Support for Transgender Identity and Healthcare Rights in Canada

• In Event: From Breakthrough to Backlash: Global LGBT Rights in Comparative Perspective

Abstract

The social movement promoting the rights of LGBT+ community members is one of the most globally effective movements of the early 21st century. The movement has global reach and has shifted both attitudes and policies toward greater inclusion, equality, and expansion of rights. To date, most research has focused on the rights of lesbians and gays, particularly in the realm of marriage equality. However, rights of transgender people have more recently emerged as a new frontier in activism and policy change. In this paper, we analyze Canadians’ support for the rights of transgender people to change their gender identities and access gender-affirming medical services using a new 2017 national survey of Canadians, including an oversample of respondents who identify as lesbian or gay. While the Canadian government recognizes the right to change one’s gender identity on government documents, provincial governments retain primary responsibility for birth records and identity documentation. Provincial rules vary, and some require medical gender-affirming surgery, which is also inconsistently covered by provincial public healthcare plans. We find that Canadians are more supportive of the right to change gender identity on government documents than the right to gender-affirming health services. Consistent with recent research in the United States (Jones et al. 2018), we also find that women, more educated, younger, less religious, and urban-dwelling Canadians are more supportive of transgender rights.

Authors

• Tina Fetner, McMaster University

• Michelle L. Dion, McMaster University