data by clients. In 2025-26, ACOA will continue to enhance its internal administrative data collection system to capture microdata on GBA Plus elements to facilitate monitoring, analysis and reporting.