What counts as equity? Problem representations of equity in the Quality of Life Framework and the Canadian Index of Wellbeing

Introduction Governments and public health agencies increasingly use wellbeing frameworks to guide policy and assess equity. In Canada, the federal Quality of Life Framework (QLF) and Canadian Index of Wellbeing (CIW) are influential examples, yet little is known about how they construct equity.Theory Drawing on ecosocial, intersectional, and Indigenous data sovereignty scholarship, this analysis treats indicators and frameworks as political artefacts that make some inequities visible while obscuring others.Method Using Carol Bacchi’s ‘What’s the Problem Represented to Be?’ approach, we analyse framework documents and contextual equity guidance to examine how the QLF and CIW define equity challenges, the assumptions they contain, and the silences they produce.Results The QLF represents equity primarily as a technical problem of data gaps and disaggregation, while the CIW represents it as a value-driven problem of misaligned priorities between economic growth and lived wellbeing.Discussion Together, these representations position equity primarily as a matter of information and participation rather than power, resources, or data governance, underscoring the need for more reflexive approaches to wellbeing measurement.