Homosexuality
    ✔ Legal
    Gay Marriage
    ✔ Legal
    Censorship
    ✔ No censorship
    Changing Gender
    ✔ Legal, no restrictions
    Gender-Affirming Care
    ✔ Legal
    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
💬 Join Equaldex's LGBTQ+ Discord to discuss LGBT rights and chat!

Public opinion polls in Ontario have found that acceptance for LGBTQ+ individuals is prevalent.

Survey

(Fondation , 2020)
of Ontarians would be okay with a family member marrying someone of the same-sex
of Ontarians easily accepted the coming out of a family member

Survey

(Fondation , 2014)
of Ontarians are comfortable around same-sex parents
of Ontarians believe same-sex parents are as good as opposite-sex parents

Perception of LGBTQ+ People

Survey results from 17 LGBTQ+ Equaldex users who lived in or visited Ontario.

Overall

Overall

Perceived Safety*

Feel safe being open
Absence of verbal harassment
Absence of threats and violence
*Survey results represent personal perceptions of safety and may not be indicative of current actual conditions.

Equal Treatment

Treatment by peers
Treatment by family
Treatment at work
Treatment at school
Treatment by general public
Treatment by businesses
Treatment by law enforcement
Treatment by religious groups

Visibility & Representation

Inclusion in education
Representation in entertainment
Representation in news
Political support
Out public figures

Culture

Pride/events
Nightlife
Dating life
Interest groups and clubs

Services

Health and wellness
Gender-affirming care
Support and social services
Advocacy and legal

History

Homosexual activity in Ontario

?

Homosexual activity in Ontario is legal.

Current status
Since Jun 27, 1969
Legal
Introduced by Pierre Trudeau in the omnibus bill The Criminal Law Amendment Act, 1968-69.
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Same-sex marriage in Ontario

?

Same-sex marriage in Ontario is legal.

Current status
Since Jun 10, 2003
Legal
Through the case Halpern v. Canada, the definition of marriage as "one man and one woman" was changed to “the voluntary union for life of two persons to the exclusion of all others” to comply with the couples' equality rights under section 15(1) of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
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Censorship of LGBT issues in Ontario

?

Censorship of LGBT issues in Ontario is no censorship.

Current status
No censorship
In Ontario, there are no laws restricting the discussion or promotion of LGBTQ+ topics.
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Right to change legal gender in Ontario

?

Right to change legal gender in Ontario is legal, no restrictions.

Current status
Since Oct 12, 2012
Legal, no restrictions
Ontario-born can now change their assigned gender on their birth certificate without proof of surgery. Other documents can be changed regardless of birthplace without proof of surgery.
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Apr 11, 2012–Oct 12, 2012
Legal, but requires surgery
It is legal in Ontario to change one's birth certificate and driver's license without surgery, provided (among other items) a signed letter from a physician or psychologist.

Gender-affirming care in Ontario

?

Gender-affirming care in Ontario is legal.

Current status
Since 2000
Legal
Ontario covers the following procedures:
-Assessment for hormone therapy
-Counselling
-Augmentation mammoplasty or mastectomy
-Private clinic stay and/or ministry-approved services outside Canada
-Orchiectomy
-Hysterectomy
-Salpingo-oophorectomy
-Vaginoplasty
-Clitoroplasty
-Clitoral release
-Labiaplasty
-Vaginectomy
-Metoidioplasty
-Phalloplasty
-Testicular implants with scrotoplasty
-Penile implant

Hormones and hormone blockers are partially covered.
To get coverage, patients must be referred by a qualified provider.
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Restricted
In 1969, the first gender identity clinic opened in Toronto at the Clarke Institute of Psychiatry and the first gender-affirming surgery in Canada was performed in 1970.

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.
Until 1969
Banned
Medical transition was not possible in Ontario at the time.

Legal recognition of non-binary gender in Ontario

?

Legal recognition of non-binary gender in Ontario is recognized.

Current status
Since 2018
Recognized
Ontario allows residents to use an X gender marker on birth certificates, health cards and driving licenses as well as to remove the marker altogether.
Until 2018
Not legally recognized
Before 2018, non-binary people had no legal recognition in Ontario.
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LGBT discrimination in Ontario

?

LGBT discrimination in Ontario is illegal.

Current status
Since Jun 15, 1962
Illegal
Ontario's Human Rights Code prohibits discrimination and harassment because of sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression in housing, contracts, employment, goods, services, facilities, and membership in unions or professional associations.

The Code is enforced by the Ontario Human Rights Commission.

LGBT employment discrimination in Ontario

?

LGBT employment discrimination in Ontario is sexual orientation and gender identity.

Current status
Since Jun 15, 1962
Sexual orientation and gender identity
Ontario's Human Rights Code states that every person has a right to equal treatment with respect to employment without discrimination or harassment because of gender identity, gender expression, or sexual orientation.

The Code is enforced by the Ontario Human Rights Commission.

LGBT housing discrimination in Ontario

?

LGBT housing discrimination in Ontario is sexual orientation and gender identity.

Current status
Since Jan 1, 2012
Sexual orientation and gender identity
Various forms of discrimination are prohibited for protected classes including sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression.

Same-sex adoption in Ontario

?

Same-sex adoption in Ontario is legal.

Current status
Since May 25, 1995
Legal
There are no laws in Canada against same-sex couples adoption children.
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Intersex infant surgery in Ontario

?

Intersex infant surgery in Ontario is not banned.

Current status
Not banned
As of now, no laws exist in Ontario to ban or monitor genital surgery on intersex infants.

While parents are usually told, doctors do not always explain their child is intersex and might hide the information from the patient.

Activists groups are trying to change this and make cosmetic genital surgeries on intersex infants illegal. On June 15, 2021, Egale Canada challenged the federal exemption allowing doctors to operate on intersex infants.

Serving openly in military in Ontario

?

Serving openly in military in Ontario is legal.

Current status
Since Oct 10, 1992
Legal
Covered by federal law, Ontario has no provincial military.
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Blood donations by MSMs in Ontario

?

Blood donations by MSMs in Ontario is legal.

Current status
Since Sep 30, 2022
Legal
Following the Canadian Blood Services guidelines, men who have sex with men will be allowed to donate on September 30, 2022 and onwards without a deferral.
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Jun 3, 2019–Sep 30, 2022
Banned (less than 6-month deferral)
Blood donations in Ontario are managed by Canadian Blood Services and thus follow its guidelines.
Jun 20, 2016–Jun 2, 2019
Banned (1-year deferral)
Following Canadian Blood Services guidelines.
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May 22, 2013–Jun 20, 2016
Banned (5-year deferral)
Following Canadian Blood Services guidelines.
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1977–May 22, 2013
Banned (indefinite deferral)
Following Canadian Blood Services guidelines.
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Conversion therapy in Ontario

?

Conversion therapy in Ontario is banned.

Current status
Since Jun 4, 2015
Banned
On June 4, Ontario unanimously passed a Bill 77 "Affirming Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Act" banning "any practice that seeks to change or direct the sexual orientation or gender identity of a patient under 18 years of age, including efforts to change or direct the patient's behavior or gender expression."
Until Jun 3, 2015
Not banned
Before June 4th, 2015, conversion therapy was not banned in Ontario.
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Equal age of consent in Ontario

?

Equal age of consent in Ontario is equal.

Current status
Since Jun 21, 2019
Equal
Under federal legislation.
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Until Jun 20, 2019