The medical process for becoming Transgendered in Canada.

The process for Transgendered in Canada is highly bureaucratic. I would start by mentioning that the process is covered by health care in 5 provinces (B.C., Alberta, Ontario, Quebec and Newfoundland) and partly paid for in Saskatchewan. The process that is covered includes Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT), and the series of operations that are collectively referred to as Gender Reassignment Surgeries (GRS). The "aesthetic surgeries" (including facial reconstruction, body hair removal and breast implants) are not covered under Health Care.

Different provinces have different regulations dictating the Legal Classification of characteristic sexes. For instance, in B.C. a male-born, Female transexual only qualifies as Female once they have received the GRS and lived as a Female for one year. An individual facing a similar situation would qualify as Female in Alberta once they have undergone HRT and lived as a Female for one year. Therefore, an individual who is currently undergoing the process may qualify as Female in some provinces and Male in others.

In all Provinces and Territories, individuals seeking to undergo the process of transsexualism must pass a psychiatric evaluation in order to do so. In many provinces, there are only a handful of Doctors who are trusted with such an evaluation. In Alberta, there is one: Dr. Lorne Warneke who runs a Gender Clinic in the Grey Nuns Hospital. The current wait time to see Dr. Warneke is one to three years.
There is only one clinic that is registered to perform GRS surgeries and HRT in Canada and it is located in Montreal.

LGBTQ individuals experience a higher than normal rate of anxiety and anxiety-related issues. They engage in higher than average amounts of high risk behaviours (unprotected sex, illegal drugs etc.), are diagnosed with clinical depression at a rate that is almost triple the normal amount and attempt suicide at a four times higher rate than normal. Sexual minorities are not offered the appropriate amount of assistance in counselling and medical services in proportion to the amount of discrimination and hardship they face.