While members of Canada's LGBT community feel their sexual orientation is generally accepted among their families and friends, almost 75 per cent report they've been bullied at some point in their life, a new survey says.

The results were released Wednesday ahead of Canada Pride, a nine-day, countrywide celebration of Canada's LGBT movement that begins Friday. Billed as the first pan-Canadian look at LGBT communities, CROP surveyed 2,697 people aged 15 and older using an online questionnaire. Of the participants, 1,897 identified as LGBT and 800 as heterosexual cisgender people.

Alain Giguère, president of CROP, told CBC News that the value of the study lies in its highlighting of difference. "I think society as a whole has to witness diversity," he said. "We cannot expect everybody to be the same."

He noted that the majority of younger participants said they found it easier to express their sexual or gender identity, a trend he chalks up to changing generational attitudes.

"We are witnessing a profound social change," said Giguère. "This social mould we had in the past is cracking."