Albertan Affirmation Health Policy Projects

Donate to Launch the Society

We advance equity in health by mentoring Health Science researchers bridging policy gaps. Here’s what they’re saying…

  • “(Cupola) helped me understand what it looks like to use knowledge, credibility, and intention to influence policy and shape meaningful change. That is not something you get from a textbook or a lecture. It is something you learn by watching someone who does it well!”

  • “…this placement is a unique one, it has been incredibly important to me. Having the chance to situate myself in the world of real change making, and seeing how you move within it has been huge!”

  • “Thank you for trusting me with real responsibilities, for answering my many questions, and for showing me what thoughtful leadership looks like in practice. This experience has genuinely shifted how I see my future role, not just as a nurse, but as someone who can also show up in political and community spaces with purpose!”

We are building a Society to Compound our Returns

The importance of Gender-Diverse inclusion in public policy is more critical today than ever before; we’re doing our part in knowing more and building for tomorrow!

Withholding constitutional rights doesn’t erase trans & gender diverse people…. but it impacts their health. Recent proposals in Alberta are triggering resource and community censorship, targeting amongst others the Rainbow Community, their health, stories, and place in public life.

We can be ready. Building on a legacy of qualitative reporting, Cupola is launching more cutting edge research in 2026 with partner institutions and are well are with community partners to shift our success in ad hoc projects into a formal society to compound resources and results. Help support our efforts

Some of our work so far…

  • Cupola is humbled to play a supporting role in the efforts of the Non-Binary Working Group. The group is ad-hoc and stands up when logistical barriers for X marker Canadians reveal paths to make life better. We support the scoping of realistic action and supporting policy science materials to empower changemakers to enact positive-sum change.

    Two-Spirit, Non-Binary, X Marker, and Queer Canadians wishing to motivate an issue to the working group are encouraged to reach out via our ‘Contact Us’ page.

    Outcomes

    X Marker Equality in the Air - Canadians with ‘X’ markers on their identifications weren’t able to fly domestically, a decade following Transport Canada rule modernisation, mainly due to non-Canadian software. The Working Group collaborated with West Jet leadership to overcome the obstacles, in turn leading the Canadian aviation sector into allowing X marker Canadians to fly as themselves (Air Canada & other airlines following West Jet’s lead shortly thereafter).

    X Marker Advances in Policing Procedure - When X marker Canadians apply for name changes, they are forced into falsifying policing documents which do not include X marker options. Through identifying the process errors, Canadian police services have begun a review of this and other gender/sex-marker related processing and information collection. In turn, senior officials with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police & other institutions are pursuing the removal of sex-marker information in general processes.

  • A process & policy review of affirmation for Queer individuals in Alberta, identifying gaps & opportunities, to provide recommendations for enhancing the support and empowerment of the Queer community within Albertan society.

    Work was focused to:

    • Identify accessibility, effectiveness, and experiential outcomes of affirmation related interactions across various categories.

    • Gather insights from Queer individuals and those they rely on.

    • Compile narratives to inform policy decisions and improve affirmation programs in Alberta.

    Results were shared with community, policy, and government leadership and informed Albertan Affirmation Policy Projects.

  • The Albertan Queer Affirmation Review revealed the need for stories to be shared, told, & amplified to give Queer folks in Treaty 7 to counter effects of anti-diversity extremists snuffing out participation in youth, in sports, and society. We gathered $3,000 to gather, feed, hear, and give cash prizes to Queer story writers & to share some of their stories via podcast & elsewhere. We are on track to raise: 15 unique stories; foster 150 conversations; and, 1,500 listens, all in a time of needed dialogue.

    This project went into hiatus for safety considerations in summer 2024 but reactivated in Q1 2025.
    Pilot Project Findings Report is in final production.

  • Cupola’s leadership in qualitative applied research projects unlocked invitations from Canadian post-secondary institutions to guide and mentor undergraduate researchers supporting gender-diverse policy inclusion in across health, academia, and other vocations.

    Third Gender Experiences in Albertan Healthcare | 2024

    Feasibility & Implications of Integrating the "X" Sex Marker into Alberta’s Healthcare and British Columbia Comparisons | 2025
    Gender Diverse Experiences in Albertan Healthcare | 2025


    Cupola is actively seeking financial support to continue these projects and to establish a society for future research efforts.

  • Nursing researchers found Intersex, Non-Binary, and Two-Spirit communities need more representation in health literature & academia and warned of always lumping & umbrellaing their needs under transgender discourses, paving the way for systemic change and equity-driven initiatives.

  • Bow Valley College researchers shared findings with faculty & community that British Columbia can learn from decentralised civil society trans & gender-diverse healthcare in Alberta and how Albertan decision makers can learn from those in BC.

  • Nursing researchers engaged with accreditors, deans & academic leaders, health care professionals and their colleges, as well as members of community to find baselines to improve Third Gender and gender diverse experiences in Albertan health.

  • Part of Cupola's Queer Writers' Salon Series Pilot, Queer in Treaty 7 strengthens Queer narratives and stories by community-informed installments shared through Substack and podcast platforms.

Cupola has been seeking out and listening to lots about gender-diverse inclusion in public policy — this includes engaging community, professionals, academics, health providers, from Alberta and across Canada. Our works and reports have been connecting the realities of the Gender-Diverse and Albertan’s under the rainbow with thought leaders and decision makers wanting context and avenues for progress. We believe progress can come from ad hoc deeds but we know structure, tempo, and accountable leadership can empower so much more and we are building out a viable long-term service to community to help achieve this — a Planning & Implementation Committee has been struck to establish a society, inaugural board, and 18-month plan; Cupola is expanding research mentorship projects in 2026 in conjunction with Canadian post-secondary institutions while the Committee will build the plan for the long term future under its leadership.
Reach out through our Contact Page for more and consider joining those supporters who have gotten us this far by donating.