Darrell Palmer vs. transgender people

by Andrea James Reviewed October 20, 2026 3 min read

Darrell Palmer is a Canadian pediatrician and anti-transgender activist. Palmer is critical of affirming models of care to trans and gender diverse young people.

Palmer has criticized the Canadian Paediatric Society and the Canadian Medical Association for their positions on trans healthcare. Palmer has publisged in anti-trans publications Quillette and Archives of Sexual Behavior.

Background

Darrell James Palmer earned a medical degree from University of Alberta in 1989 and completed a residency in Pediatrics through University of Calgary at Alberta Children’s Hospital in 1995. Palmer co-founded Kaleidoscope Pediatric Consultants in 1996.

Palmer and spouse have six adult children.

Anti-trans activism

In September 2024, Palmer joined anti-trans activists Chan Kulatunga Moruzi, Ian Mitchell, and Roxanne Goldade in a letter to the editor criticizing the Canadian Paediatric Society (CPS) position statement on trans healthcare for young people. Moruzi is closely affiliated with anti-trans hate group Society for Evidence-Based Gender Medicine (SEGM) and was a key figure in the SEGM-McMaster funding scandal.

On March 26, 2025, Palmer was quoted in a National Post article attacking the CPS position statement:

The data could be used to frighten parents, Palmer said. “At the end of the day, if you tell parents if they’re supportive it reduces suicide attempts from 57 per cent to four per cent, that’s just putting a tonne of pressure on parents with data that are likely to be highly inaccurate.” It also assumes that support for gender distressed children must take the form of unquestioning affirmation without exploring other variables that could be at play, he and others said.

In July 2025, Palmer was a signatory on a formal complaint about a Globe and Mail article by Danielle Groen, which reported on the Canadian Medical Association’s legal challenge to Alberta’s Bill 26 banning medical transition options for young people. That complaint was written by anti-trans extremist Mia Hughes and published by the Macdonald-Laurier Institute. It was also signed by other prominent anti-trans activists, including:

In 2025, Moruzi, Mitchell, and Palmer published a longer letter to the editor in anti-trans journal Archives of Sexual Behavior criticizing the CPS position statement. Goldade was not included on that letter, and it added anti-trans activists Peter Sim and Ari R. Joffe.

Anti-trans coverage

Kirkey, Sharon (March 26, 2025). Canada’s pediatricians advised to support affirming gender-questioning six-year-olds. National Post https://nationalpost.com/health/canadas-pediatricians-advised-to-support-affirming-gender-questioning-six-year-olds

Kulatunga-Moruzi, Chan (January 24, 2025). Why is Canada falling behind the science in treating gender-distressed youth?: Chan Kulatunga-Moruzi. Macdonald-Laurier Institute https://macdonaldlaurier.ca/why-is-canada-falling-behind-the-science-in-treating-genderdistressed-youth-chan-kulatunga-moruzi/

Selected writing by Palmer

Kulatunga Moruzi, C., Sim, P., Mitchell, I., Palmer, D. Joffe, Ari R. (February 6, 2026). The Canadian Paediatric Society Is Trapped in a Pre-Cass Time Warp. Quillette https://quillette.com/2026/02/06/the-canadian-paediatric-society-is-trapped-in-a-pre-cass-time-warp-gender-medicine/

Hughes, Mia; Palmer, Darrell; other signatories (July 8, 2025). ‘Far too serious for such uninformed, careless journalism’: MLI’s Mia Hughes pens formal complaint challenging Globe article on gender medicine. Macdonald-Laurier Institute https://macdonaldlaurier.ca/far-too-serious-for-such-uninformed-careless-journalism-mlis-mia-hughes-pens-formal-complaint-challenging-globe-article-on-gender-medicine/

Kulatunga Moruzi, C., Sim, P., Mitchell, I., Palmer, D. Joffe, Ari R. (2025). The Cass Review and Gender-Related Care for Young People in Canada: A Commentary on the Canadian Paediatric Society Position Statement on Transgender and Gender-Diverse Youth. Archives of Sexual Behavior 54, 3743–3761. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-025-03335-8

Kulatunga Moruzi, C., Mitchell, I., Palmer, D., & Goldade, R. (2024). Letter to the Editor: Response to the Canadian Paediatric Position Statement on transgender and gender-diverse youth. Paediatrics & Child Health, 29(6), 413–414. https://doi.org/10.1093/pch/pxae070