Sex Now is CBRC’s principal community-based research initiative and Canada’s largest and longest running survey of GBT2Q men’s health. Originating at Pride festivals across British Columbia in 2002, Sex Now has been administered both online and in-person at events across Canada in both official languages. Often referred to as “the gay census”, Sex Now has become an essential source of data on the health and well-being of GBT2Q in Canada, and is widely used by community, public health, research, and policy stakeholders.

Over the summer of 2018, a new in-person component was added to include collection of dried blood samples, and was administered through travel to 15 cities across Canada. The collection of dried blood samples, made possible through a grant from Canadian Blood Services and partnership with the Public Health Agency of Canada, will allow Sex Now to provide critical biological evidence on HIV and Hepatitis C prevalence among GBT2Q in Canada. The data from this round of Sex Now will also be used to inform revisions to Canada’s blood donation policy, which currently discriminates against GBT2Q by preventing blood donations from men who report having sex with men in the previous 12 months. Sex Now 2019 Online is now closed. Subscribe for updates, or follow us on social media for information about Sex Now 2020.

Sex Now, COVID-19 Edition

While COVID-19 continues to impact the lives of everyone in Canada and around the world, we know that the pandemic has created unique pressures on the health and well-being of gay, bi, queer and trans men, and Two-Spirit and non-binary people (GBT2Q). Even before COVID-19, our communities have been facing significant mental, social, and sexual health challenges, which have been negatively impacted by physical distancing and the pandemic’s disruption to health services that we rely on, such as testing for HIV and other sexually transmitted infections.



CBRC, in partnership with the Ontario HIV Treatment Network, has launched a special COVID-19 edition of our national Sex Now survey to better understand how the pandemic has affected GBT2Q people across Canada. Fill out it out and share it with your friends to make your voice heard:





Please visit the Reports + Publications section to access a variety of resources and reports related to Sex Now. For more information, please contact Ben Klassen (ben.klassen@cbrc.net).

Disponsible en français.