Quick Facts
- Gender-affirming health services are provided through the PEI Gender Affirming Clinic, as well as through individual primary health care professionals.
- Gender-affirming care is tailored to each person’s transition journey, and may involve social transition, medical transition, legal transition, or all three.
- Health PEI’s Gender-Affirming Health Services web page has information on how to get gender-affirming care, how to change your name and gender on your health card, and much more.
The Longer Story
People who are transgender or gender diverse have specialized medical needs that can be challenging to obtain on PEI.
Gender-affirming care means caring for and supporting an individual, while recognizing and acknowledging their gender identity and expression when it differs from the sex they were assigned at birth. This includes everything from using correct pronouns and not misgendering an individual to helping to access gender-affirming medical care that could include top or bottom surgery, hormone therapy, and other services that can allow people to live authentically in their gender identity.
When speaking about gender transition, there are generally three areas to consider:
- Social: e.g., coming out, changing name, changing pronouns, changing style of dress, using gender-affirming products like binders or pads
- Medical: e.g., hormone therapies, hormone blockers, gender-affirming surgeries
- Legal: e.g., legally changing name, gender marker for legal documents, updating existing legal documents to reflect current gender
It’s important to understand that every individual’s transition journey is unique and may not involve all three areas.
Gender-Affirming Care on PEI
Gender-affirming care can be found via the PEI Gender Affirming Clinic, as well as through individual primary health care professionals.
Visit Health PEI’s Gender-Affirming Health Services web page for information on:
- How to get gender-affirming care and referrals to support transition through a doctor, nurse practitioner, the Gender Affirming Clinic, or the provincial patient navigator
- How to get hormone therapy
- How to change your name and gender on your PEI Health Card
- Gender-affirming surgeries and procedures covered by the province (note: all surgeries are out-of-province)
Please note: the province does not cover travel and accommodation cost related to off-Island travel; however, some Islanders may qualify for the Financial Assistance for Out-of-Province Medical Travel program.
Gender Affirming Clinic
Since its opening in 2021, the Gender Affirming Clinic provided Islanders with assessment, referrals to local and out-of-province, consultations, and follow-up visits (including referral to out-of-province surgical treatments).
The Clinic is run out of the Sherwood Medical Centre, 2nd floor (15 Brackley Point Rd., Charlottetown). For more information:
- call 902-569-7772
- email GAC@ihis.org.
Primary Care Practitioners
Many primary care practitioners (e.g., family doctors, nurse practitioners) not affiliated with the Gender Affirming Clinic are trained to offer gender-affirming care. These health care professionals received training through the World Professional Association of Transgender Health (WPATH), the Institute for Trans Health, Health PEI Gender Affirming Clinic and Our Landing Place.
University of PEI & Holland College
UPEI students, staff, and faculty can receive gender-affirming care on campus. The nurse practitioner at Holland College also offers some gender-affirming care services.
Gender-Affirming Care is Lifesaving
Everyone has the right to receive and access health care, regardless of their gender. Moreover, everyone has the right to express themselves as they identify and feel supported by their health care practitioner.
Many transgender and gender diverse individuals feel dismissed and sometimes even ridiculed at health-care appointments. As a result, transgender and other gender diverse people are often uncomfortable seeking health care and may avoid health care altogether.
Yet, access to hormone replacement therapy and/or surgeries, as well as other procedures, are only available through the health-care system.
As reported in 2020 report by TransPULSE Canada:
- 56% of gender diverse people rated their mental health as fair or poor
- 1 in 3 gender diverse individuals reported having thought about suicide in the past year
- 1 in 20 gender diverse people reported attempting suicide in the past year
The Government of Canada acknowledges that suicide and suicide-related behaviour is most frequent among the 2SLGBTQIA+ population, especially for people who identify as trans. Gender-affirming care can help reduce these rates.
Gender-affirming care is often supported with counselling and other mental health services, as needed. All health care environments can create cultural safety for trans people and other gender minorities by learning to ask for, and consistently use, correct pronouns and chosen names for patients.
- Learn more about your rights as a patient
Find additional support for transgender people
The PEI Transgender Network website has a variety of resources including resources for health professionals web page. Additionally, the community organization, Gender Affirming Care PEI (GACPEI) offers support for members of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community.