CFPC Pride Stories

Family doctors identifying as 2SLGBTQ+ and providing care to these communities have an invaluable perspective of 2SLGBTQ+ health in Canada. Their stories are critical to breaking down the barriers faced by 2SLGBTQ+ Canadians in primary care. CFPC Pride Stories reflect the complex history, challenges, joy, and future of 2SLGBTQ+ health. This collection of narratives, stories, art, and expressions has been submitted by family physicians and residents as part of the College’s yearly CFPC Pride program.

Submit your CFPC Pride story!

2026 Pride Stories

We hope you enjoy this year’s edition of Pride Pages. These powerful expressions are a collaboration between Canadian Family Physician and the 2SLGBTQ+ Health Member Interest Group as part of the College of Family Physicians of Canada (CFPC) Pride project. The CFPC Pride project was launched in 2022 to, among other goals, support family doctors providing care to 2SLGBTQ+ communities and to celebrate the 2SLGBTQ+ family medicine community across Canada and within the CFPC. The poetry and narratives featured below were shared by family doctors and learners and help to continue breaking down barriers in 2SLGBTQ+ family medicine.

Gender Queries Podcast (excerpt)

AJ Hennenfent (he/they), Jess Wilson (they/she), Sam Moore (they/them)
View the full text and image in the June 2026 edition of CFP.
Visit the Gender Queries podcast web page.
 

Poem: YOU (excerpt)

Dr. Rainbow Negus (they/them)
View the full text and image in the June 2026 edition of CFP.

Your life looked so easy,
So beautiful,
I wanted to be you,
So I became transmutable.

As I etched away in fine detail new ways to be you,
My life got sweeter,
I sat high on the social hierarchy,
Because you were the leader.
 

Poem: The Space Between (excerpt)

Sam Moore (they/them)
View the full text and image in the June 2026 edition of CFP.

What is justice in medicine,
if the very spaces meant to heal
become places where we are erased?

I sit. Heart pounding, hands folding and unfolding.
A lump in my throat, a churn in my gut.
The waiting room holds no promises,
no rainbow stickers, no gentle signs of care.
Wondering if this is where healing begins,
or where my voice is swallowed whole.

My family doctor tilts his head,
hands seesawing in a mimicry of weight.
“Are you…uh…unnhh or unnhh?”
he asks, as if my existence balances
on a teetering question he cannot name.

I answer, “they/them.”
“Like in between.”
His brow furrows like a chart too messy to read.
In his confusion, I feel my edges blur,
my identity is lost to the space between.

2025 Pride Stories

Gender Affirming Care is Primary Care: University of Ottawa, Department of Family Medicine

Listen to the experiences of patients and family medicine residents at the gender diversity clinic run by Ottawa Hospital and the Montfort Academic Family Health Team.

Click on the quotes to view the full stories published in the May 2025 issue of Canadian Family Physician.

Medicine can be queer!
“The queer community has come out of the closet and is seeking our support. It’s time for the medical field to rise to the challenge, embrace diversity, and create a future that’s queerly bright.”
Ted Jablonski, he/him, Calgary, AB

When the closet isn't glass
“Some people say, ‘the closet was glass,’ meaning that it was already obvious to people in their lives that they were queer or trans before they came out. That was not the case for me! The closet was made of concrete. Maybe it would have been different if I had had more 2SLGBTQIA+ representation in my life when I was younger.”
Robyn Moxley, she/her, Toronto, ON

My Gender Confuses People
“I walk onto a ward, my hair tucked away into a scrub cap. ‘Excuse me, sir, are you here for Room 4?’ ‘Actually, it’s ma’am,’ I say, my stomach turns. It’s not ma’am either. My gender confused her, it confuses me too.”
Sara Sotirakos, they/them, Toronto, ON
 

2024 Pride Stories

The Joy of Caring for 2SLGBTQ+ Patients

Listen to Dr. Jason Hamm from Edmonton, Alberta, share his Pride story on how rewarding it is to care for 2SLGBTQ+ patients in his practice.

Click on the quotes to view the full stories published in the June 2024 issue of Canadian Family Physician.

“I have come to truly believe that family practice, where mental and physical health can be managed holistically and flexibly, is where most nonsurgical gender-affirming care can best be delivered.”
Dr. Adam Burgess, he/him, Edmonton, Alberta

“I am therefore taking this opportunity, during Pride month, to thank my colleagues and highlight their actions, which have had a lasting impact on my transition and made them invaluable allies.”
Dr. Pier-Maude Lanteigne, they/them, Iqaluit, Nunavut

“I feel a glow of satisfaction when I help [my transgender patients] use hormones to safely transition. It is unlike most other medical visits, as I am helping them achieve their long-sought-after goals.”
Dr. Claire Nowlan, she/her, Halifax, Nova Scotia

“When I started providing primary care to 2SLGBTQ+ folks and their families, it is not an exaggeration to say that every single chart I reviewed contained the potential for harm.”
Dr. Avery Wynick, she/her, Edmonton, Alberta

Interested in submitting a story for consideration to be featured during next year’s Pride month? Check out the submission criteria below!

Share your Pride Stories

The 2SLGBTQ+ Health Member Interest Group is inviting all College of Family Physicians of Canada (CFPC) members to submit their 2SLGBTQ+ health narratives, stories, art, and expressions for future editions of CFPC Pride Stories. Sharing your experiences as 2SLGBTQ+ identifying health providers and/or as family doctors who provide care to 2SLGBTQ+ communities has never been more important.
 

Examples of CFPC Pride stories

• A written or video reflection on providing care to 2SLGBTQ+ patients
• A written or video reflection on being a 2SLGBTQ+ family physician or medical trainee in Canada
• A written or video reflection on how to improve care for 2SLGBTQ+ communities where you work
• Poetry
• Fictional writing capturing the 2SLGBTQ+ primary health care experience
• Visual art submissions (paintings, drawings, comics, and photography)
• Performance videos, including dance and theatrical expression
• Original song or spoken word performance

Submission guidelines

• English and French submissions accepted
• Text: Up to 500 words (.doc .docx .pdf)
• Graphics: Up to 50MB (.jpg .png .gif).
• Audio: (.mp3, other)
• Video: Up to 50MB. Less than two minutes (.mp4, other). Portrait or landscape orientation

Publication

Review Process

Deadlines