Canadians can no longer choose 'X' for gender when applying for Nexus card
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The change took effect in February 2025.
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New applicants and people renewing their membership can apply using a Canadian passport with the 'X' gender identifier but will have to select 'male' or 'female' for their Nexus membership, said Luke Reimer, spokesperson for the Canada Border Services Agency.
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Current Nexus cards identifying members by a gender other than 'male' or 'female' will remain valid until they expire, the spokesperson said.
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Canadians first got the option to pick an 'X' gender marker on their Nexus passes in 2022. Between implementation in 2022 and March 2025, about 550 Nexus applications were submitted with 'X' as the gender identifier.
The CBSA spokesperson said that while Canada and the U.S. share management of the Nexus program, the application process is housed on a U.S system operated by U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
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The spokesperson said that while the Government of Canada recognizes the 'X' gender identifier, it can't guarantee entry or transit through other countries.
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'Not all countries have the same values and legal system that we have in Canada,' Reimer said in a statement. 'As a result, it is important for travellers to be informed about the legal framework and social customs governing sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression and sex characteristics in the destination country.'
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Reimer said that the CBSA itself recognizes that individuals may self-identify with a gender identity other than male or female.
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'What we are seeing right now is a policy that is at odds with our own policy and inconsistent and incompatible with it,' Sarah Mikhail, an associate lawyer at Smith Immigration Law, said, adding that it's too early to tell how Canada's passport policy could be affected.
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She said trans and non-binary travellers may still face difficulties at the border if their passports don't match the gender selected on their Nexus card.
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'I think the border can be a really stressful place and a really sometimes unknown environment for a lot of people. And going in knowing that there's this discrepancy and this is something that could possibly elicit questioning from an officer, and have to be looked at further, I think would be an incredibly, not just stressful experience, but invasive,' she said.
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The Government of Canada's travel health and safety web page says that people who have a Canadian passport with an 'X' gender marker might face entry restrictions in countries that don't recognize their gender.
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It says that people may be asked to provide binary sex information when travelling — even if their Canadian passport indicates an 'X' gender marker.
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