Canada
Canadian intelligence agency: Anti-LGBTQ groups are ‘extreme threat’
CSIS issued advisory this week
The Canadian Security and Intelligence Service is warning that anti-gender and anti-LGBTQ activists are posing a risk of “extreme violence” against the LGBTQ community in Canada, following a year of spreading organized anti-LGBTQ+ protests, anti-transgender rhetoric coming from provincial governments and an attack on a gender studies university class.
In a report obtained by the public broadcaster CBC, the CSIS Integrated Terrorism Assessment Center says it is monitoring the potential for a violent attack on Pride festivals and nightclubs across the country. The ITAC is charged with forecasting the possibility of terrorism in Canada, based on analysis of actor intent, capability and opportunity.
“Anti-LGBTQ+ narratives remain a common theme in violent rhetoric espoused by white nationalists, neo-Nazis, the Freedom Movement and networks such as Diagolon and QAnon,” the report says, according to the CBC. “Trans and drag communities in Canada have been the target of several online threats and real world intimidation tactics in recent months.”
The Washington Blade has requested a copy of the report, but it has not been made public at this time.
Last June, a knife-wielding man attacked a class on the philosophy of gender at the University of Waterloo, approximately 70 miles west of Toronto, injuring the professor and two students before he was subdued. He now faces 11 terrorism-related charges.
“CSIS assesses that the violent threat posed by the anti-gender movement is almost certain to continue over the coming year and that violent actors may be inspired by the University of Waterloo attack to carry out their own extreme violence against the LGBTQ+ community or against other targets they view as representing the gender ideology ‘agenda,’” CSIS spokesperson Eric Balsam says in an email.
Balsam says that CSIS believes the network of anti-LGBTQ and far-right communities in Canada may be a breeding ground for violent activities.
“While violent rhetoric itself does not equate or often lead to violence, the ecosystem of violent rhetoric within the anti-gender movement, compounded with other extreme worldviews, can lead to serious violence. CSIS assesses that exposure to groups and individuals espousing anti-gender extremist rhetoric could inspire and encourage serious violence against the LGBTQ+ community, or against those who are viewed as supporters of pro-gender ideology policies and events,” he says.
Last year, Pride Toronto Executive Director Sherwin Modeste told Xtra Magazine that the festival was boosting its security and increasing emergency drills to prepare for the festival in the wake of rising anti-LGBTQ rhetoric and hate crimes.
According to the latest figures from Statistics Canada, the number of police-reported hate crimes based on sexual orientation has increased in each of the last three years, from 265 incidents in 2019, to 491 in 2022, the most recent year for which statistics are available, a staggering 85 percent increase. The 2019 figure had been a record number when it was reported.
Far-right groups in Canada coalesced during the COVID-19 pandemic around protests against vaccine and mask mandates, culminating in a siege of downtown Ottawa and a blockade of border crossings that lasted for nearly a month in February 2022. It is believed that as COVID-19 receded as an animating issue, many of the networks involved transitioned to protesting LGBTQ rights and trans rights in particular.
A small but organized group of anti-LGBTQ activists have organized sustained campaigns targeting school boards, libraries, drag performances, Pride festivals and provincial legislatures to oppose LGBTQ rights and sex education in schools for the last two years. The protests are generally outnumbered by counter-protesters who support LGBTQ rights, but there have been sporadic reports of violence and arrests at the protests.
Last fall, the far-right X account Libs of TikTok, whose operator Chaya Raichik has boasted that her anti-LGBTQ “shitposts” frequently inspire violence and bomb threats, turned her attention to a school in suburban Vancouver because a teacher who is nonbinary works there.
While no violence emerged from the post, the parent who drew Riachik’s attention was given a warning by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police to stop harassing school officials, but she has continued to post racist, homophobic, and transphobic statements to her X account. While Canada has long enjoyed relative peace on LGBTQ issues, starting last year, several conservative-led provincial governments began introducing policies to restrict the names and pronouns students can use at school in the name of “parents’ rights.”
Recently, the Alberta government went further, announcing that it would restrict gender care for minors, bar trans girls from sports, and require schools to obtain written permission from parents before sexual orientation or gender can be discussed in classrooms.
Canada’s Liberal Party on Sunday elected Mark Carney to succeed Justin Trudeau as the country’s next prime minister.
The Associated Press reported Carney, a former governor of the Bank of Canada, won with 85.9 percent of the vote.
Trudeau became prime minister in 2015 when he defeated then-Prime Minister Stephen Harper. Trudeau’s father, Pierre Trudeau, was Canada’s prime minister from 1968-1979 and from 1980-1984.
The younger Trudeau is the first Canadian prime minister to have marched in a Pride parade.
Canada in 2022 banned so-called conversion therapy, which Justin Trudeau described as a “hateful and harmful practice.” Justin Trudeau in 2017 also formally apologized to Canadians who suffered persecution and discrimination under the country’s anti-LGBTQ laws — including those convicted of “gross indecency” before Canada decriminalized consensual same-sex sexual relations — and policies.
Justin Trudeau resigned as the Liberal Party’s leader in January.
Randy Boissonnault, a gay MP who represents Edmonton Center (Alberta), previously advised Justin Trudeau on LGBTQ issues. Boissonnault on Sunday applauded the outgoing prime minister.
“It was an honor to start this journey as part of the 2015 Class of MPs that you brought to Ottawa,” said Boissonnault in a social media post. “It was a privilege to serve as your Special Advisor on LGBTQ2 issues and then in your Cabinet to see first-hand the work you did everyday for Canadians.”
Carney will take office against the backdrop of growing tensions with the U.S. that stem from tariffs the Trump-Vance administration has imposed against the country. President Donald Trump has also suggested that Canada should become the 51st state.
“There is someone who is trying to weaken our economy,” said Carney after he won the election, according to the AP. “Donald Trump, as we know, has put unjustified tariffs on what we build, on what we sell and how we make a living. He’s attacking Canadian families, workers and businesses and we cannot let him succeed and we won’t.”
National elections must take place before Oct. 20.
Polls indicate the Conservative Party of which anti-LGBTQ MP Pierre Poilievre, who represents Carleton in Ontario, is the leader remains ahead of the Liberal Party. The gap, however, appears to have narrowed in recent weeks.
Canada
Canadian LGBTQ group cancels WorldPride participation over Trump policies
Egale Canada cites need to ‘safeguard our trans and nonbinary staff’
Egale Canada, one of Canada’s largest LGBTQ advocacy organizations, announced in a Feb. 6 statement that its members will not be attending any events in the U.S., including WorldPride set to take place in Washington from May 17-June 8, because of policies put in place by President Donald Trump.
The statement says the decision not to come to the U.S. resulted in its cancellation of plans to attend a meeting of the Commission on the Status of Women at U.N. headquarters in New York in March, at which it planned to discuss LGBTQ related issues.
“After deep consideration, we have decided not to engage in-person in this year’s Commission on the Status of Women or any other UN, OAS (Organization of American States) or global convergings, including WorldPride, taking place in the United States in the foreseeable future,” the statement says.
“This decision is foremost based on the need to safeguard our trans and nonbinary staff who would face questionable treatment at land and aviation borders to attend such convenings, and to stand in solidarity with global colleagues who are experiencing similar fear around entry to the U.S.,” the statement continues.
“It is also founded in the unique situation that has been thrust on Canadians (and citizens of other countries) regarding economic warfare and threats to our national sovereignty,” according to the statement. “We cannot in good conscience engage in a process of disentangling our organization from the U.S. goods and services (as we have recently released in a statement) and then proceed to travel to the U.S.”
The Egale Canada statement marks the first known time that an international LGBTQ rights organization has declared it will not come to the U.S. to attend WorldPride because of the controversial policies adopted by the Trump-Vance administration, which so far have included a roll back of programs and policies in support of transgender people.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Monday announced he will resign as the leader of his Liberal Party.
The announcement, which came against the backdrop of growing calls for the embattled prime minister to resign that increased after Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland, who was the country’s deputy prime minister, stepped down from the government last month, will set the stage for national elections that must take place before Oct. 20.
CNN notes polls show the Liberal Party would lose to the Conservative Party of which anti-LGBTQ MP Pierre Poilievre is the leader.
Trudeau became prime minister in 2015 when he defeated then-Prime Minister Stephen Harper. Trudeau’s father, Pierre Trudeau, was Canada’s prime minister from 1968-1979 and from 1980-1984.
The younger Trudeau is the first Canadian prime minister to have marched in a Pride parade.
Canada in 2022 banned so-called conversion therapy, which Justin Trudeau described as a “hateful and harmful practice.” Justin Trudeau in 2017 also formally apologized to Canadians who suffered persecution and discrimination under the country’s anti-LGBTQ laws — including those convicted of “gross indecency” before Canada decriminalized consensual same-sex sexual relations — and policies
“We have failed to (protect) LGBTQ2 communities, individuals time and time again,” he said. “It is with shame and sorrow and deep regret that the things we have done that I stand here today and say we were wrong, we apologize. I am sorry. We are sorry.”
The Washington Blade will update this story.
LGBTQ budget advocates fight for D.C. resources in a tough fiscal year
Washington Blade’s Pride on the Pier returns bigger than ever with two-day WorldPride celebration
Md. schools plan to comply with federal DEI demands
Gay, nonbinary parent fights for family in Argentina’s courts
Science must not be a weapon against trans people
It’s time for new leadership on the Maryland LGBTQIA+ Commission
White House does not ‘respond’ to reporters’ requests with pronouns included
‘Gay is Good’ Pride Pils Can Celebrates Frank Kameny’s 100th Birthday for WorldPride in D.C.
THC Drinks: What You Should Know About Cannabis Beverages
Hungarian MPs amend constitution to ban public LGBTQ events
-
Opinions5 days agoIt’s time for new leadership on the Maryland LGBTQIA+ Commission
-
The White House4 days agoWhite House does not ‘respond’ to reporters’ requests with pronouns included
-
Arts & Entertainment5 days ago‘Gay is Good’ Pride Pils Can Celebrates Frank Kameny’s 100th Birthday for WorldPride in D.C.
-
Sponsored5 days agoTHC Drinks: What You Should Know About Cannabis Beverages