Transfers of trans prisoners in Canada have fallen. An upcoming case will test gender policies 

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“They’re still human beings, that’s the bottom line,” said Love-Jolicoeur, who is familiar with Cooper’s case. The reason Cooper should be in a women’s prison is “pretty simple,” she says. “Amanda is a post-op trans woman with no male anatomy.”

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According to court documents, Cooper said she “has been harassed, bullied, threatened, and assaulted by other inmates because of her gender identity” while in the men’s prison.

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A previous transfer request was denied by CSC due to “overriding safety concerns” including concerns that Cooper’s transfer would “jeopardize the health and safety of the inmate population and staff,” court documents show.

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A lawyer for Cooper declined comment. CSC would not comment on Cooper’s case, saying it is before the courts.

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Transferred back

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At least one trans woman has been removed from a federal women’s prison after being transferred, the IJB found.

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Michelle Autumn, a trans woman, started a life sentence in 2007 for first-degree murder. The offence involved luring a 13-year-old Edmonton girl to a golf course, where she was sexually assaulted and killed by a group that included Autumn, court documents show. The crime was committed when Autumn was 17 and living as a man.

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Autumn was transferred to Grand Valley Institution for Women on March 6, 2025, according to court documents. During a strip search, Autumn exhibited “highly inappropriate behaviour,” including playing with her genitalia “in a sexually suggestive manner.”

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When staff decided to move Autumn to a single occupancy cell, she barricaded herself in a common room and tried to use a broken television remote as a weapon, court documents say. The incident ended when a chemical irritant grenade was deployed.

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Autumn was transferred back to a men’s prison on March 10, 2025, and did not respond to a request for comment.

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“CSC has the authority to transfer an offender to a more suitable institution at any point, if deemed necessary,” the agency said in its statement. CSC said involuntary transfer decisions “are not automatic and are not based on gender identity.”

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Mason, the former prisoner, insists women are being silenced about their experiences in prison.

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“It’s not transphobic to speak about reality, and women deserve to be protected. And it’s also not transphobic to say, ‘Hey, this isn’t working.’ You have two groups of people who have competing rights here, and it’s women that are being harmed.”

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Canada’s first trans woman tranfer

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Fallon Aubee was Canada’s first trans woman to be transferred to a federal women’s prison after spending more than 15 years at various men’s facilities. In 2017, she was moved to B.C.’s Fraser Valley Institution, where she completed her first-degree murder sentence. She was released on day parole in 2023 after serving 22 years.

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Fallon Aubee, a former inmate, was the first trans woman to be transferred to a women’s prison. Photo by Nick Procaylo /Postmedia

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Before her conviction, Aubee was privately exploring her feminine side while publicly presenting as male, she said. Being in prison forced her to reflect on how she wanted to live her life.

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After she told prison officials at Saskatchewan Penitentiary that she was transgender, she was held in segregation for six months. She was told it was due to her maximum-security rating but she believes it was because of her gender identity.

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She said she was harassed and her food was contaminated after she disclosed she was transgender.

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“I was threatened (by inmates) with being set on fire, stabbed, (having) my cell burned out, thrown over a balcony, (having my) head caved in with a weight bar.”

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CSC said it was not aware of these allegations.