How to access gender-affirming care: Overview
On this page
Everyone, regardless of their gender identity, has the right to be their authentic self, and should have access to the care and support they need to lead a happy and healthy life.
We recognize that the decision to seek out gender-affirming care is a deeply personal one. Talk to a health care provider about your options and to get advice about what's right for you.
What Canada is doing
The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms protects a number of rights and freedoms, including the right to equality.
The Canadian Human Rights Act and similar provincial and territorial laws prohibit discrimination in both public and private sectors, in areas including:
- housing
- employment
- access to goods and services, including health services
All Canadian human rights statutes have been amended to explicitly prohibit discrimination on the basis of gender identity.
Find your province or territory's human rights legislation
Sexual and Reproductive Health Fund aims to strengthen the healthcare system and related supports for under-served community members. Close to $7.5 million has been provided to projects related to gender-affirming care, which include:
- Improving the quality and access of SRH care for 2SLGBTQI+ people (Sherbourne Health)
- Gender-affirming sexual and reproductive health resources for healthcare providers and Two-Spirit, trans and non-binary (TTNB) Canadians (Provincial Health Services Authority Trans Care BC)
Learn more about the Sexual and Reproductive Health Fund and its projects
Statistics
The 2021 census enabled people living in Canada to report their gender identity separately from their sex assigned at birth for the first time. This made Canada the first country to collect and publish data on gender diversity from a national census.
Of the nearly 30.5 million people in Canada aged 15 and older living in a private household, 100,815 identified themselves as transgender or nonbinary:
- Transgender: 59,460
- Non-binary: 41,355
This accounts for 0.33% of the population in this age group. Close to 1 in 100 (0.85%) adults aged 20 to 24 identified as non-binary or transgender.
These figures are most likely an underestimation, as some people may have felt uncomfortable disclosing their gender identity.