As the United Conservative Party moves forward with controversial legislation first announced in January, many across Alberta are concerned.
The legislation prohibits gender reassignment on youth under 18 and hormone therapy for minors under 16 unless treatment has already started, and requires parental notification to change names or pronouns of a student at school, policies that could endanger young Albertans, according to local transgender advocate Remi Laboucane.
"Parents shouldn't be notified on something that brings their child comfort," he said. "Parents should be notified if they're being hurt or if they want to hurt themselves, and changing a pronoun or name isn't either of those things... it doesn't hurt someone to change your pronouns or your name."
Laboucane, 18, had previously raised concerns after being deadnamed — defined by Merriam-Webster as "the name that a transgender person was given at birth and no longer uses upon transitioning" — by the Foothills Composite High School yearbook.
"Trans people, they're not out to get anyone," he said. "They're just slightly different than what is perceived as normal in society. They just want to be themselves and it has never hurt anyone to do that, so I believe that Premier Smith should honestly just leave these kids alone."
The Government of Alberta did not respond to a request for comment ahead of publication.
"In Alberta, we believe children should wait until adulthood before making physical changes to their body," Smith wrote on social media.
Smith's policies were detailed in a video on Oct. 1, ahead of the legislature's return on Oct. 28.
In less than a month, our UCP government will introduce critical legislation to ensure that children wait until adulthood before making decisions to physically alter their bodies for gender transition. We will also strengthen parental rights within our education system regarding… pic.twitter.com/tamjNDzcex
— Danielle Smith (@ABDanielleSmith) October 1, 2024
"She wants to know who's trans and who's not, which honestly doesn't matter," said Laboucane. "It doesn't really matter who's trans and who's not."
According to Laboucane, preventing youth under 16 from accessing hormone therapy has the potential to be harmful, something he knows firsthand.
"I know someone personally who's been on puberty blockers since they were under 16 years old," said Laboucane. "It saved their life. They wouldn't be here if it wasn't for this care."
A 2024 peer-reviewed study published in Nature Human Behaviour on Sept. 26 established a direct correlation between American anti-transgender laws — 48 laws which were implemented in 19 states between 2018 and 2022 — and increased rates of attempted suicide among affected youth over the last five years, based on data collected from over 61,000 transgender and non-binary youth across the United States.
While the study is American, its results have similarly dangerous implications in Alberta, according to Laboucane.
"A lot of people don't have accepting parents. I've known a lot of friends who, if they came out to their parents, they would be kicked out," Laboucane said.
"Being notified that their child is going by a different name or pronoun can be dangerous, and it can lead to homelessness and abuse in the worst cases."
The UCP's legislation will only incite further conflict and division in the province, he continued.
"It'll split Alberta in two: one group supports trans people and is okay with people being themselves, and the other might kick their kids out if they ever think of going by different pronouns."
Laboucane is one of many individuals and organizations that have raised concerns, with Canadian 2SLGBTQIA+ advocacy groups Egale and the Skipping Stone Foundation threatening legal action if the government goes forward with the legislation.
In response to the proposed policies, local organizations Okotoks Pride and Foothills Rainbow Collective joined groups across Alberta in banning the UCP from Pride events in 2024.
"I'd like people to come together and try to fight against this," said Laboucane. "There are people in this town that care about this."
