Canada's Best Diversity Employers for 2026 have just been announced by Mediacorp Canada Inc., recognizing organizations that go beyond policy to build genuinely inclusive workplaces. Now in its 19th year, the competition highlights standout initiatives across five key groups: women, visible minorities, persons with disabilities, Indigenous peoples, and 2SLGBTQIA+ communities. From Air Canada to York University, this year's winners show that inclusive workplaces are good for people and good for business.
Canada's workforce has never been more diverse, and the employers stepping up to reflect that reality have earned some well-deserved recognition. On February 24, 2026, Mediacorp Canada Inc. announced this year's winners of Canada's Best Diversity Employers, a competition now in its 19th year that shines a spotlight on organizations building workplaces where people from all backgrounds feel genuinely welcome.
The announcement was published in a special feature distributed through The Globe and Mail and on Eluta.ca, Canada's largest job search engine. At a moment when national conversations about diversity, equity, and inclusion have grown complicated, these employers have kept their focus where it matters most: on the real, lived experiences of their people.
Why this recognition matters
The competition, run by Mediacorp Canada Inc. (organizers of the well-known Canada's Top 100 Employers project), evaluates organizations based on the strength and impact of their diversity initiatives. Employers are assessed across five key areas, covering programs and supports for:
- Women in the workforce
- Members of visible minorities
- Persons with disabilities
- Indigenous peoples
- Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender/Transsexual (LGBT) peoples
The competition is open to any employer with its head office or principal place of business in Canada, whether in the public or private sector. Winners are selected by Mediacorp's editorial team, which publishes detailed reasons for selection alongside each winner's profile, adding a level of transparency rarely seen in employer recognition programs.
Inclusion as a business strategy
Stephanie Leung, an editor at Mediacorp, put it plainly: "Successful talent strategies prioritize individuals. Organizations that regularly engage with their employees develop a deeper understanding of what matters to them, and can use that insight to drive meaningful change that resonates across diverse communities, boosting both engagement and retention."
That thinking is increasingly backed by evidence. Organizations that invest in inclusion tend to see stronger employee engagement, lower turnover, and broader access to talent. Kristina Leung, managing editor at Mediacorp, offered a particularly grounding example: "Consider the challenge of five generations working side by side: designing benefits that serve everyone, from employees starting families to those navigating eldercare, requires exactly the kind of inclusive thinking these employers have made central to their culture."
In other words, inclusion is practical. It forces organizations to think carefully about what their employees actually need, and to design programs that work for people at different life stages, with different identities, and from different communities.
A closer look at some of this year's winners
The 2026 list includes employers from across industries and regions, each recognized for specific, concrete initiatives rather than vague commitments to diversity. A few standout examples illustrate what meaningful action looks like in practice.
Air Canada was named one of Canada's Best Diversity Employers for 2026, the eighth time in the past decade the airline has earned this distinction. The carrier launched a mentorship program focused on underrepresented groups in mid-level management, with mentorship provided by senior leaders, and continues to build partnerships with specialty colleges to support scholarship opportunities for underrepresented communities pursuing careers in aviation.
York University released a framework on Black inclusion along with an action plan that includes a review of recruitment processes to improve opportunities for Black applicants and the creation of a Black staff network.
The YMCA of Greater Toronto launched a leadership development program for Black employees, designed in direct consultation with the organization's Black experience staff advisory committee.
Women's College Hospital provides unconscious bias training for management and recruitment panel members, embedding equity thinking into hiring decisions from the start.
Some organizations took a grassroots approach. At Niagara Health, DEI champions spread across departments make conversations about equity and inclusion feel routine rather than exceptional. One of those champions, quality and patient safety specialist Deline Anthonypillai, described her role as being "both a connector and an amplifier, translating Niagara Health's DEI priorities into everyday actions and conversations so people feel seen, valued and supported."
Jazz Aviation LP was named one of Canada's Best Diversity Employers for the fifteenth consecutive year, a remarkable streak that reflects a sustained, long-term commitment rather than a single-year effort.
Turning policy into culture
One theme that emerges clearly across this year's winners is the gap between having a diversity policy and actually living one. Vancouver-based learning platform Thinkific Labs encourages all employees to lead diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging (DEIB) initiatives. Jeremy Chan, the company's general counsel and corporate secretary, summed it up well: "From a governance perspective, an organization will have policies, but policies alone don't create culture. Human champions breathe life into that framework."
That observation cuts to the heart of what separates the employers on this list from those still treating inclusion as a compliance exercise. Programs matter, but the people who carry them forward, day to day, in meetings and hiring decisions and mentorship conversations, are what actually shape the experience of working somewhere.
Several winners have formalized this approach by establishing Employee Resource Groups (ERGs), dedicated mentorship pipelines, leadership development programs tailored to underrepresented employees, and structured accountability frameworks that tie diversity goals to executive performance.
About the competition and Mediacorp
Published annually since 2008, Canada's Best Diversity Employers is an editorial competition that recognizes employers across Canada with exceptional workplace diversity and inclusiveness programs. It sits within a broader ecosystem of employer recognition managed by Mediacorp, which has run Canada's Top 100 Employers project since 1999. That project encompasses 19 regional and special-interest competitions, reaching millions of Canadians each year through partnerships with The Globe and Mail and other media outlets.
Mediacorp also operates Eluta.ca, where job seekers can search positions directly from employer websites and read detailed editorial reviews. Last year, 2.4 million unique visitors used Mediacorp's platforms to research employers and explore new opportunities.
The full 2026 list, along with detailed reasons for each winner's selection, is available on the competition homepage at canadastop100.com/diversity and in The Globe and Mail's digital edition.
What this means for job seekers in Toronto
For anyone navigating Toronto's competitive job market, this list is a genuinely useful resource. It goes well beyond a simple ranking. Each winner comes with a detailed explanation of why they were selected, including specific programs, benefits, and initiatives that shaped the editorial decision. That means job seekers can assess not just whether an employer claims to value inclusion, but what they are actually doing about it.
This year's Toronto-based winners include Women's College Hospital, the YMCA of Greater Toronto, and York University, among others, offering a range of opportunities across healthcare, community services, and post-secondary education. For newcomers to Canada in particular, these employers have demonstrated a meaningful commitment to supporting employees from visible minority communities and building environments where diverse identities are respected, not just tolerated.
When evaluating potential employers, it is worth looking beyond salary and job title to ask questions like:
- Does this organization have employee resource groups relevant to my background or community?
- Are diversity goals tied to leadership accountability, or are they aspirational statements?
- Has the company been consistently recognized for inclusion, or is this a first-time nod?
- What specific programs exist for career development and mentorship for underrepresented employees?
Where inclusion is headed
The 2026 winners demonstrate that the most forward-thinking employers treat diversity as an ongoing practice rather than a destination. Programs are evolving, accountability structures are deepening, and the conversation is shifting from representation to genuine belonging.
As Canada's population continues to grow through immigration and its workforce increasingly reflects that demographic shift, the employers who invest in inclusion now are positioning themselves to attract and retain the talent they will need in the years ahead. The data bears this out: organizations with strong diversity practices consistently outperform peers on employee engagement and retention, and they are better equipped to serve an equally diverse customer base.
For job seekers, the Canada's Best Diversity Employers list offers something rare in the hiring process: a credible, independently assessed signal that an employer's commitments go beyond the career page. Whether you are early in your career, re-entering the workforce, or looking to advance, knowing which organizations have been recognized for their inclusion efforts is a smart place to start your search.
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