Village Lab receives funding from CIHR's Advancing 2S/LGBTQI+ Health Research Operating Grant competition

Elder-led national study will investigate chronic health, aging, healthcare access, and wellbeing among 2S/LGBTQIA+ older adults in Canada

Mikayla Hunter

September 19, 2026

Village Lab leaders Dr. Rusty Souleymanov and Elder Dr. Albert McLeod have received $700,000 to conduct a national study on 2S/LGBTQIA+ older adults in Canada. This project will take place over the next four years in collaboration with academic and community partners across the country.

“Aging 2SLGBTQIA+ people face many challenges due to social stigma and systemic barriers in Canadian society. However, their personal stories of activism, resilience, and wisdom can provide a strong foundation and pathway for future generations.” –  Elder Dr. Albert McLeod

Two-Spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, asexual, and other sexually and gender-diverse (2S/LGBTQIA+) older adults (age 55+) experience health inequities across the course of their lives. These inequities are driven by intersecting structural factors including stigma, discrimination, and colonial harm. The funded project, “National Study on Chronic Health, Aging, Healthcare Access, and Wellbeing among 2S/LGBTQIA+ Older Adults in Canada” uses a community-based, national mixed-methods design, to assess four domains of wholistic health and wellbeing (physical, mental/brain, sexual, and spiritual) among older 2S/LGBTQIA+ adults across Canada and to co-develop scalable interventions with community organizations across the country.

“Older 2SLGBTQIA+ people have spent decades building communities, caring for one another and fighting for change, yet their health and aging remain remarkably invisible in Canadian research and health systems. This project is about changing that by making sure older adults, Elders and communities help shape the evidence and the systems that affect their lives.” – Dr. Rusty Souleymanov

The project team includes co-principal applicants from the University of British Columbia (Dr. Hannah Kia), Toronto Metropolitan University (Dr. Fritz Pino), Mount Royal University (Dr. Celeste Pang), Mount Saint Vincent University (Dr. Jacquie Gahagan), and Memorial University (Dr. Sulaimon Abiodun Olawale Giwa). In total, the team includes 13 community-based organizations (including Manitoba-based Rainbow Resource Centre) and 21 academic institutions. A full list of community-based organization and academic partners are provided at the end of this press release.

Community partner organizations

·       Two-Spirit Consultants, Inc.

·       Community‑Based Research Centre

·       Egale Canada

·       Senior Pride Network Canada/Réseau de la Fierté des personnes aînées du Canada

·       Rainbow Resource Centre (Manitoba)

·       Two-Spirit People of the First Nations (Ontario)

·       Ribbon Community (British Columbia)

·       Dignity Seniors (British Columbia)

·       Rainbow Elders Calgary (Alberta)

·       Queer and Trans Health Collective (Alberta)

·       Saskatchewan Queer Mental Health Collective

·       Aînés et retraités de la communauté gaie (Québec)

·       Fondation Émergence (Québec)

Academic institutions

·       University of Manitoba

·       University of British Columbia

·       Toronto Metropolitan University

·       Mount Royal University

·       Mount Saint Vincent University

·       Memorial University

·       McMaster University

·       Université de Montréal

·       University of Toronto

·       University of Calgary

·       University of Northern British Columbia

·       Lakehead University

·       Dalhousie University

·       St. Thomas University

·       Wilfred Laurier University

·       Simon Fraser University

·       University of Guelph

·       University of Regina

·       University of Victoria

·       Université du Québec à Montréal

·       University of Ottawa