LGBTQ2S+ activists fearful of a Poilievre government, some say Trudeau should step down
As Prime Minister Justin Trudeau digs in his heels and pledges to stay on as Liberal leader despite dwindling public support, some LGBTQ2S+ activists say he is putting queer and gender diverse people at risk.
Queer advocates say a Conservative government led by Pierre Poilievre would be dangerous for LGBTQ2S+ Canadians, and some are pushing for Trudeau to step aside to give the Liberals a better chance of winning the next election -- which must be held on or before Oct. 20, 2025.
The executive director of the Newfoundland and Labrador Queer Research Initiative said she's concerned about the potential harm of a Conservative government for queer Canadians. She pointed to Poilievre's comments saying minors should not have access to puberty blockers and transgender athletes should be barred from women's sports and change rooms.
- Top headlines on Canadian politics, all in one place
- The information you need to know, sent directly to you: Download the CTV News App
"The normalization of this rhetoric is dangerous, and so are the potential policies that he could implement," Sarah Worthman said.
Poilievre's comments on change rooms and gender affirming care for young people serve to villainize trans people, Worthman said. "Poilievre has admitted on the record that he's willing to use Section 33 -- so there's essentially no stopping him from rolling back different rights especially the rights of trans and gender diverse people in Canada."
Section 33 -- known as the notwithstanding clause -- of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms gives Parliament the ability to override certain portions of the Charter for a five-year term, but Poilievre's office has said he would only use the clause for criminal justice reforms.
Meanwhile, Worthman said the Liberals would have a better chance of beating the Conservatives if they switched Trudeau out for someone new, but she didn't say with whom. Worthman added that the federal NDP, led by Jagmeet Singh, would also benefit from a change in leadership.
The Conservatives did not provide someone for comment, but instead sent an email with a series of transcribed answers that Poilievre gave to journalists between June 2023 and February 2024 on LGBTQ+ issues.
The answers include Poilievre in 2023 saying Canada should continue offering refuge for persecuted LGBTQ2S+ people from around the world. They also include Poilievre in February saying "female spaces should be exclusively for females, not for biological males" when asked if transgender women should be barred from women's sports or being admitted into women's shelters or prisons.
At the time, the Tory leader also said he was opposed to youth under 18 taking puberty blockers, medicine often used by transgender youth to temporarily suppress the hormones that cause puberty.
Helen Kennedy, executive director of Egale Canada, said there has been a marked rise in hateful rhetoric about LGBTQ2S+ people in Canadian politics, which has left "members of our community to feel like they're being hunted at the moment by their own political leaders."
"Certainly not every conservative is anti-LGBTQ, but right at the moment it appears that the leader of the federal Conservative party is using this as a vote-getter," she said. "It's really based on political opportunism and it's really alarming."
A Statistics Canada report released this year reported 491 hate crimes targeting sexual orientation in 2022, marking a 12 per cent rise from the previous peak recorded in 2021.
Fae Johnstone, executive director of political advocacy group Queer Momentum, said she's worried a Poilievre government would roll back the hard-fought rights of trans Canadians. However, both Johnstone and Kennedy stopped short of calling for Trudeau to step down as leader.
"I think (Poilievre) wants to normalize government interference in the private lives of Canadian citizens under the guise of parental rights, or protecting people from gender ideology," Johnstone said.
Montreal-based Celeste Trianon, who runs a centre that helps trans people in Quebec who wish to change their legal name or gender marker, said Poilievre's comments on gender-affirming care for youth are cause for alarm.
"What I'm most fearful of is the criminalization of trans people," Trianon said. She said she does not believe Poilievre's assertion that he would use the notwithstanding clause only for criminal justice reforms.
"Having passports that match their chosen name, or access to gender-affirming health care -- if that ends up being criminalized, which is possible with the use of the notwithstanding clause, it's going to amount to a de facto ban on trans lives," she said.
It's for this reason that Trianon believes the Liberals should follow the lead of the U.S. Democratic party, which has seen a swell of support since replacing President Joe Biden with Vice-President Kamala Harris as the party's nominee in November's presidential election.
"I believe right now that's what the Liberals need and, to a lesser degree, the NDP could benefit from this as well," she said.
Randy Boissonnault, a federal cabinet minister who was previously Trudeau's special adviser on LGBTQ+ issues, said in a recent interview queer people are right to be worried about what may happen if Poilievre wins the upcoming election.
"Poilievre has said that our rights, LGBTQ2S+ rights, are woke ideology. He has two members of his caucus who are part of the Canadian Pride caucus who do not come to meetings if we talk about trans matters," he said.
Boissonnault, however, said Trudeau is the best person to lead the party though another election, adding that the prime minister is a champion of LGBTQ2S+ rights.
"We don't need political leaders telling our trans community that they don't belong 'We have way too many LGBTQ2S+ plus kids that commit suicide simply because they think their lives are never going to get better. And I don't stand for it and the prime minister doesn't stand for it."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 4, 2024.
IN DEPTH
Jagmeet Singh pulls NDP out of deal with Trudeau Liberals, takes aim at Poilievre Conservatives
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh has pulled his party out of the supply-and-confidence agreement that had been helping keep Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's minority Liberals in power.
'Not the result we wanted': Trudeau responds after surprise Conservative byelection win in Liberal stronghold
Conservative candidate Don Stewart winning the closely-watched Toronto-St. Paul's federal byelection, and delivering a stunning upset to Justin Trudeau's candidate Leslie Church in the long-time Liberal riding, has sent political shockwaves through both parties.
'We will go with the majority': Liberals slammed by opposition over proposal to delay next election
The federal Liberal government learned Friday it might have to retreat on a proposal within its electoral reform legislation to delay the next vote by one week, after all opposition parties came out to say they can't support it.
Budget 2024 prioritizes housing while taxing highest earners, deficit projected at $39.8B
In an effort to level the playing field for young people, in the 2024 federal budget, the government is targeting Canada's highest earners with new taxes in order to help offset billions in new spending to enhance the country's housing supply and social supports.
'One of the greatest': Former prime minister Brian Mulroney commemorated at state funeral
Prominent Canadians, political leaders, and family members remembered former prime minister and Progressive Conservative titan Brian Mulroney as an ambitious and compassionate nation-builder at his state funeral on Saturday.
Opinion
opinion Don Martin: Gusher of Liberal spending won't put out the fire in this dumpster
A Hail Mary rehash of the greatest hits from the Trudeau government’s three-week travelling pony-show, the 2024 federal budget takes aim at reversing the party’s popularity plunge in the under-40 set, writes political columnist Don Martin. But will it work before the next election?
opinion Don Martin: The doctor Trudeau dumped has a prescription for better health care
Political columnist Don Martin sat down with former federal health minister Jane Philpott, who's on a crusade to help fix Canada's broken health care system, and who declined to take any shots at the prime minister who dumped her from caucus.
opinion Don Martin: Trudeau's seeking shelter from the housing storm he helped create
While Justin Trudeau's recent housing announcements are generally drawing praise from experts, political columnist Don Martin argues there shouldn’t be any standing ovations for a prime minister who helped caused the problem in the first place.
opinion Don Martin: Poilievre has the field to himself as he races across the country to big crowds
It came to pass on Thursday evening that the confidentially predictable failure of the Official Opposition non-confidence motion went down with 204 Liberal, BQ and NDP nays to 116 Conservative yeas. But forcing Canada into a federal election campaign was never the point.
opinion Don Martin: How a beer break may have doomed the carbon tax hike
When the Liberal government chopped a planned beer excise tax hike to two per cent from 4.5 per cent and froze future increases until after the next election, says political columnist Don Martin, it almost guaranteed a similar carbon tax move in the offing.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Federal government to further limit number of international students
The federal government will be further limiting the number of international students permitted to enter Canada next year. It’s the government’s latest immigration-related measure to address Canadians' ongoing housing and affordability concerns.
BREAKING Bloc MPs will vote confidence in Liberal government next week: Blanchet
The Conservatives' first shot at toppling the Liberal government is doomed to fail, after Bloc Quebecois Leader Yves-François Blanchet told reporters his MPs will vote confidence in the government.
DEVELOPING Exploding electronic devices kill 14, wound 450 in second day of explosions in Lebanon
Lebanon's health ministry said Wednesday that at least 14 people were killed and 450 others wounded by exploding electronic devices in multiple regions of the country. The explosions came a day after an apparent Israeli attack targeting pagers used by Hezbollah killed at least 12 and wounded nearly 3,000. Here are the latest updates.
What to know about the deadly electronic explosions targeting Hezbollah
Just one day after pagers used by hundreds of members of the militant group Hezbollah exploded, more electronic devices detonated in Lebanon Wednesday in what appeared to be a second wave of sophisticated, deadly attacks that targeted an extraordinary number of people. Here's what we know so far.
Canada abstains from UN motion calling on Israel to end occupation of Gaza, West Bank
Canada abstained today from a high-profile United Nations vote demanding that Israel end its 'unlawful presence' in the Gaza Strip and the occupied West Bank within a year.
Record-breaking Lotto Max jackpot tickets sold in Ontario, Quebec
Two lucky people in Ontario and Quebec will split Tuesday’s record-breaking $80-million Lotto Max jackpot.
Rogers Communications to buy out Bell's share of MLSE for $4.7 billion
Rogers Communications Inc. is buying out Bell's 37.5 per cent share of Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment for $4.7 billion, giving it 75 per cent ownership of the sports conglomerate.
'I'm here for the Porsche': Video shows brazen car theft in Mississauga
Video of a brazen daylight auto theft which shows a suspect running over a victim in a stolen luxury SUV has been released by police west of Toronto.
'Unsightly' under-construction home must be finished or demolished, B.C. court rules
A B.C couple has been ordered to stop living in a motorhome on the property where their under-construction home – which they were first given a permit to build more than six years ago – has become an “eyesore,” according to a recent court decision.
Local Spotlight
Have you seen Goliath? 28-year-old donkey goes missing south of Calgary
An ancient 28-year-old chocolate donkey named Goliath is missing from its longtime home at a veterinary hospital south of Calgary.
'The gift they gave us was their service': 50 years since first female troop joined the RCMP
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police is celebrating an important milestone in the organization's history: 50 years since the first women joined the force.
Young family from northern Ontario wins $70 million Lotto Max jackpot
It's been a whirlwind of joyful events for a northern Ontario couple who just welcomed a baby into their family and won the $70 million Lotto Max jackpot last month.
'The right thing to do': Good Samaritan builds new bottle cart for Moncton man who had his stolen
A Good Samaritan in New Brunswick has replaced a man's stolen bottle cart so he can continue to collect cans and bottles in his Moncton neighbourhood.
Oppenheimer star David Krumholtz dishes on his time filming in Winnipeg
David Krumholtz, known for roles like Bernard the Elf in The Santa Clause and physicist Isidor Rabi in Oppenheimer, has spent the latter part of his summer filming horror flick Altar in Winnipeg. He says Winnipeg is the most movie-savvy town he's ever been in.
'Craziest thing I've ever seen': Elusive salamanders make surprising mass appearance in Edmonton area
Edmontonians can count themselves lucky to ever see one tiger salamander, let alone the thousands one local woman says recently descended on her childhood home.
'A nightmare': Nature-goers stranded in B.C. backcountry after bridge washes out
A daytrip to the backcountry turned into a frightening experience for a Vancouver couple this weekend.
B.C. woman reveals greatest life lesson after celebrating 100th birthday
If you take a look to the right of Hilda Duddridge’s 100th birthday cake, you’ll see a sculpture of a smiling girl extending her arms forward.
Sisters finally see the Canadian 'aviation artifact' built by their father nearly 90 years ago
Two sisters have finally been reunited with a plane their father built 90 years ago, that is also considered an important part of Canadian aviation history.