2024-25 Highlight report: Data

On this page

• Introduction
• Highlights for 2024–25
• Conclusion

Introduction

In 2021, the Data Sub Working Group was convened to co-develop a National Data Strategy as part of the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA+ People (MMIWG2S+) National Action Plan. The National Action Plan Data Sub Working Group found that there is a critical lack of data on key factors related to Indigenous people and their communities and the issue of MMIWG2S+ peoples. The National Data Strategy responds to these legacy impacts by:

• emphasizing the need for a nationally coordinated Indigenous-led data governance structure
• advocating for Indigenous data sovereignty
• highlighting the importance of distinctions-based and population-specific data oversight for First Nations, Inuit, Métis, urban Indigenous, and 2SLGBTQI+ communities
• advocating for permanent Indigenous-led oversight mechanisms to be developed to monitor federal data collection and policy implementation

This 2024–25 highlight report is part of the Federal Pathway Annual Progress Report and focuses on key federal initiatives that align with the sub-working groups priorities. It highlights some of the federal progress in supporting improvements to data holdings relevant to MMIWG2S+ and supporting the development of culturally-based data collection and methodologies on key factors related to Indigenous Peoples, their communities and the MMIWG2S+ crisis in order to better inform decision-making and improve the safety of Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQI+ people.

Highlights for 2024–25

Statistics Canada leads on a suite of data collection initiatives to address data gaps related to MMIWG2S+. The Missing Persons Data Standards – Strategy for Consistency in Practices for Reporting Missing Indigenous Women, Girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA+ initiative aims to address systemic gaps and inconsistencies in the collection, reporting, and use of data related to cases of missing Indigenous individuals. Supported by $1.4 million allocated over 5 years through Budget 2021 (ending in 2026–27), this work aims to develop a national standard, and to improve the consistency and quality of information used by police services and other authorities when responding to and investigating cases of missing Indigenous individuals. In 2024–25 work on the initiative focused on collaboration with Indigenous partners, law enforcement agencies, and subject matter experts to assess current gaps and inconsistencies in reporting practices across jurisdictions, and exploration of models for a potential national database. The establishment of foundational respectful data collection standards on reporting that are trauma-informed has the potential to strengthen mechanisms for accountability in missing persons investigations, and ensure that cases of missing Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQI+ people are accurately documented and addressed. 

Further, in response to increasing demands for better disaggregated data to help shed light on individuals' diverse experiences, Statistics Canada and the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police (CACP) have committed to collaborating on an initiative to collect data on the Police-reported Indigenous and racialized identity of all victims and accused persons through the Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Survey. Supported by $2.4 million allocated over the 2021–2022 to 2025–2026 fiscal years (and $0.5M ongoing) through the Disaggregated Data Action Plan (DDAP), this initiative seeks to provide insights and further understanding of experiences faced by Indigenous and racialized peoples to address systemic issues of discrimination within the justice system. In 2024–25, in collaboration with the CACP Special Purpose Committee, 2 reports were produced:

• operational guidelines, for police services on the collection and use of the data
• An analytical framework on the analysis and dissemination of the data

These documents, as well as a What We Heard Report synthesizing engagement feedback from Indigenous partners, organizations representing racialized communities, law enforcement agencies, and subject matter experts, are anticipated to be published on the StatCan website in spring/summer of 2025. In addition, a new version of the UCR (v2.5) is now system-ready at Statistics Canada to collect the identity data.

From a national perspective, this initiative aims to develop evergreen national standards and guidelines for data collection and analysis of racialized and Indigenous identity of police reported crime that build on expertise, established frameworks, lessons learned and best practices. Statistics Canada is continuing to work with police, communities and other parties of interest to enable data collection and analysis of police-reported identity information and finding a balance that results in sound and meaningful data to help shed light on the experiences of Indigenous and racialized communities with police and the justice system.

Statistics Canada also leads on the Survey of Safety in Public and Private Spaces (SSPPS) which collects information on personal experiences with unwanted behaviours and violence at home, in the workplace, at school, in public spaces, and online. Notable reports from the first cycle included Victimization of First Nations people, Métis and Inuit in Canada and Women's experiences of victimization in Canada's remote communities. In 2024–25, through research and extensive consultation with key partners and data users, the questionnaire for the survey for the second cycle of the SSPPS was developed, which included a broad range of Indigenous partners. Data collection on the second cycle is currently underway (October 2024 through June 2025). This work will fill long standing data gaps and lead to an improved understanding of contexts in which violence occurs and barriers faced by Indigenous Peoples wishing to access justice and support services. Through this work, marginalization of families, survivors and Indigenous communities in data collection is reduced.

The Civilian Review and Complaints Commission for the RCMP (CRCC) undertook a major initiative to explore the collection of demographic data, including race-based data, that considers First Nations, Métis and Inuit distinctions, in the context of the public complaint process. Engagements with Indigenous participants and community organizations informed recommendations that reflect lived experiences and address concerns around data privacy, safety, and systemic bias. Bill C-20 (Public Complaints and Review Commission Act), passed in October 2024, will result in the CRCC transition to the Public Complaints and Review Commission (PCRC) – a strengthened, independent review body with oversight over both the RCMP and the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA).The PCRC Act is the first federal statute to mandate the collection, analysis, and reporting of demographic data, including race-based data. The study will be used to inform PCRC's future data collection, analysis and reporting plan. Its implementation will allow the PCRC to effectively use data for evidence-based solutions and contribute to identifying systemic issues within federal law enforcement. The study's final report was published on the CRCC website in November 2024 and included:

• information, recommendations and tools needed to develop a strategy for collecting demographic data, including race-based data
• the extent to which the collection of race-based data will improve transparency, and potentially increase community trust and confidence in the public complaint process and the RCMP
• the necessary foundation to develop and implement a robust demographic data collection strategy

The Public Health Agency of Canada leads on the Canadian Child Welfare Information System (CCWIS) which is a database that includes population-based data from provinces, territories and Indigenous Services Canada (ISC) about families who have contact with the child welfare system, such as children placed in out-of-home care. In February 2024 the first national CCWIS report, and its companion plain language summary were released. These documents included publicly available data from ISC along with provincial and territorial data to estimate a national rate. At the time of the report, distinction-based estimates were not able to be included. This database compliments other sources of child welfare data through national coverage and supports a more accurate, population-level picture of child welfare involvement in Canada. It will continue to provide Indigenous and non-Indigenous decision-makers, families, survivors and Indigenous communities with access to improved population-level information about children and families involved with child welfare, including the drivers of social and health inequities.

Conclusion

The National Data Strategy made critical recommendations based on the understanding that there are legacy impacts of harmful data practices that continue to result in the systemic marginalization of First Nation, Inuit, Métis people and Indigenous urban and 2SLGBTQI+ people. In particular, Canada's ability to understand the issue of MMIWG2S+ is complicated by:

• a lack of disaggregated data
• major gaps in distinctions-based data, including Métis, and 2SLGBTQI+ data
• issues related to data collection and analysis inhibiting a robust understanding of the issue

Alongside further efforts in the area of Indigenous data sovereignty, the federal government continued its work to address the longstanding gaps in data collection, analysis and implementation, which is essential for justice, healing, and systemic transformation to address the causes of missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls and 2SLGBTQI+ people.