Before the price increase, young Canadians were already skipping condoms. Now the math gets harder.

Let’s Stop AIDS surveys young people across Canada every year. The numbers from the most recent Sex Lives Report are not what most people expect: roughly half of sexually active youth did not use a condom the last time they had sex, and more than half have never been tested for HIV or an STI. HIV rates are rising, with the prairies and Manitoba seeing some of the sharpest increases.

Alex MacLeod points to a system with real gaps. Free condoms are available in some community health centres and organizations, but rural access is limited and stigma keeps some people away. Sex education, MacLeod notes, keeps coming up in surveys as something young people say did not prepare them for actual decisions they face in real life.

Topics: condom prices Canada, youth sexual health, HIV prevention Canada, free condoms access, sex education gaps

GUEST: Alex MacLeod | http://LetsStopAIDS.org

Originally aired on2026-06-01