Nova Scotians, like most Maritimers, are usually sensible people. They look at life through realistic glasses. However, something odd seems to have happened to them. They are currently wallowing in gender ideology. According to Statistics Canada (Census 2021), in the 15-34 population of Nova Scotia, 1.17% identify as transgender or non-binary, higher than any other province or territory in Canada. Non-binary means those who claim to have a sexual/gender identity other than their biological sex. It is not known why transgender and non-binary statistics are included together by Statistics Canada. Perhaps the purpose is to increase the numbers. The actual number who identify as transgender only, among 15–34-year-olds in Nova Scotia, is 0.54% of the population, and non-binary is 0.63%. The percentage of those 15 years and older who identify as transgender in Canada, according to Census 2021, is 0.19% or 59,460 respondents.
Nova Scotia is one of the smaller provinces both geographically and by population, and has a more cohesive population. It is easier, therefore, to carry out social experiments under such circumstances, and this might be the explanation for the higher proportion of transgenders in that province. Another explanation might be that the policy on transgenderism, being driven by ideological zealots, has artificially increased the numbers.
What is Transgenderism?
Simply put, transgenderism is a woke concept that asserts that a troubled, confused individual was “assigned” the wrong sex at birth, i.e. male or female, and that medical intervention can rectify this problem, turning the person into his/her “correct” gender so that they can live out a more satisfactory life.
Medical interventions Applied to Erase Biological Sex
There are a number of very evasive and dangerous medical procedures used in the “treatment” of those suffering from “Gender Dysphoria” — the psychological distress associated with the incongruence between one’s biological sex and one’s gender identity — for those who are seeking to change the reality of their biological sex.
(a) Puberty Blockers
Troubled teenagers are given puberty blockers, which are hormone antagonists that prevent normal sexual development. This pharmacological regime initiates irreversible physiological changes including infertility and altered sexual characteristics.
There is a large body of evidence, however, indicating that affirming gender confusion by way of medical intervention by puberty blockers carries serious harm. This is especially disturbing when it is carried out on impressionable children who lack the mental development, emotional maturity, and life experience to consider the long-term ramifications of the procedures offered them.
(b) Cross-Sex Hormones
After puberty, doctors may prescribe cross-sex hormones to alter the chemical make-up of a patient and make that individual appear more like the opposite sex. Studies have revealed a long list of side-effects for men who take estrogen for this reason. An analysis of systemic reviews shows an increased risk of cancer, blood clots, heart attack and death.
Those who take hormones to alter their sexual appearance must continue to do so for the rest of their lives in order to suppress their natural sex characteristics. Women who wish to transform to the male sex receive hormones that deepen their voices and cause facial hair. Should they decide to change back to their natural sex they would still retain a deep voice and other masculine characteristics. The pharmaceutical industry is prospering on demand for cross-sexual hormones and puberty blockers.
(c) Surgeries
Some patients undergo surgery to remove their healthy body parts and replace them with facsimiles of the organs of the opposite sex. For example, tissue from the colon and penis may be used to make a fake or pretend vagina or pretend penis, as the case may be. Neither of these surgical creations have any practical use, and their only function is to create the illusion that the person is a member of the opposite sex. Surgery may also include the removal of healthy breast tissue (mastectomy) to enhance the girl’s illusion that she is male. These surgeries may change secondary sex characteristics and do not change the entire reproductive system. These surgical procedures can lead to sterilization of the patients and create long-term health problems. The real beneficiaries of these surgical operations are the surgeons performing them who are paid extremely well for doing so.
The tragedy of these medical interventions is that they are not based on medical science/evidence but rather on woke cultural Marxists ideologies, and concepts to enhance the notion that sex is fluid and interchangeable, which it is not.
Some Countries Prohibit Medical Interventions for Transgenderism
Since these medical interventions are not based on scientific evidence, a significant number of countries are moving away from such interventions because they are harmful. Last year Britain’s National Health Service released a four-year study headed by pediatrician Dr. Hilary Cass, which concluded, “the rationale for early puberty suppression remains unclear with weak evidence …”. It went on to state that transgender medical procedures are interventions that impact mental and psychosocial health, and therefore should not be undertaken. As a result of this report, the U.K. has now closed down transgender clinics.
U.S. President Donald Trump issued an Executive Order in January 2025 relating to gender-affirming care (GAC) for patients under nineteen years of age. He ordered that gender programs be eliminated and that federal funds cease to be available for any medical centers that continue to carry out gender affirming care. Hospitals that are still engaged in gender affirming care, such as The Boston Children’s Hospital Pediatric Center, the Colorado Children’s Hospital and the Los Angeles Children’s Hospital have now been issued with a subpoena by the Department of Justice after investigations by the FBI. To date, thirty-five gender affirming clinics have closed, and twenty-eight have suspended operations, totaling sixty-three clinics closed or suspended. There are currently thirty-four clinics remaining open, but they are now under investigation. Other countries that have closed gender affirming clinics include Sweden, Finland, Norway and France, and recently, Italy, citing lack of evidence that they are beneficial to patients.
This raises a valid question: Why is Canada still conducting gender affirming interventions regardless of the abundance of evidence of harm that such “care” causes? In this regard, it is useful to look at the province of Nova Scotia to determine how and why transgender affirming care has become such an integral part of its health care system.
Documents Relating to Nova Scotia’s Transgender Program
A review of official government documentation in Nova Scotia makes it clear that the transgender industry is controlled by a relatively small group of ideological extremists. They nonetheless refer to themselves as “experts” in this area. The main political elite responsible for the transgender program in Nova Scotia is the Minister of Health and Wellness, Michelle Thompson, who was appointed to the position on August 31, 2021.
A news release dated March 31, 2023, issued by the Department of Health and Wellness, states that “the government supports the transgender community and the eradication of transphobic hate”. The News Release then went on to state that the 2023-2024 budget includes $1.7 million more in funding for gender-affirming surgeries and that the provincial health budget will increase to $803,000 in 2024-2025.
In a policy document issued by the Department of Health, entitled Gender Affirming Care Policy, which came into effect on July 28, 2023, it was bluntly stated that the Minister of Health and Wellness is responsible for establishing the provincial policies and guidelines regarding publicly funded gender affirming care (GAC) in Nova Scotia. It goes on to say that the health department will create the governance and publicly funded GAC system in Nova Scotia. “The Department of Health and Wellness is committed to making the Nova Scotia Health System free from barriers … including for transgender and gender diverse people”. It further stated that its policy is aligned with the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH) Standard of Care. WPATH is an activist association posing as a medical authority, known for its corrupt research. It is a concern, therefore, that the province of Nova Scotia is relying on the guidance of this biased and unreliable association, rather than providing its own independent research on the issue.
It is alarming, too, that the policy statement provides that parents may be involved in the process of gender affirming care, “unless their involvement is determined to be harmful to the adolescent …”. In other words, parents may be allowed to be involved in the gender affirming decisions, provided they are in agreement with the decision to transgender the child. If they refuse to cooperate, then their involvement will likely be deemed detrimental or harmful to the adolescent. Who is responsible for the child? Should it be the parents, or these ideological extremists who are paid handsomely for their bizarre services.
It is common for these “experts” to slyly and smugly ask the parents, “Do you want a live son or a dead daughter”, or vice versa. This question is to make a parent who loves the child acquiesce to the transition. This statement, however, is utter garbage. A peer-reviewed study released in April 2024 published in the highly respected medical journal “CUREUS”, found that patients who have undergone gender affirming procedures are associated with significantly higher risk of suicide, self-harm and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The authors of this study concluded that such patients need more psychiatric care than other children. It should be noted that 80% of adolescents who are experiencing doubts about their gender, if left without medical intervention, will invariably accept their natural sex. This indicates that medical interventions are unnecessary. They do, however, provide a handsome income for those providing the supposed transition intervention.
Those few who do not eventually accept their biological sex, need counselling, not hormones and surgery.
The Nova Scotia College of Social Workers (NSCSW)
Another relevant document in Nova Scotia relating to transgenderism is the letter dated June 8, 2023, sent by the Nova Scotia College of Social Workers (NSCSW) to the Minister of Education and Early Childhood Development, Becky Druhan. The letter states that the NSCSW is part of a collective of individuals and associations, which are trained in the Standard of Care as defined by WPATH. It states that they believe that it is essential to ensure that every child’s gender identity and expression is supported and affirmed. It then goes on to recommend that the collective members be the “first voice representation at every table where decisions are being made that can affect the education and well-being of children”. It also states that staff at all schools in Nova Scotia be appropriately trained so that they are prepared to ensure the safety of transgender and non-binary children. The letter then went on to offer that the collective members be the first voice representatives integrated into all decisions at all levels including school boards, commissions and local school advisory councils, when the matter is decided. This extraordinary letter with its off-the-wall recommendation was endorsed by a number of individuals and elitist associations such as the Nova Scotia Division of the Canadian Mental Health Association, Doctors of Nova Scotia, the Healthy Populations Institute of Dalhousie University, Nova Scotia College of Family Physicians, Nova Scotia Society of Occupational Therapists, plus individuals including several members of the provincial legislature, and the Chair of Dalhousie Department of Pediatrics. They are all obviously woke supporters of transgenderism and are ideological extremists.
Democracy Missing in the Nova Scotia Transgender Debate
What is concerning about the transgender policy in Nova Scotia is that the decision on it appears to be made with a remarkable lack of public input into the policy. Democracy and open public debate clearly are not part of the elitists’ principles or modus operandi. They instead are determined to implement the transgender agenda in Nova Scotia on their own. The policy is being imposed on the public, who are paying for it by their taxes, but have not been consulted, nor have they consented to this policy. The enlightened elites have assumed complete control over the enterprise. Most of these elites have a conflict of interest, financially, ideologically or politically.
Overreach by Activist Judges
Even if a policy on transgenderism is debated and legislation passed on it in the provincial legislature, it appears that such legislation can be blocked by ideologically active judges. This occurred in the province of Alberta which passed legislation in December 2024 that restricted the use of Gender Affirming Care (GAC) on minors. Naturally, the transgender industry was outraged, and in due course, brought in a legal challenge of the legislation: Egale Canada v Alberta. The challenge was brought by the homosexual organization Equality for Gays and Lesbians Everywhere (EGALE), to whom Trudeau has given $100 million in grants since 2017. This money has enabled EGALE to advocate for transgenderism and serves as the mouthpiece for the Liberal government in the courts on this issue. For example, EGALE successfully argued in the Ontario courts for genital surgery for minors to be covered by provincial health insurance. In Saskatchewan and New Brunswick, it argued in support of a child’s right to gender diversity. In this particular case, EGALE argued before Justice Allison Kuntz who was appointed to the Bench by Trudeau in 2023, that the Alberta legislation detrimentally affected the marginalized group of children who are unable to receive lifesaving medical care for gender transitions. Kuntz made her ideological views apparent in that case when she concluded that WPATH and the Canadian Medical Society should be relied on for guidance on this matter. Although the province of Alberta had submitted a 183-page brief to the court, providing evidence against Gender Affirming Care, Kuntz concluded, on June 27, 2025, that youth were experiencing discrimination by the Alberta legislation and handed down an injunction against the legislation. On July 25, 2025, the Alberta government appealed the injunction to the Alberta Court of Appeal. The Alberta Court of Appeal consists of eighteen judges, a large number of whom have been appointed by Justin Trudeau. Should the Court of Appeal support the injunction by Kuntz, the Alberta government should introduce the Notwithstanding Clause of the Charter, so that the decision of the legislature can be implemented. There is no point in appealing this matter to the Supreme Court of Canada which has already made it clear in a 2023 decision, Hansman v Neufeld, that it supports transgenderism.
This case, however, indicates that the judges are overreaching by handing down decisions in support of their own personal ideology rather than that of the elected legislature. It has always been understood that judges were to interpret the law, not make the law according to their own personal ideology.
Conclusion
Under our present system, Canadians seem to have little input in policies that directly affect their lives. Government funded interest groups, activist judges, and progressive political and bureaucratic elites are determining the national agenda. When will the public, which pays for all these unelected individuals’ decisions, be permitted to be involved in our legal and political journey? When will Nova Scotia’s Conservative Premier, Tim Houston, start being conservative and stand up to protect parents, children and families by ensuring that health care is based on science and not ideology?