Tentative Program


The First National Conference on 2SLGBTQI+ Cancer Care in Canada

Theme: Breaking Barriers: Affirming Care Across the Cancer Continuum
Date: June 11 & 12, 2026
Duration: 1.5 days plus 0.5 day workshop (Thursday–Friday, 9:00–17:00)
Location: Montreal, Quebec. Pierre-Péladeau Amphitheater (CHUM)
Audience: Healthcare professionals, researchers, 2SLGBTQI+ advocates, community organizations, students and policy partners.

Day 1 — Thursday, June 11th, 2026

09:00 – 09:30 | Opening & Welcome

  • Welcome Address

  • Land Acknowledgment & Two-Spirit Recognition

  • Opening Remarks

  • Community Voice

09:30 – 11:00 | Plenary I — Understanding 2SLGBTQI+ Cancer Disparities: The Canadian Landscape

  • How we got here: Building Canada's 2SLGBTQI+ cancer movement 

  • Two-Spirit perspectives and lessons from HIV community organizing

  • Results from their study and recommendations from the April Forum

  • National data gaps and strategic priorities

  • Panel Discussion: "Why don't we have the data? Addressing 2SLGBTQI+ cancer surveillance gaps in Canada"

11:15 – 12:45 | Session II — Session II — Prevention & Screening: Reaching 2SLGBTQI+ Populations

  • Anal cancer screening

  • Anal screening for gay and bisexual men

  • HPV and cancer prevention

  • Lessons learnt from Sexual Clinics

  • Discussion: "Closing the screening gap: How do we reach underserved 2SLGBTQI+ communities?"

13:45 – 15:15 | Session III — Diagnosis & Access to Affirming Treatment

  • Rapid cancer diagnosis in primary care for LGBTQ+ populations

  • Building transgender-affirming cancer care systems

  • Canada's first Trans Cancer Clinic: Lessons learned

  • Top 2 abstracts on 2SLGBTQI+ access barriers

  • Panel Discussion: "What does gender-affirming cancer care actually look like? Moving from theory to practice"

15:45 – 17:15 | Session IV — Research Methods & Inclusive Data Collection

  • "Dans les marges du cancer: vulnérabilité, résistance et genre"

  • Biobanking, genetics, and neuroscience perspectives on 2SLGBTQI+ health and cancer

  • Diverse sociodemographic questionnaire for clinical trials & Marathon of Hope Cancer Centres Network Spectrum Working Group

  • Clinical trials and 2SLGBTQI+ inclusion

  • Patient-reported outcomes expert 

  • Discussion Panel: "Are we asking the right questions? Designing 2SLGBTQI+-inclusive cancer research"

17:15 – 19:00 | Networking Reception

  • Sponsored cocktail reception with community partners at Agora

  • Screen Christian Schulz-Quach's short film during reception


Day 2 — Friday, June 12th, 2026

09:00 – 10:45 | Plenary II — Survivorship, Sexual Health & Quality of Life

  • Speaker:Gender-diverse cancer care at Princess Margaret / Margo Kennedy Princess Margaret Chosen Family Program - Supporting 2SLGBTQI+ cancer survivors / 

  • Survivorship and quality of life

  • Intimacy & sexual health specialist

  • Lived experiences across the continuum

  • Discussion: "Pleasure, intimacy, and identity after cancer"

11:15 – 12:45 | Session V — Systems Change & Building a National Agenda

  • Strategic priorities for 2SLGBTQI+ cancer equity and potential collaborations

  • 2S and HPV Screening related work

  • Health policy & implementation science expert 

  • Abstract Presentations: Top 2 research abstracts + awards

  • Roundtable: "Building a national research agenda for 2SLGBTQI+ cancer care"

  • Journal editorial representative

13:45 – 15:45 | Workshop - Developing the Montreal Declaration on 2SLGBTQI+ Cancer Equity

Workshop Objectives:

  • Establish research priorities for 2SLGBTQI+ cancer care in Canada

  • Call to Action

  • Delphi - using Polygon platform

Workshop Structure:

13:45 – 14:00 | Workshop Introduction & Framework (15 min)

  • Overview of consensus-building process

  • Introduction to Montreal Declaration goals and publication target (?CMAJ)

  • Review of key themes from Day 1 & Day 2 morning

14:00 – 15:30 | Facilitated Breakout Sessions (60 min)

Themes:

  1. Research Priorities & Methodology

  2. Clinical Practice & Care Delivery

  3. Health Policy & System Change 

  4. Patient Engagement & Community Partnership

Report-back and drafting of consensus statement

15:30 – 16:00 | Closing Session

  • Summary of workshop outcomes

  • Launch of Canadian 2SLGBTQI+ Cancer Care Network

  • Community closing reflection

  • Next steps and call to action

  • Closing remarks

 

19:00 – 21:00 | Friday night social