- Homosexuality
- ⚢✔ Legal
- Gay Marriage
- ⚭✔ Legal
- Censorship
- ✔ No censorship
- Changing Gender
- ✔ Legal, no restrictions
- Gender-Affirming Care
- Varies by Region
- Non-Binary Gender Recognition
- ✔ Recognized
- Discrimination
- ✔ Illegal
- Employment Discrimination
- ✔ Sexual orientation and gender identity
- Housing Discrimination
- ✔ Sexual orientation and gender identity
- Adoption
- ✔ Legal
- Intersex Infant Surgery
- ✖ Not banned
- Military
- ✔ Legal
- Donating Blood
- ✔ Legal
- Conversion Therapy
- ✔ Banned
- Age of Consent
- ✔ Equal
Public Opinion
Surveys in Canada have shown mixed views towards LGBTQ+ rights and issues.
How comfortable would you be in each of the following situations- If you had a next-door neighbor who was gay, lesbian, or bisexual?
How comfortable would you be in each of the following situations- If you had a next-door neighbor who is a transgender person?
How comfortable would you be in each of the following situations- If you had a manager or supervisor who is gay, lesbian, or bisexual?
Perception of LGBTQ+ People
Survey results from 57 LGBTQ+ Equaldex users who lived in or visited Canada.
Overall
Perceived Safety**Survey results represent personal perceptions of safety and may not be indicative of current actual conditions.
Equal Treatment
Visibility & Representation
Culture
Services
History
Same-sex marriage in Canada is legal.
Censorship of LGBT issues in Canada is no censorship.
Right to change legal gender in Canada is legal, no restrictions.
Gender-affirming care in Canada is varies by region.
Legal
- Ontario 2000
- British Columbia
- Manitoba
- New Brunswick
- Newfoundland and Labrador
- Northwest Territories
- Nunavut
- Nova Scotia
- Prince Edward Island
- Quebec
- Saskatchewan
- Yukon
Legal, but restricted for minors
- Alberta 2024
In 2000, Canada adopted the ICD-10 classification, which contains codes for diagnosing transsexualism in adulthood and childhood, which authorize the initiation of medical transition.
To qualify, applicants had to be employed, be straight, never have been convicted of a crime, have lived as their identified gender for at least two years, and have changed all their legal documents.
In 1979, Canada adopted the ICD-9 classification, which included codes allowing for the diagnosis of transsexualism in adults. That same year, Canada legalized sterilization.
Legal recognition of non-binary gender in Canada is recognized.
Other IDs are under provincial/territorial jurisdiction. Only Nunavut currently has no legal recognition for non-binary identities.
LGBT discrimination in Canada is illegal.
LGBT employment discrimination in Canada is sexual orientation and gender identity.
Provincial human rights acts are separate, but Supreme Court precedent exists for requiring provinces to protect the same classes as the Canadian Human Rights Act. At this time all provinces protect against employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. Of the provinces only Ontario has explicit protection on the basis of both gender identity and gender expression in its human rights code, though several provide implicit protections on the basis of gender identity or "transsexualism" under the category of "sex" or "gender".
Same-sex adoption in Canada is legal.
Intersex infant surgery in Canada is not banned.
Serving openly in military in Canada is legal.
Blood donations by MSMs in Canada is legal.
LGBT Rights by Province
View the LGBT laws in each individual province of Canada.
- Prince Edward Island
- Quebec
- Saskatchewan
- Northwest Territories (Territory)
- Nunavut (Territory)
- Yukon (Territory)