Nelson, a non-binary student at the University of Calgary, doesn't fit into either box so they reached out to MP Navdeep Singh Bains.

Non-binary people do not identify as exclusively male or female and Nelson uses the pronoun "they" rather than "she" or "he."

For those who are non-binary, intersex, fluid, or transgender, selecting either "male" or "female" isn't a straightforward choice. Considering that failing to complete the census is punishable by fines or jail time, that's a problem.

"I have a major concern however with the exclusionary way that the category of gender/sex has in the past been strictly limited to an option of either male or female," Nelson wrote to Bains.

"As a non-binary transgender individual, I would be wholly unable to fill out a census (long or short) accurate and completely."