Facts, stats and impact: 2SLGBTQI+ communities

Historical actions were taken by the Government of Canada in recent years to build a better, more inclusive future for Two-Spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, and additional sexually and gender diverse people (2SLGBTQI+), and yet there is still more work to be done. The following statistics highlight that inequality persists for 2SLGBTQI+ communities in Canada and how the Government of Canada is striving to create a future where everyone in Canada is truly free to be who they are.

Facts and stats

The Government of Canada adopted the acronym 2SLGBTQI+ to refer to Two-Spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and intersex people and those who use other terms related to gender and sexual diversity. Statistics Canada uses the acronym 2SLGBTQ+ for data analysis purposes, as information is not yet specifically collected about intersex people in surveys.

Demography^{Footnote 1} 

Of this group, 10.5% were between the ages of 15 and 24. Of this group, 1% identified as transgender or non-binary.

Bullying^{Footnote 2} 

Not only are sexually and gender diverse youth more likely to be bullied, but their mental health is also often worse than cisgender youth attracted exclusively to a different gender.

After socio-demographic and socio-economic factors were considered, sexually and gender diverse youth were:

Homelessness^{Footnote 3} 

There is an overrepresentation of individuals experiencing homelessness among 2SLGBTQI+ communities.­­ Of all respondents experiencing homelessness collected through Everyone Counts 2020-2022:

Reasons for housing loss

Among reasons for housing loss, 2SLGBTQI+ respondents cited:

• mental health issues (15%)
• having a conflict with a parent or guardian (12%)

Health challenges

2SLGBTQI+ homeless respondents had a greater likelihood of reporting all health challenges. Differences were greatest for:

• learning or cognitive limitations (48% for 2SLGBTQI+ respondents, compared to 31% for non-2SLGBTQI+ respondents)
• mental health issues (78% for 2SLGBTQI+ respondents, compared to 57% for non-2SLGBTQI+ respondents).

Income^{Footnote 4}

Research shows that lesbian, gay and bisexual individuals, relative to their heterosexual counterparts,^{Footnote 5}  are more likely to:

• earn lower incomes
• experience discrimination on the job
• encounter barriers in finding and advancing in employment

Mental health^{Footnote 6 Footnote 7} 

Among those aged 15 years and older, 3 in 10 (29.7%) 2SLGBTQ+ people reported their mental health to be fair or poor, compared with fewer than 1 in 10 non-2SLGBTQ+ individuals (9.1%).

Stigma^{Footnote 8} 

When Canadians were asked about which populations faced the most stigma, 55% of respondents perceived that individuals who are transgender face a lot or quite a bit of stigma in their daily lives in Canada.

Types of stigmas

The top five types of stigmas that Canadians perceive these communities to face are:

Top drivers of stigma

• people being threatened by something they don’t understand (27%)
• people not feeling comfortable with people who are different (25%)
• people believing that being part of 2SLGBTQI+ communities is unnatural (24%)

Government of Canada’s impact 

The Government of Canada values 2SLGBTQI+ rights as human rights and upholds the values of diversity and inclusion as key to building a better and more prosperous Canada for everyone. The Government is committed to promoting 2SLGBTQI+ equality, protecting 2SLGBTQI+ rights, and addressing discrimination against 2SLGBTQI+ communities, both past and current.

To that end, the Federal 2SLGBTQI+ Action Plan was launched on August 28, 2022. The Plan is a whole-of-government approach aimed at advancing the rights, and improving social, economic, and health outcomes for 2SLGBTQI+ people in Canada. Progress on the Federal 2SLGBTQI+ Action Plan is updated regularly.

Immediately following the Action Plan’s launch, the Government of Canada adopted the new 2SLGBTQI+ acronym and encouraged its use across the public service. However, many instances of different versions still exist, particularly in reference to documents published prior to the Action Plan, and in reference to studies and research that did not include every letter represented within the 2SLGBTQI+ acronym. It evolved following a public consultation prior to the Action Plan and specifically added Two-Spirit, 2S, at the beginning to recognize their presence before Western colonization. At the international level, LGBTQI tends to be the acronym used.

Since August 2022, the Government of Canada has implemented several of its Action Plan initiatives, including but not limited to Expanding Bill C-66 to enable convictions for bawdy house and indecency-based offences to be eligible for criminal record expungement (see Government of Canada takes another step towards righting historically unjust convictions - Canada.ca); and completing consultations to review criminal law regarding HIV non-disclosure(see HIV Non-Disclosure (justice.gc.ca).

As announced in Budget 2024, Women and Gender Equality Canada will support 2SLGBTQI+ not-for-profit organizations by investing $12M over five years, as an additional investment to be delivered through the 2SLGBTQI+ Projects Fund to build and sustain community resilience against hate and discrimination.