Aboriginal journalists under represented in Canadian media

Nearly 7 out of 10 news rooms used no indigenous journalist in 2024 in Canada, reveals a recent survey of the Canadian Journalists Association.

In the 2021 census, natives represented 5 % of the Canadian population. According to the investigation, they are fairly under-represented In news rooms, forming only 3.5 % of journalists in the country.

Between 2021 and 2023, Canadian journalists had between 5 % and 6 % of natives.

And they are even fewer in charge of managers: Aboriginal people are only 2.4 % of press room managers.

Moreover, 30 % of the major information media have at least one indigenous person or from a visible minority among its three main leaders. A statistic that has not moved an iota compared to 2023.

The Canadian Association of Journalists has surveyed 270 digital, printed, radio and television media in Canada. She collected and classified data on gender, ethnicity and the role of 5806 journalists in the country.

More than 60 % of the 715 guest presses rooms did not participate in the study.

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In Canada, three -quarters of journalists identify as white and 52 % as women, show the data.

The “trainee” category is the only one where indigenous journalists from visible minorities are more numerous than white journalists.

It is encouraging to see greater diversity among the trainees. However, it emphasizes the importance of ensuring that these first jobs turn into long -term lasting careers for black, indigenous journalists, and from other visible minoritiessaid by press release the survey manager Zane Schwartz.

The representation of Asians in the Canadian journalistic landscape is even lower than that of Aboriginal people. They only form 8.7 % of journalists while they constitute 17.5 % of the Canadian population. They are despite everything the second ethnic origin most present in the editorial rooms after the whites.

Aptn and Global News leader

Generally, the news rooms that employ the greatest number of indigenous journalists or belonging to a visible minority are those with a large team and addressing a national audienceunderlines the study.

This is the case with APTN and Global Newswhich alone employed more than two thirds of Aboriginal journalists in the country.

Among the media published in French, the daily of Ottawa-Gatineau The right stands out. Some 4.2 % of its information artisans are indigenous. They represent less than 1 % of the troops of the - Information Service.

The daily The press, The Agency La Presse Canada and the Review Squire There are none, according to the data made public.

The number of indigenous journalists has dropped in the last year, from 191 in 2023 to 112 in 2024, show the statistics.

The association explains that this decline is most likely due to a fall in the number of indigenous journalists listed by the data of CBC News. In 2024, 4.4 % of journalists from the English -speaking public broadcaster were indigenous. In 2023, they represented more than 10 % of the workforce.

At CBC/-, data on the diversity of employees is taken from an optional internal survey. This difference is probably due to the fact that employees have not re-registered in the new self-identification system for CBCindicates the Canadian Association of Journalists.