Canada warns travellers with ‘X’ gender markers about going to the U.S.

The updated advisory states that citizens with an “X” gender marker on their passport could face restrictions when entering the U.S. 

The Canadian government is officially warning travellers that they could face problems entering the U.S. if they have an “X” gender marker on their passport.

Global Affairs Canada recently added an advisory to its U.S. travel advice page, stating that travellers with an “X” marker could face restrictions in places that “do not recognize” the gender marker, like the U.S. 

In addition, the new notice warns that Canadians with an “X” on their passport might be asked to provide documentation of one’s sex as male or female when travelling to prevent any issues.

The updated language comes after it was reported that Canadian government officials discussed issuing a travel advisory for trans travellers going to the U.S. in the days following Trump’s executive order mandating that all government documents reflect a person’s sex at birth. But it didn’t publish any official guidance until now.

It’s currently unclear why the guidance was changed now rather than when the executive order was signed, or how many, if any, Canadian travellers have been impacted so far. Jennifer Young, a spokesperson for the U.S. Embassy in Canada, told the CBC that the delegation was not able to provide further comment due to the current government shutdown in the U.S. 

The “X” designation has been available to Canadian travellers since 2017. Back in January, the government said roughly 3,600 citizens adopted the “X” marker on their passports.

Cody Corrall is Xtra's Social Video Producer. Their work has appeared in BuzzFeed News, TechCrunch, the Chicago Reader, CINE-FILE, Thrillist, Paste Magazine, and other places on the world wide web. He lives in Chicago and speaks English.

Senior editor Mel Woods is an English-speaking Vancouver-based writer, editor and audio producer and a former associate editor with HuffPost Canada. A proud prairie queer and ranch dressing expert, their work has also appeared in Vice, Slate, the Tyee, the CBC, the Globe and Mail and the Walrus.

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