Call 7 envisions a centralized, searchable national database of certified, board-ready Indigenous individuals that organizations across Canada could draw on when filling seats on corporate, not-for-profit, and public-sector boards of directors. As of early 2026, no such database exists. Several organizations deliver board-readiness programming that produces qualified Indigenous candidates, but these efforts remain fragmented across multiple institutions, and there is no coordinating mechanism or shared registry linking certified individuals to board opportunities.
The need for action is underscored by Corporations Canada’s 2024 annual report on board diversity, which found that Indigenous Peoples hold just 0.5 percent of board seats on federal distributing corporations and that only two percent of those corporations have even one Indigenous director—figures that have remained essentially flat since tracking began in 2020. While board-governance training, diversity disclosure requirements, and employer certification programs have expanded the pipeline of qualified Indigenous candidates, the absence of a centralized database means the supply of board-ready individuals is not being systematically connected to the demand for diverse directors.
