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.