Rainbow flags burned, pride marches disrupted, violence: in contrast to Canada’s image of tolerance, the country’s LGBTQ+ associations and community denounce a recent step backwards and the resurgence of “hateful comments and attacks.”
The country and many of its major cities have for years been considered safe havens for freely living one’s sexual and gender identity. And Canada is one of the first countries in the world to legalize same-sex marriage.
But like other places in the world, “street violence” and on social networks has “exacerbated” in recent years, observes Pascal Vaillancourt, director of Interligne, a support and listening service for the LGBTQ+ community.
“People call us and tell us about suffering that we heard less and less about,” he explains to Agence France-Presse (AFP), referring to the increase in insults and attacks. He says that for the first time he himself was the victim of violent and homophobic threats recently with his partner in the streets of Montreal.
Canada, which is nevertheless a “pioneer of diversity and inclusion” in the world, is experiencing a “significant change” with a “marked decline” in the population’s support for the LGBTQ + community, confirms Sanyam Sethi of Ipsos Canada.
According to a major survey published in June in some 30 countries on subjects such as same-sex marriage, public displays of affection and anti-discrimination laws, Canada recorded some of the most significant declines on almost all aspects.
Thus, only 49% of Canadians support LGBTQ+ people speaking openly about their sexual orientation or gender identity, compared to 61% in 2021.
“This is the biggest drop in the world, along with Mexico and Turkey,” underlines Sanyam Sethi.
Growing polarization
Tensions in the United States around LGBTQ+ issues are rubbing off on Canada, according to associations, which are observing a growing polarization that is accompanied by “uninhibited speaking out.”
“It has become something that you can be for or against,” summarizes Marie Houzeau, general director of the Montreal Social Research and Intervention Group (GRIS-Montreal).
Another cause: the online activity of conservative influencers. By hearing the same comments in a bubble shaped by algorithms, a part of the population, and especially young people, feels justified in speaking out aggressively against homosexual and transgender people, she notes.
There is “a climate of hate that is taking hold”, fuelled by conservative politicians who are delivering a divisive and populist discourse, adds Pascal Vaillancourt, who feels that the rights of the community are “becoming fragile”.
In some Canadian provinces — Alberta, New Brunswick and Saskatchewan — governments have announced plans to toughen laws regarding transgender youth, including banning transition surgeries for minors. A policy strongly denounced by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
Violent radicalization
The country is still scarred by the stabbing attack that occurred last year during a class on gender identity at the University of Waterloo in Ontario. A man seriously injured three people, including the teacher.
Between 2018 and 2023, the number of crimes and offences related to the sexual orientation of victims in Canada quadrupled, from 186 to 860, according to national statistics.
Canadian intelligence services warned in their latest public report for 2023 that extremists against “gender ideology” could “commit acts of extreme violence” against the LGBTQ+ community.
In this tense climate, the Canadian Prime Minister explained on X that his government “ensures” that Pride march organizations “have the necessary means of protection” so that “hatred” does not harm the festivities.
In the Pembina Valley, a rural and conservative region of Manitoba in central Manitoba, a Pride march was disrupted this summer after threats were received by organizers and restaurant owners.
Disappointed, Pauline Emerson-Froebe, president of Pembina Valley Pride, explained to AFP: “Some people are against us talking publicly about our sexual orientation. They tell us not to say anything, to keep quiet.”