Diversity Institute’s State of Black Economics Report 2026 finds Black workforce critical to Canada’s growth—while new analyses reveal widening gaps in education pathways, unemployment, leadership, and entrepreneurship

Toronto, ON, February 26, 2026: The State of Black Economics Report 2026 (SOBER 2026) from the Diversity Institute at Toronto Metropolitan University finds that Black Canadians are increasingly central to Canada’s labour force and economic future. While there is evidence of progress, disparities persist across education, employment, leadership, and entrepreneurship. The Diversity Institute released highlights from the full forthcoming report during Black History Month in presentations across Canada and internationally.

The Black population in Canada, a heterogeneous population marked by intersectional differences in ethnicity, generation status, and geography, represent 4.3% of the population—a community that has more than doubled since 1996 and could exceed three million people by 2041. Young, diverse, and globally connected, with 41.9% under age 25 and 60% born outside Canada, this growing population plays a critical role in the country’s economic future.

This year’s report again shares economic indicators of Canada’s growing Black community. However, a more systematic view of where gaps are widening, where transparency is weakest, and where Black talent is concentrated in high-demand sectors is available as researchers are now able to compare data from its inaugural report. Here is what’s new:

• NEW: A systematic K–12 scan of Ontario’s 10 largest school boards showing despite improvements, teachers still are not representative of the communities served.
• NEW: A cross-country review of race-based transparency at 15 major colleges, showing colleges have the lowest public reporting across the education pipeline, even as Black learners are more represented in college pathways than university. 
• NEW: A systematic scan of representation across Canada’s 8 largest universities 
• NEW: Updated labour market “by the numbers” (Jan 2026) showing participation, employment, and unemployment gaps, plus new age and gender breakdowns and trend analysis on rising unemployment. 
• NEW: A focused analysis of Black representation in high-demand sectors and occupations (healthcare, skilled trades/construction, and ICT), linking workforce inclusion to productivity and labour shortages. 
• NEW: Leadership analysis shifts from corporate boards to public-sector leadership, reflecting limited updates in corporate data and growing importance of government as an employer and standard-setter. 
• NEW: Corporate Leadership Snapshot: An analysis of the largest 25 TSX listed companies by market capitalization examines Black representation on boards and in senior leadership roles, offering a focused look at inclusion within Canada’s biggest firms.
• NEW: Global Comparisons: As part of a project to support the UN International Decade for People of African Descent, comparative data of representation in the largest corporations across eight countries where the majority of the population is white. 
• NEW: Entrepreneurship updates include a rise in Black self-employment (2025), new evidence on barriers faced by Black entrepreneurs, particularly women, and a reframed emphasis on the potential of Black entrepreneurs to help Canada crack global markets.

Education: disparities begin early and transparency breaks down where Black learners are most represented

SOBER 2026 finds that inequities emerge early and compound over time. Across Ontario’s 10 largest school boards, Black students face lower graduation rates (often 3–10 points lower), disproportionate streaming into non-academic pathways, and suspension/expulsion rates often two to nearly three times their representation. As Black students get older, they are more represented among college certificate and diploma entrants than among undergraduate entrants, yet colleges show the lowest transparency on race-based outcomes and workforce representation. Looking at universities, Black student representation often exceeds Black employee and faculty representation; faculty representation lags further, especially at senior ranks.

Employment: high participation, but unemployment remains double and youth outcomes are alarming.

Updated labour market data show a persistent paradox: Canada's Black population are deeply engaged in work, but face much higher unemployment. Canada's Black population have higher participation (73.8%) and employment (65.6%) than non-racialized Canadians (61.3% and 57.9%), yet double the unemployment rate (11.1% vs. 5.5%). 

“Canada's Black population are one of the youngest and fastest-growing segments of the labour force, with high participation rates and strong representation in essential and high-demand sectors,” said Mohamed Elmi, report co-author and executive director of the Diversity Institute. “Yet persistent gaps in education pathways, employment outcomes, leadership, and entrepreneurship mean Canada is leaving talent and growth on the table. Closing these gaps is not just about fairness, it is about whether Canada can meet its workforce, productivity and innovation goals in the decade ahead.”

Black youth unemployment (ages 15–24) is almost twice as high  (20.0%), compared with non-racialized youth (11.1%). Black unemployment has been rising faster than other groups; from 2022 to 2024 it increased 3.7 percentage points, compared with 0.5 points for non-racialized Canadians. Nearly one-fifth (19.2%) of Black workers earn below the low-pay threshold, more than double the rate for non-racialized and non-Indigenous workers (8.1%). In addition, while Black people are just as likely to be university graduates as the rest of the population, yet they are substantially more likely to be in jobs requiring only high school education. Black people are also over represented in trades. 

“At a time of global instability, labour shortages, and rising geopolitical risk, Canada cannot afford to undermine the very talent and inclusion strategies that support economic growth,” said Wendy Cukier, Diversity Institute Founder.  “While backlash narratives dominate headlines—often imported from the United States—the evidence shows Canada’s institutions and public support for inclusion remain strong. Equity and inclusion are not political correctness or wokeness, they drive productivity and innovation.   Almost two thirds of Black Canadians were born outside of Canada. They are part of our competitive advantage with knowledge, and insights and connections to tackle new emerging global markets.”

In-demand sectors: Canada's Black population sustain essential services but face barriers to advancement. 

The report examines Black representation across high-demand sectors and identifies a consistent pattern: stronger representation in essential roles, weaker representation in higher-paid leadership positions. Healthcare: higher concentration in care roles, lower representation in higher-paid clinical leadership roles. 

As Canada looks to increase its housing, improve infrastructure and fast-track major projects, skilled trades and construction is among one of the country’s most in-demand sectors. There is stronger representation in labour-intensive roles, but lower representation in certified and supervisory trades. 

Another key sector to Canada’s economy is ICT. SOBER finds stronger representation in some fast-growing tech occupations, but persistent income disparities and underrepresentation in software and management roles. 

Leadership: public-sector focus reveals uneven representation and persistent barriers

In some cities, representation on municipal agencies/boards is nearing population share, but senior management gaps remain pronounced in others. Black representation in senior leadership increased to 3.0% in 2024 (from 1.4% in 2017), but remains below overall workforce representation (3.0% executives vs. 5.0% overall).  In Canada’s largest corporations, representation in leadership still lags behind workforce representation but Canada compares well to other majority white countries including the U.S.A., UK, Australia, Portugal, France, Spain, Netherlands and Italy in terms of representation on boards.

Entrepreneurship: SOBER reveals that there is more focus on impact and new evidence of economic pressure

SOBER 2026 updates entrepreneurship indicators and adds an analysis of economic contributions.  For example, SOBER 2026 finds that Black self-employment increased from 3.16% (2024) to 3.53% (2025), but this is still below the population share. DI researchers suggest Black entrepreneurs are experiencing economic pressures more acutely, with a sharper decline in “very optimistic” outlook than among business owners overall. Honing on trade diversification, SOBER 2026 places greater emphasis on the economic impact of Black entrepreneurship, highlighting the role of Black immigrant entrepreneurs in international trade. More than half (57.1%) of Black immigrant entrepreneurs export goods or services to their country of origin, far exceeding rates among other racialized immigrants (36.0%) and non-racialized immigrants (19.8%).  This year, DI also documented stellar successes of Black entrepreneurs who succeeded despite the barriers they faced.

For more information, please contact: Kathleen Powderley, 416-803-5597, kathleen@responsiblecomm.ca