Manitobans who are nonbinary will now be able to display an X as the gender identifier on their Manitoba driver’s licence or identification cards, effective today, Manitoba Public Insurance announced today.
Additionally, all Manitobans will have the option to leave their gender unspecified on their driver’s licence or identification card by opting to have the gender field left blank. While the X has largely been adopted across Canada and by international organizations, Manitoba now joins Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island in becoming the only Canadian jurisdictions which offer customers the option not to display a gender marker on their licences and identification cards.
In developing these changes, Manitoba Public Insurance has worked collaboratively with the Public Interest Law Centre (PILC), which has represented a group of nonbinary individuals who approached the Manitoba Human Rights Commission with concerns over the way gender has been traditionally displayed on driver’s licences and identification cards.
“This is an important step forward in ensuring that all Manitobans have a choice in whether to display gender information on their IDs, and when they do, to ensure that the information displayed is accurate,” said Allison Fenske of PILC. “PILC has been representing a number of concerned nonbinary Manitobans who have lobbied for this change.
“Our clients look forward to continuing collaboration with MPI to best serve the nonbinary community and working to ensure systemic barriers are removed.”
Customers who wish to change the gender identity marker on their driver’s licence or identification card will be asked to attend an MPI service centre or Autopac agent to self declare; there is no need to provide supporting documentation for any gender marker changes.
The new driver’s license or identification card will be changed at no cost to the customer.