In appointing senior administrators, universities must contend with competing functional and aspirational social expectations. In recent times, such aspirational demands have gravitated around fair representation of equity-seeking groups, but in Canada, as in many jurisdictions, appointment data are neither collected nor reported, and progress remains undetermined. The article reports on a study of 187 Canadian university provostial appointments published between 2012 and 2023. Data on gender, race and Indigeneity, appointment type, previous experience, and provenance were collected to draw a longitudinal analysis of the demographics and career trajectories of Canadian university provosts. Findings show that important transformations are taking place in Canadian universities. Female appointees have breached parity, while racialized and Indigenous appointees remain underrepresented, and universities increasingly rely on interim and external appointments. Potential effects related to the COVID-19 global pandemic are examined.
