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LGBT Rights in Canada

    Homosexuality
    ✔ Legal
    Gay Marriage
    ✔ Legal
    Censorship
    ✔ No censorship
    Changing Gender
    ✔ Legal, no restrictions
    Non-binary gender recognition
    ✔ Recognized
    Discrimination
    ✔ Illegal
    Employment Discrimination
    ✔ Sexual orientation and gender identity
    Housing Discrimination
    ✔ Sexual orientation and gender identity
    Adoption
    ✔ Legal
    Military
    ✔ Legal
    Donating Blood
    ✔ Legal
    Conversion Therapy
    ✔ Banned
    Age of Consent
    ✔ Equal

Surveys in Canada have shown mixed views towards LGBTQ+ rights and issues.

History

Homosexual activity in Canada

?

Homosexual activity in Canada is legal.

Current status
Since Jun 27, 1969
Legal
Homosexuality is legal under Canadian Law.
Added by alexkillby  ·  1 accurate vote  ·  Report Error  ·  Log

Jul 1, 1867–Jun 27, 1969
Illegal (imprisonment as punishment)
Indefinite Imprisonment as "Dangerous Sex Offender" - origin of law was included from confederation in 1867.
Added by alexkillby  ·  1 accurate vote  ·  Report Error  ·  Log

Same-sex marriage in Canada

?

Same-sex marriage in Canada is legal.

Current status
Since Jul 20, 2005
Legal
Same-sex marriage in Canada became legal with The Civil Marriage Act.
Added by danlev  ·  1 accurate vote  ·  Report Error  ·  Log

Jun 10, 2003–Jul 19, 2005
Varies by Region
On June 10th, 2003, Ontario became the first province in Canada to legalize civil unions for gay couples. The second province to legalize it was British Columbia less than a month later on July 8th, 2003.
Added by Unknownmiles  ·  0 accurate votes  ·  Report Error  ·  Log

Censorship of LGBT Issues in Canada

?

Censorship of LGBT Issues in Canada is no censorship.

Current status
No censorship
In Canada, there are no laws restricting to discussion or promotion of LGBTQ+ topics. In 2020 a whistleblower revealed that staff at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights had been told by management to censor LGBTQ exhibits, a move which was condemned by Federal Heritage Minister Steven Guilbeault.
Added by equaldex  ·  1 accurate vote  ·  Report Error  ·  Log

Right to change legal gender in Canada

?

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

Current status
Since 2017
Legal, no restrictions
Changing legal gender is a provincial matter. Since 2017, all provinces and territories now allow their residents to change their official gender marker without surgery.
Added by Notdog1996  ·  0 accurate votes  ·  Report Error  ·  Log

Apr 11, 20122017
Varies by Region
Most provinces in canada require surgery to legally change gender, however, since 2012 Ontario has not required surgery to change gender.
Added by tsusamu  ·  1 accurate vote  ·  Report Error  ·  Log

Until Apr 11, 2012
Legal, but requires surgery
Requires surgery for sex change.

Legal recognition of non-binary gender in Canada

?

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

Current status
Since Aug 31, 2017
Recognized
The Canadian federal government now allows individuals to put "X" on their passport to indicate an unspecified gender.

Other IDs are under provincial/territorial jurisdiction. Only Nunavut currently has no legal recognition for non-binary identities.
Added by danlev  ·  1 accurate vote  ·  Report Error  ·  Log

Jun 2016–Aug 31, 2017
Varies by Region
Some provinces allowed "X" as a gender identity on drivers licenses and birth certificates.
Added by danlev  ·  0 accurate votes  ·  Report Error  ·  Log

LGBT discrimination in Canada

?

LGBT discrimination in Canada is illegal.

Current status
Since Jan 1, 2017
Illegal
Bill C-16 amended the Canadian Human Rights Act to add gender identity and gender expression to the list of prohibited grounds of discrimination.
Added by smulligan  ·  0 accurate votes  ·  Report Error  ·  Log

Apr 17, 1985–Jan 1, 2017
Illegal in some contexts
Non-inclusion of Gender Identity in Charter.
Added by alexkillby  ·  1 accurate vote  ·  Report Error  ·  Log

LGBT employment discrimination in Canada

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

Current status
Since Jun 19, 2017
Sexual orientation and gender identity
Bill C-16 received Royal Ascent on 19 June 2017, revising the Canadian Human Rights Act and the Criminal Code.
Added by Ausyk  ·  0 accurate votes  ·  Report Error  ·  Log

Jun 1, 1996–Jun 18, 2017
Sexual orientation only
Federal human rights law applies directly to only federal government employment and employers which fall under federal jurisdiction. Gender identity is only implicitly protected under interpretation of the law by the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal. Attempts have been made to have gender identity and gender expression added as protected classes to both the Canadian Human Rights Act and Criminal Code, though none of these attempts so far has been successful.

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".

LGBT housing discrimination in Canada

?

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

Current status
Since Dec 7, 2015
Sexual orientation and gender identity
“Gender identity and gender expression” were added by Bill 7, the Alberta Human Rights Amendment Act which received royal assent in 2015.
Added by smulligan  ·  1 accurate vote  ·  Report Error  ·  Log

Same-sex adoption in Canada

?

Same-sex adoption in Canada is legal.

Current status
Since May 25, 1995
Legal
Homosexual couples can legally adopt children.
Added by alexkillby  ·  1 accurate vote  ·  Report Error  ·  Log

Serving openly in military in Canada

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Serving openly in military in Canada is legal.

Current status
Since Oct 10, 1992
Legal
LGBT soldiers are permitted to serve in the Canadian military.
Added by bradcoffey106  ·  0 accurate votes  ·  Report Error  ·  Log

Blood donations by MSMs in Canada

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Blood donations by MSMs in Canada is legal.

Current status
Since Sep 30, 2022
Legal
After having a 3 month deferral for MSMs to donate blood was deemed unfair, it is now completely legal for MSMs to donate blood with no deferral as long as they have been tested negative for HIV, which everyone has to do before donating blood, regardless of sexuality.
Added by tsusamu  ·  1 accurate vote  ·  Report Error  ·  Log

Jun 3, 2019–Sep 30, 2022
Banned (3-month deferral)
Banned with 3 months deferral
Added by vviet93  ·  1 accurate vote  ·  Report Error  ·  Log

Jan 2016–Jun 3, 2019
Banned (1-year deferral)
Health Canada approved Canadian Blood Services’ proposal to reduce the blood donation ineligibility period for men who have sex with men from five years to one year.
Added by alexkillby  ·  1 accurate vote  ·  Report Error  ·  Log

Jul 22, 2013–Jan 2016
Banned (5-year deferral)
Health Canada changed the indefinite deferral period to a 5-year deferral, effective July 22, 2013.
Added by alexkillby  ·  1 accurate vote  ·  Report Error  ·  Log

Sep 26, 1998–Jun 22, 2013
Banned (indefinite deferral)
Added by alexkillby  ·  1 accurate vote  ·  Report Error  ·  Log

Conversion therapy in Canada

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Conversion therapy in Canada is banned.

Current status
Since Jan 7, 2022
Banned
Conversion therapy in Canada is banned nationwide under bill C-4(44-1) which recieved Royal Assent on December 8th 2021 and went into effect 30 days after on January 7th 2022. Two previous legislative attempts failed.
Added by litui  ·  0 accurate votes  ·  Report Error  ·  Log

Equal age of consent in Canada

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Equal age of consent in Canada is equal.

Current status
Since Jun 21, 2019
Equal
Age of consent equalized to age 16.
Added by DCan  ·  1 accurate vote  ·  Report Error  ·  Log

May 1, 2008–Jun 21, 2019
Unequal
The age of consent in for anal sex in Canada is 18, whereas the age of consent for acts of sex is 16.
Added by alexkillby  ·  0 accurate votes  ·  Report Error  ·  Log


LGBT Rights by Province

View the LGBT laws in each individual province of Canada.