August 5, 2025
RED FM News Desk
Canadian citizens applying for a new or renewed NEXUS travel card must now select “Male” or “Female”—the use of “X” gender marker is no longer permitted. Existing Nexus cards with an X marker remain valid, but the new policy prohibits that option going forward.
This change follows an executive order by U.S. President Donald Trump, which mandates that all U.S. identity documents only recognize “male” or “female.” U.S. Customs and Border Protection—and thus the Nexus program—has eliminated the X marker consequently.
The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) clarified that applicants holding a Canadian passport with an X gender identifier may still apply—but must choose either male or female for their Nexus application.
LGBTQ advocates and immigration lawyers have raised serious concerns, calling the policy discriminatory and potentially unconstitutional under Section 15 of Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Critics warn that non-binary and transgender Canadians are being forced to misgender themselves or forego Nexus membership entirely.
According to CBSA data, about 550 Nexus applications used the X marker between January 2022 and March 2025.
Although the U.S. will continue to accept Canadian passports with X markers, the Nexus program’s bilateral structure requires compliance with U.S. gender classification rules.
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