Resources
Our list of resources and information on the bi+ experience in Canada is ever-growing, whether you are bi+, looking to support the broad bi+ community, or wanting to support a particular bi+ person.
- Are you bi+?
- Are you an individual looking to support bi+ folks?
- Are you an organization looking to support bi+ folks?
Are you bi+?
Welcome! We like you just the way you are, and we are so glad you found us.
No matter what label you use, or if you use none at all, your rights, needs, and hopes matter here, as they should both within and beyond the 2SLGBTQIA+ community.
Coming out to friends, family, colleagues, and others
There is no one way to come out, and the truth is, especially as bi+ folks, we all have to keep coming out repeatedly, sometimes to the same people. Remember to always give yourself grace, and to only come out when and where you think it is safe to do so.
If and when you do come out, you may find people are wonderful and accepting, need a bit of education, or, at worst, downplaying or even negating your sexuality, defining you as something else, or being combative or hostile. No matter other people’s responses, know your orientation is yours, and you are amazing.
Regardless of whether you want to be loud and proud or just quietly known, you know who you are better than anyone else does. And, who you are is complete and valid, no matter what your circumstances. Somewhere under the big, bi+ umbrella and dating someone of the same gender? You are valid. Married to someone of a different gender? Still valid. Joining us for Pride? Valid (and welcome!). Quietly watching Heated Rivalry on repeat while snacking on lemon bars? Valid and the very best kind of stereotype.
We want to work with you for a world where you can be fully you, however you want to be. Welcome! We like you just the way you are, and we are so glad you found us.
Coming out to your health-care provider
A federal 2020-21 survey found:
- Only 36% of bisexuals and 43% of pansexuals had discussed their orientation with their health-care provider in the preceding five years.
- Despite that, also in the preceding five years, 14% of bisexuals and 19% of pansexuals felt they had experienced discrimination in the health-care system based on their sexual orientation.
If you feel it is safe to do so, we encourage you to talk to your health professional about your orientation and how it relates to supporting your mental and physical health, from preventing or treating depression and anxiety, body image issues and substance overuse; to screening for and preventing sexually transmitted diseases, if relevant; to reducing bisexuality’s stigma in the health-care sector so you and others can and will access all the health care you need.
Links and resources
- ambi Hamilton
- ambi Toronto
- The ArQuives
- Bi+ Book Gang
- Bisexual Killjoy
- Bisexual+ Network of Nova Scotia
- Bisexual Resource Centre
- Bi History: a podcast
- Bi Pride UK
- Bi Women Quarterly
- bi+ world meetup
- Capital Bi’s
- Celebrate Bisexuality Day (Wiki)
- Egale Canada
- Give It to Me Bi
- International Day of Pink
- Ottawa Senior Pride Network
- pflag Canada
- Queer Momentum
- Rainbow Railroad
- Toronto Bi+ Network
- Bi+ Social Group
- Winnipeg Bi+ Network
Are you an individual looking to support bi+ folks?
The best way to support bi+ people is to believe and respect us when we tell you who we are.
Some other best practices include:
- Don’t make assumptions based on our bisexuality. Sexual orientation is just one part of a person’s identity, and does not in and of itself imply anything about the nature of a person’s sexual or romantic experiences, their number of partners, whether they are monogamous or polyamorous, their gender identity or expression, their hopes, their personality, or anything else.
- Do use our preferred descriptor. From omnisexual to pansexual, bisexual to homoflexible, from any of the countless other labels to no label at all, use what the person you are actually talking to prefers as their descriptor. For a lot of us, it took a long time to figure out and describe who we are, so please use whatever phrasing we have given you.
- Don’t automatically assume anyone’s orientation based on anything other than them telling it to you. This means not assuming someone is straight or gay based on their partner(s) or on default assumptions. It also means not assuming the young people in your life will grow up to date a particular gender.
- Do support us when we come out to you.
- Do learn more about us by reading books and articles, watching movies and shows, and exploring art and performances made with and by bi+ creators.
- And, of course, do support Bi+ Canada, including making a gift in the name of your favourite bi+ person/people!
Are you an organization looking to support bi+ folks?
Book a Bi+ Canada speaker for your organization today. Select from our highly qualified speakers to expand your team’s knowledge about bi+ history, inclusion, and futures. Our reasonable rates go directly towards supporting Canada’s vast, intersectional bi+ community. Use our contact form or email Bi+ Canada to ask for more information.
Please also show your support by donating directly to Bi+ Canada.
Connect with us
Bi+ Canada is a growing organization, and we want to know what your concerns and priorities as a bi+ person in or from Canada are. Watch for our first national survey, coming to our website in late 2026. In the meantime, we encourage you to sign up for our bi-monthly newsletter, to volunteer with us, and to let us know what you would like to see from Bi+ Canada.