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Standard requirements

Last updated on January 29, 2026

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Supporting cultural safety

What to do:

  • Collect racial identity data only when needed to help identify and address systemic racism, advance racial equity and/or deliver programs. Only collect what’s necessary
  • Collect racial identity data in a culturally safe manner that minimizes harm and respects the highly sensitive and personal nature of this data
  • Ensure staff collecting and handling data have the right training. This includes training in cultural safety, anti-racism, trauma-informed approaches and intersectionality
  • Ensure people are told that providing information about racial identity is voluntary and that benefits or services will not be withheld, altered or otherwise limited if an individual declines to provide their personal information, unless that information is needed to deliver the benefit or service
  • Ensure people are clearly informed about the purpose of collecting their information, following both the Anti-Racism Data Act and the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act notice requirements
  • As much as possible, collect racial identity data directly from the individual it is about, unless it is indirectly collected from another public body

Asking the identity questions

Each variable has one question to be asked when collecting racial identity data.

What to do:

  • Ask the questions in the Indigenous Identity Data Standard before the questions in the Racial Identity Data Standard and use the Indigenous identity variable as the source of truth when doing research about First Nations, Métis or Inuit people
  • Always use the standard questions for each identity variable. Ask questions exactly as written
  • Use digital formats whenever possible
  • Provide preambles, as they help explain the purpose of the questions

What not to do:

Data entry, coding and management

What to do:

  • Where possible, use digital forms and drop downs to prevent unclear responses
  • Allow people to skip questions
  • If someone changes their answer on a paper form (for example, crosses something out and picks a different option), record the most clearly selected answer. If the answer is unclear, then treat it as a combination response (see the table below for how to code responses)
  • Ensure people have a way to update their information, if possible and appropriate
  • Store data as raw values to make sharing and future analysis easier
  • Store data safely and follow security, metadata and record management rules of your organization

How to code responses

Situation How to code
Only identify values selected Record as given
Only "PREFER NOT TO ANSWER" selected Record as given
Only "I DO NOT KNOW / I AM NOT SURE" selected Record as given
No answer (for example, question skipped)

For measuring response rates, record as "Response Unknown"

For data register, record as NULL
Combinations not allowed (for example, identity + "PREFER NOT TO ANSWER" or identity + "I DO NOT KNOW / I AM NOT SURE"

Check variable-specific usage rules

For measuring response rates, record as "Response Unclear"

For data register, record as NULL