What to know

HIV cases in Canada jumped by 35% in 2023, hitting the highest rates in over a decade, yet most Canadians remain unaware.

Over 40 million people live with HIV worldwide, with 53% being women and girls. Education and awareness remain critical, as millions are unaware of their status.

Advocates are calling for more education, reduced stigma, and greater government investment in HIV prevention and care to address rising cases.

HIV cases in Canada have surged by 35 per cent in 2023, reaching the highest transmission rates in over a decade, data shows. Despite this, most people don’t know that cases are on the rise.

December 1 is World AIDS Day, and around the world, more than 40 million people are living with HIV. According to numbers from UNAIDS, the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS, of the 40.8 million people living with HIV in 2024, ­39.4 million were older than 15, while 1.4 million were between newborn and 14 years old. Meanwhile, 53 per cent with HIV were women and girls.

The data also shows that the majority of people (87 per cent) living with HIV knew their status, while about 5.3 million people did not know that they were living with the virus.

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Globally, data from UNAIDS shows that new HIV infections have been reduced by 61 per cent since their peak in 1996. In 2024, 1.3 million people contracted HIV, compared to 3.4 million people in 1996.

But here in Canada, HIV numbers are on the rise, and the data show that many Canadians have no clue. About 76 per cent of Canadians are unaware that HIV numbers in the country are increasing, even though 44 per cent of Canadians view HIV as a major health concern, according to data from the Canadian Foundation for AIDS Research (CANFAR) and Gilead Sciences. 

Ashley Murphy, a Canadian HIV awareness advocate, has been living with the virus since birth. At 27 years old, she says that in her lifetime, she’s noticed a big change in the way we talk about HIV and people living with it. But, as a CANFAR ambassador involved in this year’s World AIDS Day campaign, she’s hoping to bring the virus to the centre of conversations.

“What I’m trying to do through this campaign is to let everybody know that even if it may seem like HIV is not at the forefront of conversations, HIV is very much still here,” Murphy told Queer & Now.

“The fight is far from over,” she explained, adding that advocates are still educating the wider community.

But it’s not just about education, it’s also about stigma. While medical advancements have left HIV care way ahead of where it was even 15 years ago, CANFAR reports that several factors prevent people from accessing testing and treatment. This includes Canada’s history of colonization, which has created deep mistrust of public health-care systems, and the crushing impacts of intergenerational trauma, which only exacerbate the HIV epidemic. These factors delay/reduce diagnoses, reduce access and retention to treatment, and propel the onward transmission of the virus — and it’s reflected in the numbers. While more than 65,000 Canadians were living with HIV in 2024, 16,000 were not accessing treatment. 

“We really want you to see that there is a human behind the disease and to let people know that we are still here and we are still fighting every single day,” Murphy explained.

She explained that people should be looking into the numbers behind HIV in 2025, understand the statistics, and participate in the fight to raise awareness and fight stigma. 

“I think if we keep pushing these statistics, and we keep letting people know that these numbers are only on the rise, I think that’ll hopefully wake up Canadians to realize that this fight is far from over.”

THE IMPORTANCE OF REPRESENTATION

Fashion icon, HIV advocate and fellow CANFAR ambassador Myles Sexton echoes Murphy, saying that open dialogue about HIV/AIDS is crucial. Diagnosed with HIV seven years ago, at the age of 26, Sexton was terrified. 

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“I literally thought I was going to die. I had no idea this life-saving medication existed, and you know, that I could be undetectable and live a very normal life and not pass on the virus to anyone,” they told Queer & Now.

Their own journey to acceptance included the process of letting go of internalized stigma around HIV.

“I was just very afraid of being judged already. I was a bit of a disruptor in the fashion industry, and being queer and non-binary, I felt like there were all of these things stacked against me,” they explained. 

“Then when I got diagnosed with HIV, I said ‘Oh gosh, this is just gonna be another thing,’ and I think it was challenging my own self-worth and just how I viewed myself.”

This included fears that they would struggle to find love and acceptance because of their status. But, newly married and leading a life filled with love and success, they’ve come to realize this is far from the truth. 

“Through my healing journey, I realized that you know how ridiculous all of these sorts of self-deprecating thoughts were, and I know there were probably a lot of other people out there in the world who have been feeling the same way,” they explained, adding that they did not see a lot of public representation of people being HIV positive and living a full life, brimming with joy, fulfilment, and love. 

Since sharing their HIV status online, Sexton says hundreds of people have reached out to share what it means to them.

“I think people want to see that their lives can be, you know, full of joy and hope and everything that they dreamed of is still possible, regardless if you’re HIV positive or not,” they explained, adding that it’s important to show that they are more than their trauma.

“These things are horrible; they happened, but I think we can rise above it.”

Sexton and Murphy say that one of the most important things people can do is know their HIV status — and heads up, everyone has a status.

“We all have a status, whether we’re positive or we’re negative, that is still a status, you know, and I think people should know if they have it and should be testing for it, especially if they’re sexually active,” Sexton explained.

“Knowing your status and getting tested is such an act of self-care and self-love, where you can put the empowerment back into your lap, into your hands, and to know that it’s OK to let your guard down and get tested,” Murphy added, explaining that many times people are scared to go get tested for HIV or other STIs.

“I think it is your biggest strength and your biggest asset to know that you have the support of the community behind you,” she continued. “We need more people to get out there and get tested and know their status and be more aware and educate others because I think we’ll be stronger as a community.”

COMBATTING STIGMA AND CALLING FOR ACTION

When it comes to combating the stigma associated with the virus, Murphy says her work includes making HIV seem less scary.

“Because out of all the STIs, I find that usually it seems like HIV is almost this ‘big bad’ [thing] and it shouldn’t be. And no one should feel guilty or ashamed to see an HIV positive status,” she explained. “We’re all humans at the end of the day, and if we could see a little bit more of the humanity within people, I think that would go a long way.”

Sexton added that education is also critical.

“People still have no idea how HIV is transmitted; there needs to be so much more conversation around what undetectable means and the fact that when someone is on treatment, that they aren’t able to pass on the virus to someone else,” they explained, adding that misconceptions surrounding HIV are endless. 

In light of rising cases, Sexton is calling for the Canadian government to do more to address the epidemic.

“I feel that in Canada, we are really falling behind. When it comes to the government’s support when it comes to health care, especially in the HIV sector,” Sexton said.

“We need more funding from our government to help get rid of a lot of the barriers that exist when it comes to preventative care, when it comes to HIV, and accessing care,” they continued, adding that medications for preventing and treating HIV are not cheap. 

“I really would love to see the government of Canada really invest in helping to get people easier access, because not a lot of people can afford the medications, and then some people cannot even afford to get tested,” Sexton added. 

“I think to really see a decline in rates, I think in Canada it needs to not just be privatized organizations like CANFAR who are helping to fight these barriers, we need a larger support from our government.”