Aug. 5, 2022
A series of surveys from the Mental Health Commission of Canada suggest members of the LGBTQ2S+ community struggled more during the COVID-19 pandemic than their non-queer peers.
The polls conducted by Leger on behalf of the MHCC and the Canadian Centre on Substance Use and Addiction indicate only about one in four LGBTQ2S+ people reported excellent or very good mental health between October 2020 and September 2021.
That’s compared to 45 per cent of their non-LGBTQ2S+ counterparts.
Meanwhile, 46 per cent of LGBTQ2S+ respondents reported moderate-to-severe anxiety symptoms, compared to 22 per cent of other respondents.
Leger surveyed Canadians online seven times starting in October 2020 and ending in September 2021. Each time, between 1,500 and 2,500 people responded, roughly 10 per cent of whom identified as LGBTQ2S+.