Counting us in

Gays and lesbians account for 0.5 percent Of All couples and three percent Of All commonlaw couples in Canada, according to the 2001 census results released Oct 21.

Of the over seven million couples in Canada, 34,000 identified as same-sex. Of the total number of same-sex couples, 19,000 (55 percent) were male while 15,200 were female.

The census found that female couples are three times more likely to be raising children. Fifteen percent Of All female same-sex couples had a child under the age of 25 in their home in 2001, compared to three percent of male same-sex partners.

The 2001 census was the first to ask respondents whether they were living with a same-sex partner.

“The numbers are significant,” says John Fisher, the absurdity of the current definition of marriage based on child-rearing.”

Ottawa is tied with Vancouver for the highest concentration of same-sex versus opposite-sex couples, with 0.9 percent Of All couples identifying as same-sex, followed by Victoria and Montreal with 0.8 percent.

The National Capital Region ranks third in percentage of common-law partners identifying as same-sex with 6.7 percent, with Vancouver at 15 percent and Toronto at 9.8. Ottawa has 2,170 identified same-sex couples in total.

Since the results only account for those who identified themselves as living with a same-sex partner, the data in no way is an indicator of the number of gays and lesbians, let alone transgenders or bisexuals, living in Canada.

It is also possible that there was a significant amount of underreporting, says Fisher, since many couples may not be comfortable identifying themselves as gay in a government census.

Pierre Turcotte, a family demographer at Statistics Canada, says the government modified the census to reflect the legal changes that gave the as opposite-sex couples. Since the changes, there was what Turcotte calls a “great data need” from both the public and private sectors on same-sex relationships.

Turcotte says the findings in the census are nearly identical to those gathered during a 2001 Statistics Canada general social survey, indicating a degree of accuracy with the results. He also says that a number of tests were done to see if people had any trouble answering the new questions and if they understood the definition of same-sex relationship.

“Test results showed that there were no specific problems in asking those questions that get at same-sex relationships,” he states. “Non-response rates were not higher, people seemed to understand our categories well and seemed willing to answer the questions.”

Fisher says he welcomes the results as a first step towards building a national profile of the lesbian, gay and bisexual communities. “The fact that the question was asked at all is significant.” For more information visit www.statscan.ca or www.egale.ca.

- printed in Capital Xtra, Issue #111, Oct 25, 2002. Photo of John Fisher by Shawn Scallen.