Census data will give transgender people new voice, says advocate

For the first time, there are official statistics for how many people on P.E.I. identify as transgender or non-binary, and a local advocate says that's an important milestone.

Statistics Canada tabulated the number of people who identified as transgender or non-binary on the 2021 censusa first for this country and also afirst in the world, the agency said.

The results, released Wednesday, showed there are 420 Islanders identifying as transgender or non-binary. That's about one in 300 Islanders over the age of 15.

Anastasia Preston, the trans community outreach co-ordinator at Peers Alliance on P.E.I., said she has been waiting for this kind of recognition for a long time.

"It finally gives trans people a voice in conversations that we haven't had voices in in the past. It allows us to be represented and to be recognized by our government as people who live in this country," said Preston.

"If there is a certain program that we want to offer we can say there [are]potentially 400 participants. That's a significant number of people, right, that want or need a service."

Reluctant to identify themselves

The census count probably missed some trans people, she said.

Long histories of oppression can make transgender people reluctant to identify themselves on government forms, she said, adding that recent history in the U.S. suggests that progress can be reversed.

"We can very quickly become the target of violence and hate at a governmental level, so there are a lot of people who are still to this day, understandably, hesitant to out themselves," said Preston.

While it did not provide urban-rural numbers for P.E.I. specifically, the census found transgender people are more likely to live in urban areas.

"Urban areas tend to be safer for trans people," said Preston.

"Urban areas we know, from studies, tend to be less homophobic, less transphobic."

Transgender people are also more likely to find the medical care they need in urban areas, she said.