In recent years, there has been a lot of progress towards recognizing same-sex couples equally. Similar initiatives have been undertaken by a number of provinces and private employers. The information provided by the 2001 Census will help governments, employers and others in the administration of their programs to same-sex couples. Many same-sex couples are cautious about providing their personal information to the government. It was only about three decades ago that homosexuality was a criminal offence, and many federal laws were only changed last year.
Discrimination remains an unfortunate social reality.
Nonetheless, the 2001 Census will provide a good start, and will at least provide information about the minimum number of same-sex couples in Canada. Over time, as the question is asked again in future censuses, community-members are likely to feel more comfortable with the question and we expect that the accuracy of the information generated will increase. There are two questions which recognize same-sex partners. In other words, your partner's children should be treated as your own sons or daughters, even if the laws of your province or territory do not allow you to formally adopt or share guardianship of the children. Transgendered people are not recognized in the census.