Experiences of discrimination during the COVID-19 pandemic (2020)

What is this research about?

The COVID-19 pandemic has intensified pre-existing inequities in Canadian society and has highlighted the need for more granular data about the social impacts of COVID-19. This release provided an overview of discrimination experienced by Canadians over the course of the pandemic, as well as the relationship between experiences of discrimination and various measures of trust and sense of belonging.

What did the researchers find?

"The new crowdsourcing initiative on experiences of discrimination took place against a backdrop of difficulties and challenges faced by several groups of Canadians over the course of the pandemic. This often reflected pre-existing structural inequities and vulnerabilities that these groups were facing prior to the pandemic. Many of these difficulties have been documented in Statistics Canada studies...

Statistics Canada provided Canadians with an opportunity to share their experiences of discrimination via a new crowdsourcing initiative. Although the results cannot be generalized to the overall population, over one-quarter of participants reported experiencing discrimination or being treated unfairly over the course of the pandemic. Results also indicate that several groups of participants, including gender diverse participants, Chinese, Korean, Southeast Asian and Black participants, and Indigenous women were among those who were much more likely to report having experienced discrimination or been treated unfairly during the pandemic. Furthermore, the results suggest that there is a significant association between experiences of discrimination and other key social indicators, such as trust in institutions."