Where does victorious Canadian leader Mark Carney stand on LGBTQ+ rights?
Canada’s Liberal Leader and Prime Minister-elect Mark Carney. (Photo by Dave Chan / AFP) (Photo by DAVE CHAN/AFP via Getty Images)
Canada's Liberal Leader and Prime Minister-elect Mark Carney. (Photo by Dave Chan / AFP) (Photo by DAVE CHAN/AFP via Getty Images)
In a dramatic turn of fortune for Canada’s Liberal Party, they emerged victorious in the Canadian elections yesterday (28 April), meaning that party leader Mark Carney will retain his role as Prime Minister. But where does he stand on LGBTQ+ rights?
The BBC report that Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre – until recently expected to become the next PM – is even projected to lose his seat in Carleton, Ontario, in what is being described as an “unthinkable turnaround.”
The centre-left Liberal party was trailing in the polls by double digits up until recently, led by former banker Mark Carney, who was sworn in as prime minister when he took over from Justin Trudeau on March 14, 2025.
They’ve now, unexpectedly, won a fourth term in office, though at the time of writing it’s still not clear if the Liberal party will win enough seats for an outright majority in Parliament.
Anti-Trump sentiment is largely credited with helping to propel the Liberals to victory. Mark Carney referenced the US president repeatedly on the campaign trail, highlighting the fact that Canada was at a crisis moment and saying that Trump “wants to break us so America can own us”. Trump’s frequent threat to “turn Canada into the 51st state” has been described by the BBC as “galvanising Canadians.”
But what does the Liberal victory mean for LGBTQ+ rights in Canada, and what has Mark Carney said about LGBTQ+ issues? Here are some key points.
“We are all Canadians”
On April 9, Carney made a speech addressing the rights of LGBTQ+ Canadians at a political event in Calgary, the first time he’d addressed LGBTQ+ issues during the election campaign.
The Yukon News reports that Dylan Robertson, a reporter with the Canadian Press, asked Carney if his government would protect access to gender-affirming care under the Canada Health Act, and also what would be done about “the backsliding” that Robertson claimed gender and sexual minorities in Canada are facing.
Carney responded to say he would defend the rights of “all Canadians,” stating: “We are all Canadians, but we all have different identities and distinctions, and one of the great strengths of this country is recognizing that people can be who they are, they can love who they love, they can live where they are, and it’s fundamentally important that the federal government is the defender of those rights, defender of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms”, adding: “access to health care in Canada is not a business, it is a fundamental right for all Canadians without exception.”
In terms of what he’s said about LGBTQ+ community, this pretty much sums it up as Carney really hasn’t been vocal about these issues at all in the past, however the wider Liberal party does have a solid track record when it comes to protecting queer rights.
“A proud record of fighting for 2SLGBTQI+ rights”
The Liberal party are behind a significant amount of progressive legislation in Canada, and there’s nothing to suggest that they intend to change their pro-LGBTQ+ stance.
The “Pride”section on the party’s website is titled “A proud record of fighting for 2SLGBTQI+ rights” and details some of the ways that they’ve done this, including Introducing federal legislation introduced to protect trans rights and prevent discrimination based on gender identity and gender expression in 2016.
Previous party leader Justin Trudeau was also, famously, the first Canadian prime minister to march in an LGBTQ+ Pride parade – also in 2016. He marched again in 2017. He went on to pose for the cover of gay magazine Attitude in 2017, and In 2022, Trudeau made history by becoming the first world leader to appear in an episode of any Drag Race franchise: showing up in the Drag Race Canada Werk Room.
Pierre Poilievre’s mixed track-record when it comes to LGBTQ+ rights
In contrast, the prospect of a government under Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre was concerning to many LGBTQ+ Canadians. The Conservative leader received some criticism in July 2023 after being photographed with a man wearing an anti-LGBTQ+ ‘straight pride‘ t-shirt at the Calgary Stampede, which had “thank a straight person today for your existence” in black capital letters with “straight pride” written underneath.
However, Poilievre later said he did not agree with the t-shirt’s message, adding that he wants to build a Canada for everyone, “regardless of their sexual orientation”.
Poilievre is also vocally gender-critical. In February 2024, he said he opposed trans women using female spaces and also opposed gender affirming care, such as puberty blockers, being provided to trans youth, so his defeat will no doubt come as a relief to most members of Canada’s transgender and two-spirit (2S) community.
