We’re excited to announce that we are now accepting proposals for Summit 2026. This year’s conference will take place October 29-November 1, 2026, in Toronto, also known as Tkaronto, on Treaty 13 territory, the traditional home of many nations, including the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishnabeg, the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee, and the Wendat peoples. This territory is cared for under 'the Dish with One Spoon' Wampum, an agreement between the Mississaugas, the Anishnabeg, and the Haudenosaunee to protect the land and share its resources responsibly.

Each year, CBRC brings together diverse voices, impactful research, and innovative strategies to improve health outcomes for 2S/LGBTQIA+ communities. Whether your work is in community health promotion, research, or grassroots advocacy, we want to hear from you.

We welcome submissions from individuals, organizations, and experts across various disciplines, including healthcare providers, researchers, Indigenous Elders and Knowledge Keepers, community activists, and policymakers. This is your opportunity to showcase your work and offer practical strategies to transform healthcare for 2S/LGBTQIA+ individuals in your community. At Summit 2026, you can engage, educate, and empower participants to influence the future of 2S/LGBTQIA+ health.

First-time presenters are encouraged to apply. If you need assistance preparing your proposal, please contact us at [email protected].

We are also seeking sponsors, exhibitors and ancillary event organizers (see below). 

Important dates:

• Proposal submission deadline: 11:59 PM Pacific Time on Sunday, May 31, 2026 
• Notification of acceptance: End of July 2026

Ready to submit your proposal? Click here: https://pretalx.com/summit-2026/cfp

We look forward to your submissions!

Summit 2026 theme

We are proud to announce that the 2026 Summit theme is Building Our Futures.

As queer, trans and Two-Spirit people, we’ve never had the privilege of complacency. When our health, personhood and relationships are threatened, we’ve always done what we must – rally around each other to create better futures for ourselves. 

How do we do that? We build. 

We build bonds, based on love and shared histories. We build support networks, founding groups, like CBRC, that now have decades long histories of action. We build solutions – conducting research and developing tools that help us lead happier and healthier lives.

We’ve done this time and time again. In the 1960s, we formed support and advocacy groups to build solidarity and resist discrimination. In the midst of inaction around HIV, we conducted our own research and stitched together our own systems of care. We developed and promoted sexual health interventions like PrEP, PEP and doxy-PEP alongside effective and long-acting HIV treatments. Today, our communities continue to advocate for better access to care and treatment on a variety of health issues impacting 2S/LGBTQIA+ people, including sexual, reproductive, and gender-affirming care, as well as mental health and substance use services and supports. Some organizations are developing improved health information systems, while others are building networks of care and community outside of urban centres – creating bridges between people in rural and remote areas. Two-Spirit leaders are recentering Indigenous ways of knowing, restoring and elevating traditions of healing and community with generations of impact.

Building can also mean re-building. The dismantling of outdated or oppressive systems to reshape them to work for us. Many of our organizations have had to reevaluate their role and mandate within broader 2S/LGBTQIA+ communities to respond to the needs of people beyond cis gay men. At the same time, decreased funding and increasing political uncertainty challenge the sustainability of this work. In this context, we are tasked with questioning long-held assumptions, rethinking our approaches, and adapting to the realities and pressures of the present.

Doing this work has come with much pain and loss, but it also means that we’re incredibly adept at finding creative ways to show up for our community’s needs – even when the resources available become more limited or precarious – and defining our own measures of success and even happiness outside the confines of mainstream society. 

But just as something is built, it can be undone. In recent years there have been concerted efforts to defund research and organizations involved with queer, trans and Two-Spirit people, as well as introduce discriminatory policies that sow hate and division against the trans members of our community. Just as we develop new innovations, we must stay vigilant and find ways to protect the laws, programs, research and service work we’ve already put in place. This is especially true for the researchers, practitioners and community workers who gather at Summit annually. 

By participating in Summit 2026, you are an essential part of those efforts. The projects and insights discussed at Summit are the latest in ways to help 2S/LGBTQIA+ people live happier, healthier and longer lives despite reactionary interests pushing back against equity, inclusion and our own liberation. Whether you are working from within systems to generate change or serving people at the margins of the mainstream, you are a necessary piece of that puzzle. 

This is especially relevant in Summit 2026’s host city of Toronto. As Canada’s largest city and a major urban center, Toronto has been at the forefront of rallying for positive change for years. From decades-old protests of the bath house raids and low HIV/AIDS investment to today’s movements around harm reduction and culturally-competent care, Toronto is a crucial gathering point and now – for the first time in the event’s 20-plus year history – host of Summit. 

Today, people are feeling the pressure. They are worried that we can’t build better ways forward in the same ways we once could. While it is true there are difficult challenges ahead, we still have the most essential ingredient: each other. Summit 2026 is our chance to remind ourselves that better is possible – that we go further together, and that together, we will build our futures.

Location

This year, we’re thrilled to host Summit at a larger venue (The Westin Harbour Castle, Toronto) from October 29 to November 1, beginning with an evening reception on October 29 followed by three days of programming. This additional capacity means new conference programming, including space for ancillary events and an exhibition hall (for tables or booths for community organizations, corporate sponsors, and other partners) upon request. 

Additional information, including key dates regarding the conference and other deadlines, will be shared in early May along with the launch of Summit 2026 registration. We anticipate the full program to be available at the end of August.

About submitting a proposal to Summit 2026

Who we’re looking for:

Everyone and anyone is welcome to submit a session proposal to Summit 2026. This includes: 

• Community and grassroots organizers
• Community organization staff, volunteers, researchers, and students 
• Health and service providers
• Government staff and policymakers
• 2S/LGBTQIA+ community members

We especially encourage submissions from Indigenous, Black, and racialized individuals, Francophones, and historically underserved and underrepresented people, including but not limited to people living with HIV, people who use substances, sex workers, disabled folks, (im)migrants, and people who are not “out.”

Never attended or presented at Summit before? Not a problem. We highly encourage first-time presenters to submit a proposal, as well as past Summit presenters. For additional questions or support on preparing your proposal, please contact us at [email protected].

What we’re looking for:

We welcome submissions that identify and respond to 2S/LGBTQIA+ health needs, as well as promising programs or services that have a positive impact on diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility for queer, trans, and Two-Spirit people and communities in Canada. Submissions can be based on:

• Research
• Programs or services
• Policy initiatives
• Advocacy and activism
• Art-based approaches
• Personal lived experiences and stories
• Community-based actions, grassroots responses, and organizing

Presentation formats:

Through a variety of session formats, Summit aims to foster dialogue among participants and presenters on the latest research, programming, and advocacy work by and for 2S/LGBTQIA+ people. Sessions can be any format you propose, including formats listed below:

• Short oral presentation: Presenters deliver a 12-15 minute presentation on a topic. Presentations are grouped by Summit organizers into themed panel sessions. Each session concludes with a question-and-answer period between all presenters and participants.

• Roundtable discussion: One or more presenters deliver a short presentation on a specific topic and facilitates an interactive discussion with participants in a 90-minute session.

• Talking circle: A facilitated 90-minute Indigenous-led session where participants learn, listen, and actively participate in discussions on a specific topic.

• Workshop: A facilitated 90-minute session aimed to build participants’ skills and capacity in a specific area. Workshops are facilitated as interactive sessions.

• Panel: A 90-minute session that brings together multiple experts to explore one subject, concept, or theme. Each panellist delivers a brief presentation, followed by a moderated question-and-answer period with participants.

• Poster presentation: Presenters submit a poster for display at the conference. Posters are featured during one or more interactive conference sessions, where presenters engage with participants and respond to questions.

We welcome innovative and creative approaches to presenting and exchanging knowledge at the Summit and encourage submissions in non-traditional or alternative formats, including art-based approaches. If you prefer a format that is not listed above, or if you have any questions or concerns about which presentation type best suits your proposal, please contact [email protected] for assistance.

Selection process:

All proposals are reviewed by a panel of external Summit Programming Committee members and CBRC staff. Reviewers are located across the country and represent diverse lived experiences, reflecting Summit’s “By us and for us” approach. All proposals will be evaluated based on their alignment with Summit 2026’s theme and how well they answer the questions posed in the proposal submission form.

Speaker benefits and logistics: 

Summit presenters are required to register and cover their own travel and accommodation costs, but will be given a 25% discount on registration fees. Limited financial support may be made available to presenters who do not receive funding support to participate in Summit through scholarships. 

Scholarships: 

As part of CBRC's commitment towards making our conference more accessible, we offer a limited number of full and partial scholarships to Summit 2026 participants and presenters. Summit 2026 participants and presenters can apply for financial support to cover registration fees, travel, and accommodation expenses. If you are submitting a proposal this year, we ask that you please not apply for a scholarship until after you have submitted your proposal, as some information on your proposal will be requested in the scholarship form. For full information, click here. The deadline for funding applications is June 28 at 11:59pm PT.

Summit 2026 registration rates

Questions?

For any questions or additional information, please contact us directly at [email protected].

Submit your proposal:

Click here to submit your proposal. You'll need to sign up for a Pretalx account if you don’t have one already!

Sponsorship, exhibitors and ancillary event opportunities

Sponsors: 

CBRC invites partners to join us as a sponsor of Summit 2026, Canada’s leading annual conference dedicated to advancing 2S/LGBTQIA+ health. Summit 2026’s expansion to a three-day schedule in a new Toronto venue offers sponsors the ability to connect with a diverse network of researchers, service providers, educators, advocates, and 2S/LGBTQIA+ community members. Sponsors will maximize their impact and visibility through enhanced benefits, networking events, and recognition opportunities.

To learn more about how your company or organization can demonstrate commitment to improving health equity for queer, trans, and Two-Spirit people across Canada at Summit 2026, please contact [email protected]. 

Exhibitors: 

We are inviting organizations and service providers to be part of Summit 2026 by securing an exhibitor booth directly at Summit. This event is a powerful opportunity to connect directly with 2S/LGBTQIA+ communities, share resources, services, and supports, increase visibility for your work, and stand in solidarity with our communities.

We are excited to invite dynamic and engaging exhibitors that will contribute to the success of our event. CBRC can provide a table and different resources inside our venue (please note that the sale of items is prohibited). If this is of interest, please write to us at [email protected] by July 14 and we will provide further information.

Ancillary events: 

We are inviting leaders, researchers, community organizers, groups and teams to consider planning gatherings at our host hotel on the day preceding or following Summit 2026. A number of meeting spaces are available on Thursday, October 29, from 9:00am to 4:30pm, as well as on Sunday, November 1 from 1:00pm to 4:30pm. 

We are excited to invite leaders, researchers, community organizers, groups and teams to organize in-person meetings or other small events at our venue, making the most of shared travel opportunities. Hotel rooms will be available for your guests at a discounted rate. CBRC can work with you to determine your needs, possible costs (e.g., AV and catering) and support the promotion of your event. 

If this is of interest, please write to us at [email protected] by July 14 and we will provide further information.

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