Canada didn’t just happen. It was intentionally founded on a worldview that demanded dominance.
Canada as we know it, was founded in 1867, as a dominion of the British Empire. At the time, Canada was considered a Christian nation in both law and culture.
On July 1, the new country, then called the “Dominion of Canada” adopted the motto A Mari Usque Ad Mare (“From Sea to Sea”), a phrase taken directly from Psalm 72 of the Christian bible.
Christianity wasn’t just a private belief system, it was the blueprint for “civilization.” Backed by the Doctrine of Discovery, settlers arrived with a divine “right” to claim and control any land, people, or way of life deemed ‘uncivilized’ (READ: non-Christian (see map below)).
This wasn’t a bug in the system. It was the system. It was the reason Canada was settled in the first place. It shaped the laws of the land, the norms of society, and the expectations of everyday life.
To be seen as a respectable citizen, you had to be a churchgoer.
Religious doctrine influenced politics and laws, dictated who you could legally marry, how you raised your family, and what schools you attended.
And within that framework, strict Christian views condemned homosexuality as sinful and deviant. Queer people were forced into silence or punished for simply existing.
These beliefs were written into law, enforced by the state, and woven into the moral fabric of a nation still wrestling with its colonial and religious roots.
Heteronormativity was baked into both religious and political institutions.
Gender roles were strictly enforced, often by law. Men were expected to be stoic providers, and in control. Women were expected to be obedient wives and devoted mothers. Women couldn’t vote, couldn’t own property, and were property themselves.
These rigid roles were tools of control. By enforcing a strict binary, dehumanizing and punishing those who stepped outside it, the state and church maintained a hierarchy where power flowed in one direction: from white, Christian men, downward.
Strict gender norms combined with racial segregation made it easier to distinguish who belonged in power and who didn’t.
Who had rights, and who didn’t.
Who could lead, and who had to serve.
This wasn’t accidental…. it was foundational.
It created a system where oppression was justified as order, and where deviation from the norm was seen as a threat.
Since anyone can be queer without anyone knowing it, the law was setup to prohibit ‘homosexual acts‘ which were criminalized under laws such as the “buggery” statutes, which, until 1869, were punishable by death.
In 1892, the Criminal Code introduced the offense of “gross indecency,” targeting homosexual activity. This meant that police could violate your personal lives should they even suspect that you were gay.
The investigation alone would often ruin people’s lives, so the risk of living truthfully was extremely high.
Sections of the Criminal Code, including laws against indecent acts, disorderly conduct, impersonation, and public mischief, were routinely used by police to target people who were cross-dressing or otherwise not conforming to expected gender norms.
These laws gave law enforcement wide discretion to arrest or harass people, especially queer folks, sex workers, and trans women, particularly those of colour, without any recourse or accountability.
These laws persisted for over 75 years, well into the 20th century, leading to arrests, imprisonment, and societal ostracization of LGBTQ+ individuals.
Over time, courageous individuals began to challenge these oppressive norms.
They asserted their right to live authentically, often at great personal risk. Many faced violence, incarceration, and discrimination. Yet, they persisted, organizing protests, forming advocacy groups, and demanding change.
One pivotal moment was the 1971 “We Demand” rally in Ottawa, Canada’s first large-scale gay rights demonstration. Activists presented a list of demands to the federal government, seeking equality and the decriminalization of homosexuality.
Legal progress followed:
- In 1969, the Criminal Law Amendment Act
- (Bill C-150) decriminalized homosexual acts between consenting adults over 21.
- In 1977, Quebec became the first province to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation.
- The 1982 Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms guaranteed equality rights, and in 1995, the Supreme Court recognized sexual orientation as a protected ground under Section 15.
- Same-sex marriage was legalized nationwide in 2005 with the Civil Marriage Act.
- In 2017, gender identity and expression were added to the Canadian Human Rights Act, providing further protections.
But none of that came easy or were handed over freely.
They we’re fought for again and again. And often met with fierce resistance.
In 1981, despite major breakthroughs in legal protections against discrimination, the Toronto Bathhouse Raids (known as Operation Soap) saw over 300 people violently arrested in coordinated police raids, and many were publicly outed, harassed, or lost their jobs.
The raids were carried out under the pretext of enforcing “bawdy house” laws, but the LGBTQ+ community recognized it as a clear act of targeted discrimination.
The backlash was immediate and powerful.
Just one day later, thousands of people took to the streets in what became known as Canada’s Stonewall, in reference to the 1969 uprising in New York, marking a major turning point in Canadian LGBTQ+ activism.
While smaller informal gatherings had taken place before, this was the first time an officially organized, politically charged Pride parade marched through a major Canadian city with widespread media attention.
The community demanded an end to police harassment, equal rights, and dignity for queer people.
That same year, and well into the 1990s, Canada’s military and RCMP actively hunted down gay and lesbian service members, interrogating and discharging them as “security risks,” in what is now referred to as “the LGBT purge.“
Queer people were treated as if their identities were threats to the country.
Rather than building a better world for them, the state treated them like spies to be rooted out. This campaign of surveillance and termination destroyed careers, families, and lives.
Canada has only recently issued apologies and compensation.
In 1995, the Supreme Court finally ruled that sexual orientation was protected under Section 15 of the Charter, making activists fight for that recognition through the courts for over 7 years.
In the early 2000s, as same-sex marriage moved toward legalization, Canadians saw protests, media fearmongering, and political pushback, with some politicians vowing to overturn marriage equality.
The law passed in 2005, and not without major division and vitriol.
In 2016, when British Columbia introduced SOGI-123, a set of inclusive education resources to uphold the rights of queer and trans students and families in schools, it triggered a wave of rallies, petitions, and misinformation campaigns by opponents who claimed it was “indoctrination.”
Queer youth, educators and leaders are still vilified.
In 2023, long after gender identity and expression were protected by law (Bill C-16, 2017), thousands marched in the so-called “1 Million March 4 Children”, targeting inclusive education and healthcare access for trans youth.
Masked as a “parental rights” movement, the march emboldened anti-trans hate and misinformation. Once again, queer and trans people, especially kids, were treated as problems to be silenced, not people to be protected.
Every step forward for queer and trans rights in Canada has been met with backlash.
And still, we persist.
Because this is more than politics. It’s about people.
It’s about the right to exist, to love, to learn, and to be recognized for who we are and not punished for it.
These rights were not given. They were taken, with courage, with community, and often at great cost.
While the criminal code no longer directly targets cross-dressing, or same sex behaviour, the historical trauma lingers.
Trans and gender-nonconforming people, particularly those who are disabled, racialized or unhoused, continue to face profiling, discrimination, and police harassment based on gender expression.
The right to express one’s gender through clothing is still culturally and politically contested, especially in provinces like Alberta and New Brunswick where rights are being rolled back for trans youth.
Despite all of the hard-won protections against discriminatory laws, we aren't safe yet. And we can't stop fighting for the progress we've won.
Over the past several years, Conservative politicians and governments in Canada have introduced or supported numerous bills, policies, and amendments that have targeted the rights and protections of 2SLGBTQIA+ individuals, particularly transgender and non-binary people.
Bill C-6 aimed to criminalize conversion therapy practices. It faced opposition from 63 Conservative Members of Parliament (MPs).
A revised version of the conversion therapy ban, Bill C-4, was eventually passed unanimously in the House of Commons, (yes, including Pierre Polivievre).
Only a handful of conservatives abstained or voted against (like Chilliwack-Hope MP Mark Strahl).
The Conservative Party’s official policy declaration includes support for removing the authority of the Canadian Human Rights Commission and Tribunal to regulate complaints related to certain sections of the Canadian Human Rights Act, which could impact protections for LGBTQ+ individuals.
And the Conservative Party’s official party platform for the 2025 election included removing access to gender affirming healthcare for trans and gender nonconforming youth across Canada, stripping them of their rights and jeopardizing their health and well being.
Alberta has introduced several pieces of legislation directly targeting LGBTQ youth.
Bill 26 bans gender-affirming care for minors.
Bill 27 requires parental consent for students under 16 who wish to change their name or pronouns at school (not for the cis kids though, they made that clear!)
Bill 29 restricts trans girls from participating in female sports categories, while allowing trans boys to choose their team.
Saskatchewan’s Bill 137 and New Brunswick’s Policy 713 Revision both require parental consent for students under 16 to change their name or pronouns at school, putting gender-expansive youth at an extreme risk.
These Premiers know that these policies are violations of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, because they’ve either already used, or have indicated a willingness to use, the notwithstanding clause to protect these laws from legal challenges.
Not everyone embraces diversity, and it's not my intent to argue with differing beliefs.
However, it’s essential to recognize that human beings are inherently diverse, much like nature itself; bountiful, chaotic, and beautifully complex.
Suppressing this natural diversity under the guise of order only leads to harm and discord.
Diversity is the law of nature, oppression is not.
The laws we live under don’t come out of nowhere.
They are shaped by what a society believes about itself: what it values, what it fears, what it honours, and what it tries to suppress.
For generations, dominant spiritual and social beliefs have taught us that there is one “right” way to be.
Only one right language. One right tone of voice. One right shade of skin.
That there are only two genders. That love only looks one way. That a “normal” family must look and behave a certain way.
These ideas made their way into courtrooms, classrooms, police departments, and parliaments.
What we believe about humanity becomes what we allow in law.
And when our spiritual traditions or cultural values exclude the very diversity that exists in nature—in us—we create systems that punish anyone who doesn’t fit the mold.
Trans people, queer people, gender-diverse people, Two-Spirit people, have been marginalized not because there is anything wrong with who we are, but because a narrow worldview decided there was.
That’s why Pride has always been a protest.
It’s not a parade for tolerance.
It’s not a personal party to be “accepted” by outsiders.
It’s an act of liberation. For all of us.
Of reclaiming truth.
Of saying: we were never the problem.
Pride is a call to awaken.
Not just to the beauty and strength of queer and trans people, but to the deeper truth that one way of being does not work for all beings.
Diversity is not something to be managed.
It is something to be celebrated, protected, and learned from.
We cannot change what we refuse to see.
And we cannot see clearly if we don’t question where our beliefs come from and who they serve.
