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Canadian Queers Lose Our Strongest Ally
Justin Trudeau’s resignation makes me sad, and scared for our future
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.