While statistics show that, on average, youth ‘come out’ between 14 and 16 years of age,[1] there is very little information stating how many Canadian youth identify as LGBT+. As well, the information that does exist about the number and experiences of LGBT+ youth is often muddled by the fact that many LGBT+ youth may not have accepted that status yet, or may be keeping it a secret from their friends and family.
Despite these confounding factors, there have been some attempts to determine what portion of the youth population identifies as LGBT+. In 2013, a comprehensive health survey in British Columbia found that 81% of youth ages 12-19 identify as completely straight.[2].However, only 2% of youth identified as gay or lesbian, while the rest identified as bisexual, asexual, or questioning. Less than 1% of youth identified as transgender, and 5% of Aboriginal students identified as two-spirit. The percentage of students who identified as an orientation other than straight rose in all categories from previous years.[3]
According to another poll, “[y]ounger Canadians are far more likely to say they are lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender than older Canadians, with 10% of those aged 18 to 34 answering the question with a ‘yes,’ compared to 2% or 3% in the four older age categories”.[4] Additionally, the poll found that, on average, 37% of Canadians know someone in a same-sex marriage.