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As the resident sexual-health guru at her high school, Julie Dagenais fields all kinds of queries from her teenaged peers. Questions about birth control, how to get started, and, from the boys especially, crude technical advice.

"No, they're definitely not shy about talking about sex," laughs the 18-year-old, a volunteer for two sexual-health education groups. Which is strange, she notes, since hardly any of them are having sex - a trend playing out not only in her Ottawa school, but across the country.

A new Statistics Canada study shows that the number of Canadians aged 15 to 19 who report having had sex fell from 47 to 43 per cent from 1996 to 2005 - a decline reflected almost solely in the changing behaviours of girls, who are also waiting longer before becoming sexually active and are increasingly using condoms.

The findings add to a growing body of research that shows Canadian teens are becoming more sexually responsible, something experts say may be the result of better sexual education programs in schools.

Several recent reports, including a provincial study in British Columbia and a national survey by the Canadian Federation for Sexual Health, found that more teens are having sex later, and using condoms when they do become sexually active. Teen pregnancy and abortion rates have also dropped significantly in the past decade, according to a Statistics Canada report released in May.

But yesterday's findings were different for girls than boys, suggesting a possible gender discrepancy in the efficacy of such programs.

The number of teenaged girls who have had sex dropped from 51 to 43 per cent between 1996 and 2005; while for boys it remained stable at 43 per cent. As well, the number of girls who reported having sex before they turned 15 fell from 12 per cent to 8 per cent during that period, while for boys it fell from 11 to 8 per cent.

More teenaged boys than girls reported using condoms. However, between 2003 and 2005 (the years data were available) the number of teenaged girls reporting condom use increased from 65 to 70 per cent, while the number of male condom users remained unchanged at about 80 per cent.

"I think that the girls are taking more of an initiative around setting limits," said Sue Morris of the Region of Waterloo Public Health department, which offers a just-for-girls sex ed course called Girl Time.

One reason may be because sexual education programs are more often targeted at girls, she said. "A lot of our messaging does focus on the girls, simply because there are more health consequences for them ... around pregnancy and STIs [sexually transmitted infections]."

Other experts have noted overall improvements in sexual education have made it easier for teenagers to negotiate sex on their terms.

Sasha Artsimenia, 21, said her Grade 8 sexual education in Calgary left a lot to be desired.

"It was pretty much: Wear a condom or you'll have a baby, and your partner will leave you and you'll be a teenage mom," she said. When she was 19, Ms. Artsimenia became a peer educator in a program that reflected a new wave of sexual health programming. Instead of just biology and safe sex, the program also addressed issues of gender and sexuality, empowerment and healthy relationships. Peer teaching made it more accessible, she said.

Jolanta Scott-Parker, executive director of the Canadian Federation for Sexual Health, cautioned that the positive findings don't mean that parents and educators should relax.

"There continue to be many barriers," she said. "Youth in Canada are not a homogeneous group and we know there's still lots of work to be done."

Teens with disabilities, who belong to the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community, or who speak English as a second language, are the most marginalized groups when it comes to sexual education, she said.

Mark Hanlon, a representative of Canadian Youth For Choice, a non-profit group advocating for better access to sexual and reproductive health rights and services, says a federal strategy is needed.

"If you look at Canada as a whole, we don't really have one huge sexual reproductive health strategy," said Mr. Hanlon, 20. "Province by province it differs. Youth in Newfoundland are getting more information than youth in B.C. or Quebec. In PEI there's absolutely no access to abortion."

Sexual activity among teens varied provincially, according to Statscan. In Quebec, 58 per cent of teens reported having had sex at least once compared with 35 per cent of teens in Prince Edward Island, the least sexually active province.

Michelle Rotermann, author of the report, said the findings have important public health ramifications because research has shown that an early age of first intercourse is linked to risky behaviours such as unprotected sex, drinking alcohol and smoking.