Cyril Cinder

Last updated
Cyril Cinder
Other namesGenevieve LeBlanc
Alma mater Canterbury High School
Occupations drag king, psychotherapist, activist
Years active2014-present

GenevieveChristine Marie LeBlanc (born 1991 or 1992), [1] [2] [3] known by the stage name Cyril Cinder, is a Canadian drag king, psychotherapist, and activist. In 2025, along with HercuSleaze, he [a] became the first drag performer to be invited into the chamber and address the Senate of Canada. [4]

Contents

Drag career

LeBlanc first learned that drag could go beyond drag queens as a young adult, and began planning a male drag persona. In 2014, only two months after seeing a drag show for the first time, their drag king person Cyril Cinder was born and began performing. [1] [5] As a drag king Cyril Cinder found difficulties being booked in drag spaces and started performing in burlesque shows and spaces. [6]

In 2019 Cyril Cinder was crowned Mr. Capital Pride at the Capital Pride Pageant. [7] [5] Following his win he has been a judge and a host on multiple subsequent editions of the pageant. [1] He also won the inaugural King BoiPKG. [5]

Cyril Cinder was a featured performer and mentor on the second season of Drag Heals . [8] [9] He was also featured in an episode of the Whispering Huntys podcast and interviewed for the fourth season episode "I Got 99 Problems But Being Misgendered on the Census Isn't One" of Statistics Canada's podcast Eh Sayers. [10] [11] [12]

Cyril Cinder is part of l’Académie du drag, established in 2020 by l’Association des communautés francophones d’Ottawa as a program to help young Franco-Ontarians who are interested in starting drag. [13]

Cyril Cinder also presents Drag Story time across Canada, with their Drag King Storytimes beginning in Ottawa as a collaboration with the Ottawa Public Library for Capital Pride. [1] Cyril Cinder presented to the Canadian Council of Unifor is Halifax, Nova Scotia for pride in 2023, doing a drag storytime and discussing growing homophobia and transphobia. [14] Cyril Cinder's drag story times have been protested on multiple occasions, with them receiving death threats and false allegations of grooming shared to their psychotherapy office. They also received threats of corrective rape. [6]

In 2022 Cyril Cinder performed at the Calgary Stampede's first drag brunch. [15]

In June 2025 Cyril Cinder, along with Montreal-based drag king HercuSleaze, were invited into the chamber of the Senate of Canada and introduced by Senator Kristopher Wells, becoming the first drag performers to address the Canadian Senate. [4] [16]

Other work

Outside of drag LeBlanc works as a licensed psychotherapist, having been registered with the College of Registered Psychotherapists of Ontario since 2018. [2] They specialize in trauma and LGBTQ clients. [1] [17]

Both in and out of drag LeBlanc does public speaking engagements and workshops on drag, mental health, and activism. They are also an activist to disability, mental health and wellness, francophonie, and LGBTQ topics. [17] [13]

Personal life

LeBlanc uses they/them pronouns while out of drag, and he/him pronouns in drag. [1] They are based in Ottawa, Ontario. [17] [5] LeBlanc is Franco-Ontarian. [13] Performing in drag helped LeBlanc realize they are bisexual and non-binary. [6]

LeBlanc is an alumni of Canterbury High School's arts program. [1] LeBlanc's father is a retired Canadian Auto Workers and Unifor president from the Fairmont Château Laurier in Ottawa. [14]

LeBlanc lived in Toronto for two years, but moved back to Ottawa in part due to drag kings receiving less paid work than drag queens. [3]

The Cyril Cinder character was inspired by the notion of “wholesome masculinity” and by My Chemical Romance singer Gerard Way. [1]

Filmography

Television
YearTitleRoleNotes
2020 Drag Heals SelfSeason 2
Podcasts
YearTitleRoleNotes
2021Whispering HuntysSelf1 episode
2023Eh SayersSelfSeason 4; 1 episode

Notes

  1. While in the Cyril Cinder persona LeBlanc uses he/him pronouns, while using they/them singular pronouns while out of drag.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Kings, queens and kids: Capital Pride festival has something for everyone". ottawacitizen. Archived from the original on 2022-08-21. Retrieved 2025-12-09.
  2. 1 2 "Genevieve Christine Marie LeBlanc". Public Register, College of Registered Psychotherapists of Ontario. Retrieved 9 December 2025.
  3. 1 2 Box, Bobby (2018-09-01). "Has The 'Golden Age Of Drag' Forgotten About The Kings?". IN Magazine. Retrieved 2025-12-09.
  4. 1 2 Canada, Senate of. "Senators show their Pride in the Chamber". SenCanada. Retrieved 2025-12-09.
  5. 1 2 3 4 "Cyril Cinder | Biographies". nac-cna.ca. Retrieved 2025-12-09.
  6. 1 2 3 "She said | He said | CMHR". humanrights.ca. Retrieved 2025-12-09.
  7. Wu, Ming (2019-08-23). "Capital Pride Pageant 2019". PhotogMusic. Retrieved 2025-12-09.
  8. "Cyril Cinder | Drag Brunch | Calgary Stampede July 8-17". Calgary Stampede. Retrieved 2025-12-09.
  9. "Toronto-based TV series explores the healing powers of drag". CBC News, October 17, 2020.
  10. "Different in All the Right Ways (W/Mijon Zulu & Cyril Cinder) - Whispering Huntys". Amazon Music . 21 December 2021. Retrieved 9 December 2025.
  11. Government of Canada, Statistics Canada (2023-08-16). "Eh Sayers Episode 14 - I Got 99 Problems But Being Misgendered on the Census Isn't One". www.statcan.gc.ca. Retrieved 2025-12-09.
  12. Government of Canada; Statistics Canada (2023). "Eh sayers season 4 episode 2 - I got 99 problems but being misgendered on the Census isn't one". Publications, Government of Canada. Retrieved 9 December 2025.
  13. 1 2 3 Fortin-Gauthier, Étienne (2020-06-25). "Fierté: l'art du drag pour réunir les francophones". ONFR (in Canadian French). Retrieved 2025-12-09.
  14. 1 2 "A decade of Pride activism celebrated at Canadian Council | Unifor". www.unifor.org. 2023-08-18. Retrieved 2025-12-09.
  15. Gilligan, Melissa (2022-06-27). "Nicky Doll to headline Calgary Stampede's first-ever drag brunch". CTVNews. Retrieved 2025-12-09.
  16. "#pridemonth #canadapride #loveislove | Senator Duncan Wilson". www.linkedin.com. Retrieved 2025-12-09.
  17. 1 2 3 "Cyril Cinder | Lavender Promotions". lavenderpromotions.com. Retrieved 2025-12-09.