Ottawa asked Canadians if they are ‘comfortable’ with LGBTQ people

The federal government asked Canadians whether they were “comfortable” with LGBTQ people playing significant roles in their lives. This was part of an assessment to better understand the challenges faced by Canada’s LGBTQ community, which Global News did an access to information request to obtain.

Over 91.8 percent of Canadians said they were “comfortable” if their next-door neighbour were to be lesbian, gay, or bisexual. A further 87.6 percent were comfortable if their neighbour were to be transgender.

“It’s really good to see the attitude of Canadians changing and being more open and inclusive,” said Helen Kennedy, executive director of the LGBTQI2S advocacy group Egale Canada to Global News. “We obviously have more work to do. But it’s definitely a step in the right direction.”

The poll was conducted by the Privy Council’s Office (PCO) which falls under the Department of Canadian Heritage and reports to Waterloo MP Bardish Chagger. She was picked to be the Minister of Diversity and Inclusion and Youth after the Liberals reelection.

The poll questions were as follows:

“How comfortable would you be in each of the following situations?”

• If you had a next-door neighbour who was gay, lesbian, or bisexual;
• If you had a next-door neighbour who is a transgender person;
• If you had a manager or supervisor who is gay, lesbian, or bisexual;
• If you had a manager or supervisor who was a transgender person;
• If you had a doctor who is gay, lesbian, or bisexual;
• If you had a doctor who was a transgender person.

Overall, more than 90 percent of Canadians said they were “very comfortable” or “somewhat comfortable” with a lesbian, gay, or bisexual boss, versus just 7.6 who said they were “somewhat uncomfortable” or “very uncomfortable.”

88.2 percent would accept a lesbian, gay, or bisexual doctor while 10.2 percent wouldn’t. For transgenders, the acceptance number is lower at 79.9 percent and disapproval is at 17.6 percent.