New census data offers snapshot of Canada’s transgender population for first time

TORONTO — Newly released census data shows 0.33 per cent of Canadians aged 15 or older — or about 100,815 people — identify as transgender or non-binary.

The new information from Statistics Canada gives an unprecedented snapshot into Canada’s transgender and non-binary population, which some advocates say is long overdue.

Last year’s national household survey included a revamped section on gender, differentiating for the first time between the sex a person was assigned at birth and their gender. 

Gemma Hickey, a transmasculine non-binary author and activist, says it’s “about time” the census acknowledged people who exist outside the gender binary.