The Canadian government has issued a new warning for its citizens with gender-neutral passports traveling to the United States in light of President Donald Trump’s executive order.
Canada’s Department of Global Affairs updated its “travel advice” for citizens coming to the U.S. on its website last week, CBC first reported.
“While the Government of Canada issues passports with a ‘X’ gender identifier, it cannot guarantee your entry or transit through other countries,” the page reads. “You might face entry restrictions in countries that do not recognize the ‘X’ gender identifier. Before you leave, verify this information with the closest foreign representative for your destination.”
Canadians may “still be asked to provide your sex/gender information as either male or female when traveling,” the advisory stated.
In January, Trump signed an executive order that stated it is the “policy of the United States to recognize two sexes, male and female.” The order says: “These sexes are not changeable and are grounded in fundamental and incontrovertible reality.”
Days later, Secretary of State Marco Rubio instructed the State Department to immediately suspend all applications for passports with the “X” gender marker.
The ACLU then sued the State Department on behalf of transgender, nonbinary, and intersex people.
A federal judge in June granted a preliminary injunction, blocking the State Department’s requirement from taking effect. Last month, the Trump administration asked the Supreme Court to overturn the injunction.
As of January, roughly 3,600 Canadian citizens listed "X" as their gender on their passports, CBC reported.
The Department of Global Affairs has posted advisories about the ‘X’ identifier since 2022, but decided to "expand and harmonize the information" about the passport marker across all travel advisories last week, Alexandre Fournier, a spokesperson for the department told CBC.
The U.S. Embassy in Canada said it’s “not in a position to provide comment or schedule interviews at the time” due to the U.S. government shutdown, a spokesperson told the outlet.
