Changing a question on last year's census has resulted in a snapshot of Canada's transgender population, with data released on Wednesday showing 0.33 percent of the country's 38.3 million people identify as a gender that differs from the sex they were assigned at birth.
For the first time, Statistics Canada differentiated between "sex at birth" and "gender" in the census. While the agency and advocates agree the new numbers likely underestimate the true size of the population, they say the data will offer crucial insight into a marginalized community. The data collected during last year's national household survey shows about 100,815 people are transgender or non-binary.
Fae Johnstone, a transgender advocate, said, `"It says something when our government is recognizing the existence of trans folks who have historically been kept out of these conversations and uncounted," Johnstone said. "But it also is useful to us to better understand how we can focus interventions and address health inequities experienced by trans folks across this country."