Share this Story : National Post Copy Link Email X Reddit Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr

FIRST READING: Canada one of the world's last holdouts on medically transing children

U.S., Australia, New Zealand and much of Europe now pulling back on puberty blockers and surgeries for minors

You can save this article by registering for free here. Or sign-in if you have an account.

First Reading is a Canadian politics newsletter curated by the National Post’s own Tristin Hopper. To get an early version sent directly to your inbox, sign up here.

Enjoy the latest local, national and international news.

Exclusive articles by Conrad Black, Barbara Kay and others. Plus, special edition NP Platformed and First Reading newsletters and virtual events.

Unlimited online access to National Post.

National Post ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.

Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword.

Support local journalism.

Enjoy the latest local, national and international news.

Exclusive articles by Conrad Black, Barbara Kay and others. Plus, special edition NP Platformed and First Reading newsletters and virtual events.

Unlimited online access to National Post.

National Post ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.

Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword.

Support local journalism.

Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.

Access articles from across Canada with one account.

Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments.

Enjoy additional articles per month.

Get email updates from your favourite authors.

Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.

Access articles from across Canada with one account

Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments

Enjoy additional articles per month

Get email updates from your favourite authors

Sign In or Create an Account

FIRST READING: Canada one of the world's last holdouts on medically transing children Back to video

As democracies around the world pull back on the tenets of youth gender medicine, Canada is emerging as one of the last countries still hewing to the idea that minors should be prescribed hormones and even surgery to affirm a self-described gender identity.

Just last month, two leading U.S. medical associations recommended a halt to elective mastectomies, orchiectomies (surgery to remove the testicles) and other “gender affirmation” surgeries for children.

This newsletter tackles hot topics with boldness, verve and wit. (Subscriber-exclusive edition on Fridays)

There was an error, please provide a valid email address.

By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc.

A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder.

The next issue of Platformed will soon be in your inbox.

We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try again

Interested in more newsletters? Browse here.

In a Feb. 3 statement, the American Society of Plastic Surgeons warned its members that they risked performing irreversible procedures on children whose gender dysphoria was likely to alleviate in adulthood.

“Available evidence suggests that a substantial proportion of children with prepubertal onset gender dysphoria experience resolution or significant reduction of distress by the time they reach adulthood, absent medical or surgical intervention,” it read.

The American Medical Association soon issued a statement in support, stating “in the absence of clear evidence, the AMA agrees … that surgical interventions in minors should be generally deferred to adulthood.”

This follows on a November decision by New Zealand to slap strict new controls on hormones prescribed for the “purpose of puberty suppression for children or adolescents.” The country’s Ministry of Health has previously stated that there was a “lack of good quality evidence to back the effectiveness and safety of puberty blockers.”

The Australian state of Queensland similarly banned puberty blockers in January, with the state’s premier framing it as a reaction to “troubling allegations” that a sexual health clinic had been caught distributing unauthorized hormone therapies to 42 children.

Commandant of Canadian Army staff college removed from his position

Trump not happy with U.K. and Spain over Iran stance: 'We're going to cut off all trade with Spain'

Advertisement 1Story continues belowThis advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.document.addEventListener(`DOMContentLoaded`,function(){let template=document.getElementById(`oop-ad-template`);if(template&&!template.dataset.adInjected){let clone=template.content.cloneNode(!0);template.replaceWith(clone),template.parentElement&&(template.parentElement.dataset.adInjected=`true`)}});

When an Australian court ordered a freeze on the puberty blocker directive, Queensland Health Minister Tim Nicholls simply ordered it again.

All the while, countries across Europe have been systematically pulling back on policies that prioritized immediate hormone treatment for children expressing gender dysphoria.

Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden, among others, have all tightened the requirements under which a child can be prescribed puberty blockers.

In Italy, for instance, the country’s national bioethics committee recommended in 2024 that puberty blockers only be prescribed after “psychotherapy” or “psychiatric interventions” had failed to alleviate feelings of gender dysphoria.

That same year, the U.K. released the Cass Review, a comprehensive government inquiry into the country’s system of “gender services” care for minors. One of the report’s most influential findings was that the routine prescription of puberty blockers had been pursued based solely on the conclusions of a “single Dutch study.”

Carney says U.S. strikes on Iran appear to be 'inconsistent with international law' Canadian Politics

Carney says U.S. strikes on Iran appear to be 'inconsistent with international law'

After McDonald's CEO mocked for taking tiny bite of new burger, Burger King weighs in Canada

After McDonald's CEO mocked for taking tiny bite of new burger, Burger King weighs in

Advertisement 2Story continues belowThis advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.document.addEventListener(`DOMContentLoaded`,function(){let template=document.getElementById(`oop-ad-template`);if(template&&!template.dataset.adInjected){let clone=template.content.cloneNode(!0);template.replaceWith(clone),template.parentElement&&(template.parentElement.dataset.adInjected=`true`)}});

Canadian passport fees will go up on March 31 Canada

Canadian passport fees will go up on March 31

Hamilton Mayor Andrea Horwath is suing her city and her ex in effort to demolish her dilapidated home Canada

Hamilton Mayor Andrea Horwath is suing her city and her ex in effort to demolish her dilapidated home

Auston Matthews booed in Toronto when Leafs announced him as a gold medallist for Team USA Canada

Auston Matthews booed in Toronto when Leafs announced him as a gold medallist for Team USA

There was “very limited evidence” the hormones improved mental health, despite plenty of risk that they were imposing “longer-term neuropsychological consequences,” the report found.

Puberty blockers for children have been subject to a blanket British ban ever since, with the country’s Department of Health and Social Care declaring that they are an “unacceptable safety risk for children and young people.”

Even in France, which maintains relatively liberal access to puberty blockers, the official position of the Académie nationale de médecine is that they should only be a last resort.

A 2022 communique by the academy stated that “psychological supports,” not drug treatments, should be the first treatment offered to any child “expressing a desire to transition.”

The statement also urged parents to be wary of trans identities being the product of social contagion. The academy warned that “excessive consultation of social networks” was “responsible, for a very important part, of the growing sense of gender incongruence.”

In Canada, by contrast, virtually every health body and government agency continues to defend a policy of permitting children of any age to obtain hormone therapies with minimal oversight. Often, these therapies are framed as being completely safe and even reversible.

The Canadian Paediatric Society, most notably, explicitly dismissed all of the conclusions of the Cass Review, and continues to recommend an “affirming approach” to gender dysphoric youth.

Under the most recent version of their guidelines, published in June 2023, symptoms such as “a strong dislike of one’s sexual anatomy” and “a strong preference for playmates of the other gender” are among a list of markers that may warrant a diagnosis of gender dysphoria requiring a course of “gender-affirming hormone therapy.”

Health Canada’s official guidelines similarly break with conclusions in both Europe and the U.S. that puberty blockers carry both side-effects and long-term consequences.

“Puberty suppression is reversible, as puberty restarts when a person stops taking puberty-blocking medications,” reads a Government of Canada website entitled “how to access gender-affirming care.”

The only jurisdiction in Canada that has broken with the “affirmation” approach is Alberta, which in 2024 banned “hormone therapies to minors for the treatment of gender dysphoria or gender incongruence,” as well as “sex reassignment surgery on minors.”

The Canadian Medical Association has not only opposed the action, but has funded litigation to block it.

In a statement last May, the association complained that the Alberta law “directs physicians on how to deliver gender-affirming care to people under 18, down to which medications they can use, when and how.”

“When a government bans specific treatments, it interferes with a doctor’s ability to empower patients to choose the best care possible,” said association president Joss Reimer.

A new Abacus Data poll has found that more than half of Canadians don’t really care if they have a free trade agreement with the U.S. anymore. If CUSMA came to a sudden end, only 45 per cent characterized it as a “bad” thing, with the rest either not caring or seeing it as a “good” thing (26 per cent).

This result is significant because such a thing, by any measure, would be devastating to the Canadian economy. CUSMA has largely shielded Canada from the worst impacts of Trump’s tariff war, and the removal of those protections would instantly yield billions in losses and tens of thousands of layoffs.

Consider the results of a different poll from October, in which Canadian business owners were asked the single greatest risk to their operations. Almost all of them (88 per cent) responded that it would be the loss of CUSMA protections.

An accompanying analysis by Abacus Data seemed to hint that the results pointed to an electorate that didn’t seem to know how the economy worked. “This is a remarkable result given how central CUSMA is to the Canadian economy and how much of the policy and business community views it as foundational,” it read.

First Reading is a Canadian politics newsletter curated by the National Post’s own Tristin Hopper. To get an early version sent directly to your inbox, sign up here.

Share this Story : National Post Copy Link Email X Reddit Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr

Postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion. Please keep comments relevant and respectful. Comments may take up to an hour to appear on the site. You will receive an email if there is a reply to your comment, an update to a thread you follow or if a user you follow comments. Visit our Community Guidelines for more information.

Six Canadian made hand creams to salve your winter skincare problems Reviews and recommendations are unbiased and products are independently selected. Postmedia may earn an affiliate commission from purchases made through links on this page. 15 hours ago Life

Six Canadian made hand creams to salve your winter skincare problems

Reviews and recommendations are unbiased and products are independently selected. Postmedia may earn an affiliate commission from purchases made through links on this page.

How to perfectly clean a shower: Simple tips and tricks Cleaning tips to help keep your shower spotless 17 hours ago Home Living

How to perfectly clean a shower: Simple tips and tricks

Cleaning tips to help keep your shower spotless

5 home good finds that will instantly elevate your living space this spring Reviews and recommendations are unbiased and products are independently selected. Postmedia may earn an affiliate commission from purchases made through links on this page. 17 hours ago Fashion & Beauty

5 home good finds that will instantly elevate your living space this spring

Reviews and recommendations are unbiased and products are independently selected. Postmedia may earn an affiliate commission from purchases made through links on this page.

Advertisement 3Story continues belowThis advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.document.addEventListener(`DOMContentLoaded`,function(){let template=document.getElementById(`oop-ad-template`);if(template&&!template.dataset.adInjected){let clone=template.content.cloneNode(!0);template.replaceWith(clone),template.parentElement&&(template.parentElement.dataset.adInjected=`true`)}});

Breville Oracle Dual Boiler: Does this machine brew cafe-quality espresso at home? I tried the espresso machine and appreciate the Manual mode, but keep coming back to the Auto mode 20 hours ago Kitchen & Dining

Breville Oracle Dual Boiler: Does this machine brew cafe-quality espresso at home?

I tried the espresso machine and appreciate the Manual mode, but keep coming back to the Auto mode

Casper Original Hybrid Mattress review: A plush sleep with supportive springs I tested this mattress, a great option for couples 22 hours ago Home Living

Casper Original Hybrid Mattress review: A plush sleep with supportive springs

I tested this mattress, a great option for couples

© National Post