In April 2022, Canada became the first country to disseminate information related to gender based on the data collected through its census, addressing an important knowledge and information gap. This stemmed from a growing and legislative recognition of transgender and non-binary people in the Canadian society.
With respect to data about gender and sex at birth, as with all other data it gathers, Statistics Canada protects the privacy and confidentiality of all individuals while providing relevant statistical information for decision-making. Because the transgender and non-binary persons form a very small sub-population which is also subject to discrimination and hate crimes, it is important to err on the side of caution when disseminating information about them. Hence, while detailed information on gender diversity can be released at higher levels of geography, a new two-category gender variable (Men+, Women+) has been created for use at the lower levels to ensure an adequate protection of the confidentiality of responses provided.
In this talk, we will present Statistics Canada’s standards on sex at birth and gender, and summarize the 2021 Census results on gender diversity. We will also present Statistics Canada’s new standard on sexual orientation and summarize results from recent publications on the LGB (lesbian, gay and bisexual) and the 2SLGBTQ+ (people who are Two-Spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and those who use other terms related to gender or sexual diversity) populations. Finally, we will present the contextual and methodological considerations that have led to the creation of the new two-category gender variable and discuss the best practices to adopt when using it to release statistical information on gender.
