Every worker deserves an equal opportunity and a safe work environment. Yet many workers—especially women, Indigenous peoples, persons with disabilities and members of visible minorities—continue to face barriers to equity and experience harassment and violence at work.
The Government of Canada launched calls for proposals to support innovative projects that will help create safer, more inclusive, and more equitable workplaces in federally regulated private sectors. The projects will focus on improving workplace culture, preventing harassment and violence, and removing systemic barriers so that workers can reach their full potential.
Two calls for proposals are being carried out jointly by the Labour Program at Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) and Impact Canada at the Privy Council Office (PCO). Funding will be provided through two existing funding streams: the Workplace Opportunities: Removing Barriers to Equity (WORBE) program and the Workplace Harassment and Violence Prevention Fund (WHVPF). WORBE projects aim to improve representation of designated groups, increase understanding of industry specific barriers to equity, and develop new inclusion tools and guides tailored to industry needs. WHVPF projects aim to create safer and healthier workplaces by co-developing sector-specific tools and resources related to harassment and violence prevention.
Funding recipients will receive support to develop, implement and advance their projects, and to track and measure results. Recipients will be required to demonstrate value for the funding they receive and to make their final projects publicly available so that workers and workplaces across Canada can benefit.
ESDC will provide up to $16.5 million in total to fund the new projects under the two streams. Selected applicants will receive up to $500,000 each per year for up to three years, starting in June 2026. Interested parties should consult the applicant guide for WORBE and the WHVPF before submitting their project proposals by February 13, 2026.
