Election 2025: Canada’s Leadership on Global LGBTIQ Rights Is More Critical Than Ever
With Canada in a federal election, Dignity Network Canada will continue to work with our members to deliver our collective mission: ensuring Canada continues to be a strong and principled leader in the promotion and protection of human rights for LGBTIQ people worldwide.
How is Dignity Network Canada approaching the 2025 election?
This election, in our policy and public messaging, we will be emphasizing a core set of key messages and inviting our members and partners to join us in this. We will also be urging all political parties and candidates to reaffirm and expand Canada’s long-standing commitment to human rights. Meanwhile, behind the scenes, we will also be pressing ahead with ambitious plans to influence the next government, and to achieve more detailed policy wins, whoever is in power. Over the next five weeks, we will continue to engage across international cooperation and national 2SLGBTQI+ sectors in a non-partisan and collaborative manner. We are incredibly proud of the inroads our team has made across all parliamentary caucuses, Ottawa’s diplomatic corps, and the Canadian civil service. No matter the election results, we will continue strengthening these networks to advance our shared goals.
What are our key messages?
We will be emphasizing that Canada must continue to be a strong and principled leader in the promotion and protection of human rights for LGBTIQ people worldwide. In support of this, we will also underscore that: Canada has been at the forefront of supporting LGBTIQ rights globally, and this must continue.
Over different governments during the past almost 20 years, Canada has led the way internationally, in recognizing that the human rights of LGBTIQ people are a foreign policy and development priority. This has led to significant positive impact on the lives of LGBTIQ people worldwide. Our diplomatic missions around the world have supported local LGBTIQ advocacy groups and human rights defenders, often providing crucial visibility and protection to the most vulnerable. LGBTIQ refugees have found safety through immigration systems based on upholding Canada’s commitments to international humanitarian and protection principles. Since 2019, Canada’s LGBTQ2I International Assistance Program has also uplifted human rights and socio-economic outcomes for our communities in the Global South and continues to demonstrate Canada’s role as a global leader.
LGBTIQ communities and human rights are under increasing attack worldwide, and this requires renewed leadership.
Amidst significant outcomes for LGBTIQ people in much of the world, we recognize that there have always been gaps, and that the international landscape is becoming increasingly divisive and dangerous for LGBTIQ people, and for everyone. The rise of anti-democratic politics, and attacks on human rights systems and international assistance, have led to increased violence and rollbacks which threaten the fundamental freedoms of LGBTIQ communities worldwide. In an environment where many are taking a step back, Canada’s continued leadership is more crucial than ever.
What can I/we do?
We encourage all of our members and Canadian voters to find ways to raise Canada’s role in advancing international LGBTIQ rights in the upcoming election, for example, through direct engagement with candidates, town halls or debates. We also urge organizations working on wider equality and human rights issues to stand firmly behind the importance of global LGBTIQ rights issues in your public messaging and policy recommendations. Above all, we look forward to working to ensure Canada’s foreign policy continues to stand as a beacon of hope, solidarity, and action for LGBTIQ communities worldwide. If you’d like to be part of our thinking and response to the election period, please don’t hesitate to reach out.
A note on language: Dignity Network Canada uses the acronym LGBTIQ as our focus is international and this is the acronym most used outside of Canada by our communities.