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Canadian Queers Lose Our Strongest Ally

Justin Trudeau’s resignation makes me sad, and scared for our future

Esther Spurrill-Jones
Prism & Pen

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Justin Trudeau marches in the Toronto Pride Parade — Photo by Joy Real on Unsplash

By now, you’ve probably heard that Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has resigned, pending his party finding a new leader. This was probably the right choice, since his popularity has fallen to such a degree that he was unlikely to win another election.

However, I am sad when I consider how strong Trudeau’s support for 2SLGBTQ+ Canadians has always been.

He is the first Canadian Prime Minister to march in a Pride parade. He was the first world leader to appear on RuPaul’s DragRace. He has given speeches declaring his unwavering support for us, and decrying the anti-queer backlash. His support has caused some homophobes to wonder if he might be gay, as if you cannot be an ally without being queer yourself.

The Advocate reports:

During his nine years as prime minister, Trudeau became a global symbol of LGBTQ+ advocacy, pushing Canada to the forefront of equality and inclusion. His government passed Bill C-16, a landmark law that added gender identity and gender expression to the Canadian Human Rights Act and the Criminal Code, protecting transgender and nonbinary Canadians from discrimination and hate crimes.

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