Sexual orientation question to appear on census for first time in 2026

Canadian residents will be asked about their sexual orientation in next year's national census, CBC News has learned.

While Statistics Canada has asked about sexual orientation in past surveys, next year will mark the first time the question will appear on the long-form census questionnaire that will go out to 25 per cent of Canadian residents in May 2026.

The questions will not be included in the short-form census that goes out to 75 per cent of Canadian residents.

The long-form census will also feature questions about homelessness and health problems for the first time.

The questions for the census, which is conducted every five years, were approved by Prime Minister Mark Carney's cabinet on June 13. Most of them touch on the usual census topics such as the ethnic background of respondents and their families, education, housing, employment, citizenship and languages spoken.

While Canadians are required by law to fill out the questionnaires, their answers remain confidential. They're used to produce statistics about Canada's population and often help inform where services are needed across the country.

The question will provide a more complete picture of where people of different sexual orientations live across the country, and their socioeconomic backgrounds.

The questions to be asked in next year's census include a respondent's sex at birth, with the option to select male or female. Respondents are also asked to provide their gender, with the option to choose man (or boy), woman (or girl) or write in their own answer.

The census questionnaire also provides a definition of gender to guide respondents.

"Gender refers to an individual's personal and social identity as a man (or boy), a woman (or a girl) or a person who is not exclusively a man (or a boy) or a woman (or a girl) for example, non-binary, agender, gender fluid, queer or two-spirit."

Question 36, which is only to be asked for those aged 15 years and older, asks directly about sexual orientation, explaining that the information is being collected "to inform programs that promote equal opportunity for everyone living in Canada to share in its social, cultural and economic life."

Respondents can choose between "heterosexual (i.e. straight), lesbian or gay, bisexual or pansexual" or write in their own answer.

Sébastien Larochelle-Côté, director general of socioeconomic statistics and social data integration for Statistics Canada, says the question of sexual orientation was identified as a data gap about Canada's population in consultations leading up to the census questionnaire.

"That's the primary reason why we are including sexual orientation in the census of population," Larochelle-Côté said.