Party Despite Canada being known as one of the most accepting countries for LGBTQ persons and home to some of the largest and most vibrant queer communities in the world, [1] LGBT/Queer representation in elected offices in Canada has generally been modest when compared with other developed western countries.
The following is a non-exhaustive list of LGBT politicians in Canada who have been identified or acknowledged on public record as being LGBT or queer persons. It does not include politicians who were/are openly queer or widely known as LGBTQ persons among their personal or even political associate but have never formally identified as such (by self, mainstream media outlets, or historians) to the general public or in election campaigns. The list is grouped by members of the two houses of the federal parliament, provincial legislatures, mayors, municipal councilors, and other.
Canada got its first openly gay MP in February 1988 when Svend Robinson, an NDP MP first elected in 1979 representing the then mostly blue-collared riding of Burnaby, came out publicly. Despite facing much abuse after the announcement, he went on to become one of the longest serving MPs with 25 years in parliament. In the following 16 years until Robinson stepped down in 2004, three other sitting MPs came out while in office - Réal Ménard of the Bloc, Robinson's close ally and fellow BC NDP MP Libby Davies, and Nova Scotia Progressive Conservative MP Scott Brison who crossed the floor to the Liberals a year after coming out and went on to become the first openly LGBT cabinet minister, serving in the cabinet of both Paul Martin and Justin Trudeau.
The 2004 general election returned the first two MPs who were openly gay when first elected: Robinson's aide and successor Bill Siksay and Ontario Liberal MP Mario Silva, and brought the number of openly LGBTQ sitting MPs to five.
The 2021 general election returned nine openly LGBTQ MPs, the high watermark for LGBT representation in parliament and with representation from the three main national parties (four Liberals, three NDPs, and two Conservatives). Three of those MPs served in cabinet concurrently between 2021 and 2024, the highest number of LGBTQ cabinet members to date.
By 2025 however, all three ministers have stepped down from cabinet and opted not to seek re-election. The 2025 election also saw the defeat or standing down of all three NDP MPs, reducing the rank of LGBTQ MPs to four (two Liberal and two Conservatives).
It is also noteworthy that of the three most established LGBTQ enclaves in Canada's three largest cities (Church and Wellesley in Toronto, Le Village gai in Montreal, and the Davie Village in Vancouver), not one have been represented by openly LGBTQ MPs.
Parliament | Openly LGBT MPs | Ministry / Openly LGBT cabinet members | |||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Duration | Seats | Lib | Con /P.C. | NDP | BQ | Total | |||||||
33rd (1984 - 1988) | 282 | 1 Robinson [a] | 1 | 24th (Mulroney) | 0 | ||||||||
![]() 34th (1988 - 1993) | 295 | 1 | |||||||||||
25th (Campbell) | 0 | ||||||||||||
![]() 35th (1993 - 1997) | 295 | 1 Ménard [b] | 2 | 26th (Chrétien) | 0 | ||||||||
36th (1997 - 2000) | 301 | 2 Robinson Davies | 3 | ||||||||||
37th (2000 - 2004) | 301 | Brison | 4 | ||||||||||
1 Brison [c] | 27th (Martin) | 0 | |||||||||||
38th (2004 - 2006) | 308 | 2 Brison, Silva | 2 Davies Siksay | 5 | 1 Brison | ||||||||
![]() 39th (2006 - 2008) | 308 | 5 | 28th (Harper) | 0 | |||||||||
![]() 40th (2008 - 2011) | 308 | 3 Brison, Silva Oliphant | 1 ➘ 0 Ménard [d] | 6 ➘5 | |||||||||
![]() 41st (2011 - 2015) | 308 | 1 Brison | 4 ➚ 5 [e] Davies, Garrison Morin, Toone, Scott | 5 ➚6 | |||||||||
![]() 42nd (2015 - 2019) | 338 | 4 ➘ 3 [f] Brison, Oliphant Boissonnault O'Regan | 2 Garrison, Benson | 6 ➘5 | 29th (J.Trudeau) | 2 ➘ 1 Brison O'Regan | |||||||
![]() 43rd (2019 - 2021) | 338 | 2 Oliphant, O'Regan | 1 Duncan | 1 Garrison | 4 | 1 O'Regan | |||||||
![]() 44th (2021 - 2025) | 338 | 4 Oliphant, O'Regan Boissonnault St-Onge | 2 Duncan Lastman | 3 Garrison, Barron Desjarlais | 9 | 3 O'Regan Boissonnault St-Onge | |||||||
![]() 45th (Elected 2025) | 343 | 2 Oliphant Klassen | 4 | 30th (Carney) | 0 |
LEGEND Light purple background : indicates the person was not openly LGBT while in office (entire row) or when first elected (first elected cell). |
Member | Province (electoral district) | First elected | Notes | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Hon. Rob Oliphant (b. 1956) | Ontario (Don Valley West) | 2008 (out of office 2011-15) | Privy Counsellor (since 2021), Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs (since 2019). The most senior out legislator (by first election) currently in office (as of October 2024) [g] | ||
Eric Duncan (b. 1987) | Ontario (Stormont—Dundas—Glengarry) | 2019 | |||
Melissa Lantsman (b. 1984) | Ontario (Thornhill) | 2021 | Deputy Leader of the Official Opposition (since September 2022) | ||
Ernie Klassen | British Columbia (South Surrey—White Rock) | 2025 | Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Fisheries (since June 2025) |
Member | Province (electoral district) | Term | Notes | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Start | End | |||||
Hon. Heward Grafftey (1928-2010) | Quebec (Brome—Missisquoi) | 1958 | 1968 (defeated) | Came out publicly after retirement from parliament. Cabinet minister in the Clark ministry | ||
1972 | 1980 (defeated) | |||||
Hon. Charles Lapointe (b. 1944) | Quebec (Charlevoix) | 1974 | 1984 (defeated) | Came out after retirement from parliament Cabinet minister in both of P.E. Trudeau ministries (20th & 22nd) | ||
Svend Robinson (b. 1952) | British Columbia (Burnaby—Douglas) | 1979 | 2004 (stood down) | Became the first openly LGBT sitting MP when came out publicly while in office in 1988 | ||
Ian Waddell (1942-2021) | British Columbia (Vancouver Kingsway 1979–1988, Port Moody—Coquitlam—Port Coquitlam 1988–93) | 1979 | 1993 (defeated) | Later BC MLA (1996–2001) and minister (1998–2001). Came out as bisexual during his 2004 bid to return to parliament. | ||
Réal Ménard (b. 1962) | Quebec (Hochelaga) | 1993 | 2009-09-16 (resigned) | First LGBT MP from Quebec. | ||
Hon. Scott Brison (b. 1967) | Nova Scotia (Kings—Hants) | 1997 | 2000-07-24 (resigned) | Came out publicly while in office in 2002 First openly LGBTQ member of cabinet, minister in the Martin and J. Trudeau ministries First openly LGBT MP from Nova Scotia First openly LGBT candidate for the leadership of the Progressive Conservative (2003) and the Liberal (2006) parties Crossed the floor from Progressive Conservative to the Liberal in 2003. | ||
2000 | 2019-02-10 (resigned) | |||||
Libby Davies (b. 1953) | British Columbia (Vancouver East) | 1997 | 2015 (stood down) | Became the first openly LGBT woman in parliament when she publicly revealed in 2001 that she was in a same-sex relationship. | ||
Bill Siksay (b. 1955) | British Columbia (Burnaby—Douglas) | 2004 | 2011 (stood down) | First LGBT MP who was openly LGBT when first elected (along with Mario Silva) | ||
Mario Silva (b. 1966) | Ontario (Davenport) | 2004 | 2011 (defeated) | First LGBT MP who was openly LGBT when first elected (along with Bill Siksay) First LGBT MP from Ontario | ||
Raymond Gravel (1952-2014) | Quebec (Repentigny) | 2006-11-27 | 2008 (stood down) | As a Catholic priest received bishop's dispensation to seek election, but was later ordered by the Vatican to stand down. Did not came out publicly during his lifetime, acknowledged his homosexuality to biographer. [1] [2] | ||
Randall Garrison (b. 1950) | British Columbia (Esquimalt—Saanich—Sooke) | 2011 | 2025 (stood down) | |||
Dany Morin (b. 1985) | Quebec (Chicoutimi—Le Fjord) | 2011 | 2015 (defeated) | |||
Philip Toone (b. 1965) | Quebec (Gaspésie—Îles-de-la-Madeleine) | 2011 | 2015 (defeated) | |||
Craig Scott (b. 1962) | Ontario (Toronto Danforth) | 2012-03-19 | 2015 (defeated) | |||
Sheri Benson (b. 1963) | Saskatchewan (Saskatoon West) | 2015 | 2019 (defeated) | First LGBT MP from Saskatchewan Deputy leader of the NDP (2019) | ||
Hon. Randy Boissonnault (b. 1970) | Alberta (Edmonton Centre) | 2015 | 2019 (defeated) | First LGBT MP from Alberta Cabinet minister in the J. Trudeau ministry (2021–24) | ||
2021 | 2025 (stood down) | |||||
Hon. Seamus O'Regan (b. 1971) | Newfoundland and Labrador (St. John's South—Mount Pearl) | 2015 | 2025 (stood down) | First LGBT MP from Newfoundland and Labrador Cabinet minister in the J. Trudeau ministry (2017–24) | ||
Lisa Marie Barron | British Columbia (Nanaimo—Ladysmith) | 2021 | 2025 (defeated) | |||
Blake Desjarlais (b. 1993) | Alberta (Edmonton Griesbach) | 2021 | 2025 (defeated) | First MP to be identified as two-spirit | ||
Hon. Pascale St-Onge (b. 1977) | Quebec (Brome—Missisquoi) | 2021 | 2025 (stood down) | First lesbian cabinet minister, minister in the J. Trudeau ministry (2021–24) |
Party affiliation or grouping:█ Liberal █ Conservative █ Independent Senators Group █ Progressive Senate Group
Senator | Province (division) | Term | Notes | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Appointed on advice of | Mandatory Retirement | ||||||
Hon. René Cormier (b. 1956) | New Brunswick | 2016-11-10 (J. Trudeau) | 2031-04-27 | ||||
Hon. Kim Pate (b. 1959) | Ontario | 2016-11-10} (J. Trudeau) | 2034-11-10 | ||||
Hon. Marnie McBean (b. 1968) | Ontario | 2023-12-20 (J. Trudeau) | 2043-01-28 | ||||
Hon. Kristopher Wells (b. 1971) | Alberta | 2024-08-31 (J. Trudeau) | 2046-10-07 | ||||
Hon. Martine Hébert (b. 1965) | Quebec (Victoria) | 2025-02-27 (J. Trudeau) | 2040-10-07 | ||||
Hon. Duncan Wilson (b. 1967) | British Columbia | 2025-02-28 (J. Trudeau) | 2042-09-26 |
Senator | Province (division) | Term | Notes | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Appointed on advice of | End | ||||||
Hon. Laurier LaPierre (1929-2012) | Ontario | 2001-06-13 Chrétien | 2004-11-21 | First openly LGBT person to be appointed senator | |||
Hon. Nancy Ruth (b. 1942) | Ontario (Cluny) [h] | 2005-03-24 (Martin) | 2017-01-06 | First out lesbian to be appointed to senator. Initially affiliated with the Progressive Conservative (2005–08), joined the Conservative caucus in March 2008. |
The 2024 New Brunswick provincial election ended New Brunswick's, the most socially conservative province in Canada, status as the last holdout among Canada's 13 provinces and territories from electing openly LGBT persons to its legislature. With the election of New Brunswick Liberal MLA Luke Randall, all Canadian provinces and territories have had elected at least one openly LGBTQ member to its legislature.
Randall was appointed to the new Liberal Holt ministry formed immediately after the election. With his appointment, openly LGBTQ persons has served in the provincial cabinet of eight of Canada's ten provinces plus Northwest Territories. The provincial governments of Saskatchewan and Newfoundland & Labrador, along with the territorial government of Yukon and Nunavut have not had an openly LGBTQ provincial cabinet or territorial minister to date. (It should be noted however that the second out federal minister in Canada Shamus O'Regan represented a Newfoundland & Labrador electoral district.) Openly LGBTQ politicians have been cabinet members of Liberal ministries in British Columbia, Ontario, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Islands plus in Ottawa, the NDP ministries in British Columbia, Alberta and Manitoba, and in Parti Quebecois governments in Quebec. While a few former conservative provincial minister had came out after their time office, no openly LGBTQ person has ever occupied cabinet seats in any conservative government at either provincial or federal level. [i]
Two Canadian provinces, the largest and the smallest, had been governed by out Premiers. Kathleen Wynne was Premier of Ontario from 2013 to 2018, while Wade MacLauchlan was Premier of Prince Edward Island from 2015 to 2019. Both members of their provinces' Liberal parties, the both commenced their premiership upon securing their party leadership, and subsequently led their parties to majority victories at general elections.
As of September 2025, all provinces and territories except Prince Edward Island and Northwest Territories has at least one openly LGBTQ person currently in their legislature.
LGBTQ presence in individual provincial legislatures are usually exclusively on either the government or the opposition aisles. The elections held in 2022 in Quebec, in 2024 in British Columbia and 2025 in Newfoundland and Labrador returned out members in both the resulting government and opposition caucuses. However, the only out government MNA in Quebec Youri Chassin left the CAQ caucus in September 2024, and the only out BC opposition member Elenore Sturko was expelled from the Conservative caucus in September 2025. The 2025 Newfoundland and Labrador election saw the election of Liberal MHA Keith White and 95% landslide reelection of Progressive Conservative MHA Lela Evans, making the Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly the only provincial legislature where both the government and the opposition caucuses consist of an out member.
As noted, there has been no out cabinet minister in any conservative ministries in Canada, including the six current conservative or right-of-centre provincial governments. All three non-conservative provincial ministries currently in office boast out cabinet members in their ranks: transport minister Mike Farnworth and indigenous relations minister Spencer Chandra Herbert in the NDP Eby ministry of British Columbia; deputy premier and health minister Uzoma Asagwara and transport minister Lisa Naylor in the NDP Kinew ministry of Manitoba; economic development minister Luke Randall in the Liberal Holt ministry of New Brunswick.
One significant provincial party, the Conservative Party of Quebec, is currently led by an openly gay leader, Éric Duhaime. It won 13% of the vote in the 2022 election under Duhaime's leadership, but did not win any seats.
LEGEND Light purple background : indicates the person was not openly LGBT while in office (entire row) or when first elected (first elected cell)
|
Status of Members | BC | AB | SK | MB | ON | QC | NB | NS | PE | NL | YK | NT | NU | Total | Fed | |||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Latest election | 2024 | 2023 | 2024 | 2023 | 2025 | 2022 | 2024 | 2024 | 2023 | 2025 | 2025 | 2023 | 2021 | 2025 | ||||||||||||||||
in cabinet | 2 | 2 | 1 | 5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
in government caucus | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 2 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
in opposition | 1 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 18 | 2 | |||||||||||||||||||
1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1 | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Total | 4 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 27 | 4 |
Member | Province (electoral district) | First Elected | Notes | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Mike Farnworth | British Columbia (Port Coquitlam) | 1991 (out of office 2001 to 2005) | Publicly acknowledged being gay during his 2011 bid for NDP leadership Cabinet minister in the G. Clark, Miller, Dosanjh ministries (1997-2001) and the Horgan and Eby ministries (since 2017), Deputy Premier (2021-24); contested the NDP leadership in 2011 (runner up to Adrian Dix) and 2014 (withdraw resulting in the acclaimation of John Horgan) Currently the longest serving MLA in the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, and the longest serving elected public office holder among all out politicians currently in office. [j] | ||
Spencer Chandra Herbert | British Columbia (Vancouver-West End) | 2008-10-29 | Cabinet minister in the Eby ministries (since 2024) The most senior out legislator with continuous tenured currently in office (as of October 2024) [g] . Served three additional years as an elected Vancouver Park Board Commissioner prior to being elected MLA. | ||
Mable Elmore | British Columbia (Vancouver-Kensington) | 2009 | The most senior out woman legislator currently in office (as of May 2022) [k] | ||
Manon Massé | Quebec (Sainte-Marie–Saint-Jacques) | 2014 | Co-spokesperson (co-leader) of the Québec solidaire (2017-23) | ||
Terence Kernaghan | Ontario (London North Centre) | 2018 | |||
Youri Chassin | Quebec (Saint-Jérôme) | 2018 | |||
Jennifer Maccarone | Quebec (Westmount–Saint-Louis) | 2018 | |||
Janis Irwin | Alberta (Edmonton-Highlands-Norwood) | 2019 | |||
Lela Evans | Newfoundland and Labrador (Torngat Mountains) | 2019 | Left the PCs to sit as an independent in 2021, joined the NDP in 2022, and returned to the PCs in 2024 | ||
Uzoma Asagwara | Manitoba (Union Station) | 2019 | Deputy Premier and cabinet minister in the Kinew ministry | ||
Lisa Naylor | Manitoba (Wolseley) | 2019 | Cabinet minister in the Kinew ministry (since 2023) | ||
Lane Tredger | Yukon (Whitehorse Centre) | 2021 | Yukon's first out non-binary MLA, formally changed name while in office in 2023 House leader of the Yukon NDP (since 2021) | ||
Lisa Lachance | Nova Scotia (Halifax Citadel-Sable Island) | 2021 | |||
Janet Brewster | Nunavut (Iqaluit-Sinaa) | 2021 | |||
Lise Vaugeois | Ontario (Thunder Bay—Superior North) | 2022 | |||
Kristyn Wong-Tam | Ontario (Toronto Centre) | 2022 | |||
Elenore Sturko | British Columbia (Surrey-Cloverdale) | 2022-09-10 | |||
Nathaniel Teed | Saskatchewan (Saskatoon Meewasin) | 2022-09-26 | First out MLA of Saskatchewan | ||
Brooks Arcand-Paul | Alberta (Edmonton-West Henday) | 2023 | |||
Court Ellingson | Alberta (Calgary-Foothills) | 2023 | |||
Tyler Blashko | Manitoba (Lagimodière) | 2023 | |||
Logan Oxenham | Manitoba (Kirkfield Park) | 2023 | |||
Luke Randall | New Brunswick (Fredericton North) | 2024 | First out MLA of New Brunswick Cabinet minister in the Holt ministry (since 2024) | ||
Rod Wilson | Nova Scotia (Halifax Armdale) | 2024 | |||
Catherine McKenney | Ontario (Ottawa Centre) | 2025 | |||
Tyler Watt | Ontario (Nepean) | 2025 | |||
Keith White | Newfoundland and Labrador (St. John's West) | 2025 |
Unlike their British and American peers, Canadian journalists has mostly maintained a tradition of respecting the private lives of political figures, with few politicians involuntarily outed. However, the first documented LGBT provincial politician actually predated confederation. George Herchmer Markland, a protegee of Bishop John Strachan, was first appointed to the Legislative Council of Upper Canada in 1820, and to the Executive Council in 1822 when he was only 32. A leading figure of the Family Compact by the late 1830s, he resigned from all public offices in 1838 in exchange for having the investigation into his potential liaisons with several young men dropped. [3] Homosexual activities were technically punishable by death until 1868.
It is with some irony the most socially conservative province in Canada produced the earliest provincial political figure who's homosexuality is broadly accepted by historians and political commentators, and not just any provincial legislator, but a premier who the New Brunswick Progressive Conservative party to four majority wins starting in 1970 (though only once winning the popular vote) before losing every seat they held in 1987. Nicknamed Disco Dick, Richard Hatfield's dramatic political career, flamboyant personality and penchant for big city nightlife captivated political watchers throughout the country. Although he never acknowledged his sexuality to the public during his life time, he also expended no energy hiding it, which may explain the open taunting by opposing politicians and internal rivals alike. (He was called "Mama's boy" by leadership rival Charles Van Horne, who later served in his cabinet, and was called "faded pansy" by Liberal leader Joseph Daigle). The press generally refrained from speculation about his sexuality however, and it was not until three years after his death his sexuality was formally confirmed in the press by cabinet colleagues and journalists.
A number of prominent provincial ministers from Ontario and Quebec in the 1970s and 1980s came out after leaving public office.
The first openly LGBTQ provincial candidate was Peter Maloney, who carried the Ontario Liberal banner in the district of St. George in downtown Toronto in 1971. He was trounced by Progressive Conservative incumbent Allan Lawrence, a senior cabinet minister who a few months prior came within 44 votes of becoming premier at the provincial PC leadership convention.
Quebec is the home of the first openly LGBTQ legislator in Canada, electing in 1985 Liberal MNA Maurice Richard (who also has the distinction as the first openly LGBTQ person elected to any public office in Canada, having been elected mayor of Bécancour in 1976). The province further produced Canada's next two out provincial legislators when it elected André Boisclair and André Boulerice in 1989. Boisclair, the record holder as the youngest MNA until 2007, has the distinction of being the first out LGBTQ cabinet minister anywhere in Canada, having been tapped to join Premier Bouchard's cabinet as immigration minister in 1996. Boulerice joined the Landry ministry as a secretary of state (junior minister) in March 2001, which made him the third out cabinet minister in Canada behind a peer from BC.
In the English speaking provinces, British Columbia in 1996 elected its first two openly gay MLAs, NDP Tim Stevenson and Liberal Ted Nebbeling, both went on to serve in provincial cabinet later. Stevenson became employment minister in 2000 toward the end of the NDP time in power, making him the second out cabinet minister in Canada, and Nebbeling join the Campbell ministry as a minister of state when the Liberals ousted the NDP in June 2001. Ontario and Manitoba both elected their first out legislator in 1999, Ontario Liberal George Smitherman in June and Manitoba NDPer Jim Rondeau in September, dramatically by a three vote margin. They would both become their respective province's first our cabinet member in 2003, Smitherman in June as health minister when the Liberal formed government and Rondeau in November as a junior minister of health after a term on the backbench.
First elected as an Ontario Liberal MPP in October 2003, Kathleen Wynne was the first out woman to serve in a provincial legislature, and the first out woman to be elected at either the federal or provincial levels. (NDP MP Libby Davis came out in 2001 but did not face re-election as an out woman until 2004) Parti Quebecois MNA Agnès Maltais, who was first elected in 1998, became the second out woman in a provincial legislature when she came out in November 2003, and secured her first reelection as an out women in March 2007, just a two months ahead of Manitoba's NDP MLA Jennifer Howard, the third out women in a provincial legislature. Wynne was also the first out woman cabinet minister anywhere in Canada, having been appointed education minister in the in McGuinty ministry in September 2006. Howard joined the Doer ministry in Manitoba in 2009 as labour and immigration minister, which made her the second out woman cabinet minister in Canada, and would later served as finance minister in the Selinger ministry before resigning with four other cabinet member in 2014 to call for Selinger's ouster. While Maltais previously served in cabinet under Premiers Bouchard and Landry, the PQ did not return to power until the third election after her coming out (slipping briefly to third place under out leader Bosclair), delaying her chance to serve as an out woman cabinet minister until September 2012, when she joined the Marois government as employment and labour minister.
Member | Province (electoral district) | In Office | Notes | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Start | End | |||||
Richard Hatfield (1931-91) | New Brunswick (Carleton Centre) | 1961-06-19 | 1987 | Premier of New Brunswick 1970-87 Never publicly acknowledged being gay during his lifetime, but generally known and assumed, and Hatfield generally did not bother to deny while Premier, his sexuality has been more formally discussed on the record by contemporaries after his death | ||
Claude Charron (b. 1946) | Quebec (Saint-Jacques) | 1970 | 1982-04-13 | Comfirmed being gay in his memoir published in 1983. Cabinet Minister (Lévesque government) | ||
Guy Joron (1940-2017) | Quebec (Gouin) | 1970 | 1973 | Out among his caucus colleagues in the legislature, but not to the general public while in office. Cabinet Minister in the | ||
Quebec (Mille-Îles) | 1976 | 1981 | ||||
Keith Norton (1941-2010) | Ontario (Kingston and the Islands) | 1975 | 1985 | Came out in 1990 while seeking a comeback in the district that included Toronto's gay village Cabinet Minister in the Davis & Miller ministries | ||
Dave Cooke (b.1952) | Ontario (Windsor—Riverside) | 1977 | 1997-01-19 | Came out after retirement from the legislature Cabinet Minister in the Rae ministry | ||
Phil Gillies (b.1954) | Ontario (Brantford) | 1981 | 1987 | Came out after retirement from the legislature Cabinet Minister in the Miller ministry | ||
Maurice Richard (b. 1946) | Quebec (Nicolet—Yamaska) | 1985 | 1994 | First provincial legislator in Canada to be out as gay during his career in politics. | ||
Ian Scott (1934-2006) | Ontario (St. George—St. David) | 1985 | 1992-04-04 | Openly gay to political colleagues while in office, first public acknowledgement via partner's obituary a year after leaving public office. Attorney General in the Peterson ministry | ||
André Boisclair (b. 1966) | Quebec (Gouin) | 1989 | 2004-08-17 | As leader of the Parti Québécois (2005-07) and the Quebec's Leader of the Opposition, the first openly LGBT person in Canada to lead a party represented in a legislature First openly LGBTQ person appointed to a cabinet in Canada (in 1996), was cabinet minister in the Bouchard and Landry governments | ||
Quebec (Pointe-aux-Trembles) | 2006-08-14 | 2007-11-15 | ||||
André Boulerice (b. 1946) | Quebec (Sainte-Marie–Saint-Jacques) | 1989 | 2005-09-12 | Secretary of state/minister delegate (junior Cabinet Minister) in the | ||
Dominic Agostino (1959-2004) | Ontario (Hamilton East) | 1995 | 2004-03-24 | Openly gay to political colleagues while in office. | ||
Andrew Thomson (b. 1967) | Saskatchewan (Regina South) | 1995 | 2007 | Came out after retirement from the legislature Cabinet Minister in the Calvert ministry | ||
Ted Nebbeling (1943-2009) | British Columbia (West Vancouver-Garibaldi) | 1996 | 2005 | First openly LGBT MLA in British Columbia (along with Tim Stevenson) Cabinet member in the Campbell ministry | ||
Ian Waddell (1942-2021) | British Columbia (Vancouver-Fraserview) | 1996 | 2001 | Came out after retirement from the legislature Served as MP 1979-88 | ||
Tim Stevenson (b. 1945) | British Columbia (Vancouver-Burrard) | 1996 | 2001 | First openly LGBT MLA in British Columbia (along with Ted Nebbeling) Minister of State in the Dosanjh ministry | ||
Agnès Maltais (b. 1956) | Quebec (Taschereau) | 1998 | 2018 | First lesbian MNA of Quebec, came out while in office in 2003 Cabinet Minister in the Bouchard, & Marois governments | ||
Jim Rondeau | Manitoba (Assiniboia) | 1999 | 2016 | Manitoba's first openly LGBTQ MLA and cabinet minister Cabinet member in the Doer and Selinger ministries | ||
George Smitherman | Ontario (Toronto Centre) | 1999 | 2010-01-04 | Ontario's First openly LGBT MPP (elected or being in office) and cabinet minister (as a member and deputy premier of the McGuinty ministry) in Ontario | ||
Dale Eftoda | Yukon (Riverdale North) | 2000 | 2002 | |||
Cecil Clarke (b. 1968) | Nova Scotia (Cape Breton North) | 2001-03-06 | 2011-03-25 | Not out during his term in the legislature; came out later while serving as a mayor Speaker of the Nova Scotia House of Assembly (2006-07) Cabinet Minister in the Rodney MacDonald ministry | ||
Lorne Mayencourt (b. 1957) | British Columbia (Vancouver-Burrard) | 2001 | 2008-09-13 | |||
Jim Watson (b. 1961) | Ontario (Ottawa West—Nepean) | 2003 | 2010-02-01 | Came out in 2019 while serving his fourth term as Mayor of Ottawa Cabinet Minister in the McGuinty ministry | ||
Kathleen Wynne (b. 1953) | Ontario (Don Valley West) | 2003-10-02 | 2022 | Canada's first openly LGBT first minister (2013-18) Ontario's first lesbian MPP and cabinet minister (as a member of the McGuinty ministry), Ontario's first women premier Ontario held the record as largest population with a LGBT government leader until 2024 (when Gabriel Attal was appointed Prime Minister of France) | ||
Doug Routley (b. 1961) | British Columbia (Nanaimo-North Cowichan) | 2005 | 2024 | Came out as bisexual in 2018 while in office | ||
Nicholas Simons (b. 1964/65) | British Columbia (Powell River-Sunshine Coast) | 2005 | 2024 | Cabinet Minister in the Horgan and Eby ministries | ||
Cheri DiNovo (b. 1951) | Ontario (Parkdale—High Park) | 2006-09-14 | 2017-12-31 | |||
Paul Ferreira (b. 1973) | Ontario (York South—Weston) | 2007-02-28 | 2007 | |||
Sylvain Gaudreault (b. 1970) | Quebec (Jonquière) | 2007 | 2022 | Cabinet Minister in the Marois government Leader of the Opposition in Quebec & Interim Leader of the Parti Québécois (2016) | ||
Jennifer Howard | Manitoba (Fort Rouge) | 2007 | 2016 | Cabinet Minister in the Selinger ministry | ||
Jenn McGinn | British Columbia (Vancouver-Fairview) | 2008-10-29 | 2009 | British Columbia's first openly lesbian MLA | ||
Glen Murray (b. 1957) | Ontario (Toronto Centre) | 2010-02-04 | 2017-09-01 | Cabinet Minister in the McGuinty & Wynne ministries | ||
Gerry Rogers | Newfoundland and Labrador (St. John's Centre) | 2011 | 2019 | Newfoundland and Labrador's first openly LGBTA MHA | ||
Réjean Hébert (b. 1955) | Quebec (Saint-François) | 2012 | 2014 | Cabinet Minister in the Marois government | ||
Jennifer Rice (b. 1973/74) | British Columbia (North Coast) | 2013 | 2024 | |||
Joanne Bernard (b. 1963) | Nova Scotia (Dartmouth North) | 2013 | 2017 | Cabinet Minister in the McNeil ministry | ||
Wade MacLauchlan (b. 1954) | Prince Edward Island (York-Oyster Bed) | 2015 | 2019 | PEI's first openly LGBTQ Premier (2015-19) and MLA | ||
Michael Connolly (b. 1994) | Alberta (Calgary-Hawkwood) | 2015 | 2019 | |||
Ricardo Miranda (b. 1976) | Alberta Calgary-Cross) | 2015 | 2019 | Cabinet Minister in the Notley ministry | ||
Estefan Cortes-Vargas (b. 1991) | Alberta (Strathcona-Sherwood Park) | 2015 | 2019 | |||
Julie Green | Northwest Territories (Yellowknife Centre) | 2015 | 2023 | Member of the Executive Council of the Northwest Territories | ||
Jill Andrew | Ontario (Toronto—St. Paul's) | 2018 | 2025 | |||
Suze Morrison (b. 1988) | Ontario (Toronto Centre)}} | 2018 | 2022 | |||
Jeremy Roberts (b. 1991) | Ontario (Ottawa West—Nepean) | 2018 | 2022 |
By nature of the Westminster system of government, securing a political party's leadership is a prerequisite for becoming a first minister at either the federal or provincial level.
Kathleen Wynne won the Ontario Liberal Party leadership contest in January 2013, and consequently assumed the premiership of Ontario in February 2013, becoming the first openly LGBTQ person to serve as first minister in Canada. As Canada's largest province, Ontario's population stood at over 13 million at the start of her premiership. Under her leadership, the Ontario Liberals increased their seat count and popular vote at the 2014 Ontario Election, and returned to majority status. Her premiership's significance to LGBTQ political representation is further discussed in the next subsection.
Just over two years later in 2015, the province with the smallest population, Prince Edward Island, produced Canada second's out first minister. Following the surprise resignation of incumbent Premier Robert Ghiz, Wade MacLauchlan, a legal scholar and former president of the University of Prince Edward Island who's only electoral experience was on the council of the small rural municipality of North Shore (population just shy of 2000), secured the PEI Liberal leadership without competition and became the province's premier in February 2015. The island's population at the time was approximately 140,000, or about 1/100th of Ontario. MacLauchlan led the party to a renewed majority in the 2015 election. Despite losing 10% of its vote share, the PEI Liberal Party only suffered a slight loss in seat counts due to the emergence of the Green Party and resurgence of the NDP as viable alternatives to its primary rival, the Conservative Party.
Wynne and MacLauchlan were respectively the first lesbian and gay man serve as provincial premier in Canada and the first lesbian and gay man to have led their party to electoral victories. However, they also both led their parties to catastrophic third place defeat in the subsequent elections. In 2018, Ontario Liberals recorded their worst even electoral results, losing party status. In 2019, the PEI Liberals suffered a further loss of 10% of the popular vote, and a personal defeat for Premier MacLauchlan in his own district by a hundred votes.
Wynne sought to succeed Dalton McGuinty after serving for six years in his ministry holding major portfolios including education, transport, municipal affairs and indigenous affairs. She entered the 2013 Ontario Liberal leadership convention as the underdog to Sandra Pupatello who was backed by twice as many caucus colleagues. Wynne however had posted results exceeding expectations at various stages leading up to the convention and her candidacy was boosted by fellow gay candidate Glen Murray, who dropped out of the race a few weeks prior and went on campaign tour with Wynne in the final weeks of the campaign. Her convention speech, considered by veteran TVO journalist Steve Paiken as the most impactful convention speech by a leadership candidate [7] , addressed her sexuality head-on:
"When I ran in 2003, I was told that the people of North Toronto and Thorncliffe Park were not ready to elect a gay woman. Well, apparently they were... I don’t believe the people of Ontario judge their leaders on the basis of race, colour or sexual orientation. I don’t believe they hold that prejudice in their hearts. They judge us on our merits, on our abilities, on our expertise, on our ideas – because that is how everyone deserves to be judged, that is how we want our children, our grandchildren, our nieces and nephews to be judged." [8]
Following her surprisingly strong first ballot performance (only two votes behind the frontrunner), she secured the backing of three of the four male candidates eliminated in the earlier ballots, and emerged victorious on the third ballot. By nature of having secured the leadership of the governing party, she became Ontario's first woman Premier in February 2013, and Canada's first ever out first minister. The Ontario Liberals under her leadership regained majority status at the 2014 election, making her the first openly LGBTQ person in Canada to lead their party to an electoral victory. She remained Premier until 2018, when she led the Liberals to its worst defeat in history. Her party's spectacular fall notwithstanding, her five-year premiership was of global significant to the advancement of LGBTQ political leadership in a number of ways.
Boisclair made history again in November 2005 when he secured a first ballot victory against future premier Pauline Marois and seven other contestants in the 2005 Parti Quebecois leadership contest to become the leader of the 45-member strong official opposition of Quebec. His victory made him Canada's first out leader of a political party with parliamentary presence, and was the peak of his political career. Under Boisclair's leadership, the PQ lost its position as official opposition at the 2007 Quebec election. His exit was further hastened when he initiated bickering with BQ leader Gilles Duceppe. Parti Québécois was not the only party to have selected an out leader in 2005 however. Two months earlier, the New Brunswick NDP elected Allison Brewer, a long time associate of Dr. Henry Morgentaler, as leader, making her Canada's first out political party leader. Brewer however never won a seat for herself and her party leadership also ended in electoral humiliation. She led her party to its worst result in 30 years with only 5.1% of the popular vote at the 2006 provincial election. Both Boisclair and Brewer resigned as leaders shortly after.
Following the regrettable leaderships of Boisclair and Brewer, and the ascension of Wynne and MacLauchlan to provincial premiership, two new out provincial party leader emerged in 2017. The Alberta Liberals selected David Khan to be its leader in June 2017. From his selection until Wynne's resignation in June 2018, three provincial liberals party were simultaneously led by openly LGBTQ persons. Khan assumed the leadership of a moribund party, however, with former leader David Swan holding its only seat. Khan effectively presided over the party's final demise, leading the party in the 2019 elections to less than 1% share of the population vote, and himself coming in fourth place in Sawn's final bastion. The story of the other new out leader turned out more positively. In May 2017, Québec solidaire selected Manon Massé, the party's third MNA elected in 2014, the party's female co-leader replacing its founding female co-leader Françoise David. David lead the party for over a decade was resigning both as MNA and as leader due to ill health. [9] She was elected co-leader with Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois, a prominent leader of the 2012 Quebec student protests who would win his own seat a few days later in a byelection. As the undisputed elder figure in the party, she was the party's lead candidate in the 2018 election, tripling its seat count from 3 to 10. The party maintained its strength and displaced the Parti Quebecois as the third largest party in 2022. After a reasonably successful co-leadership of close to seven years, Massé stepped down as leader in 2023, to date the only out party leader in Canada having completed her leadership without major setbacks.
In April 2021, another out provincial party leader emerged, again in Quebec, when veteran political advisor and radio host Éric Duhaime took over the leadership of the Conservative Party of Quebec, a seeming quixotic project initially. The Quebec Conservative ceased to exist in 1935 after it was merged into the Union Nationale. Its name was revived around 2010 and was a temporary vehicle used by various fringe political figures in the following years. Duhaime presides over a serious revival however, fielding candidates in all 125 district in the 2022 election and increasing the party's vote share by nine fold to close to 13%. As of September 2025, Duhaime is the only openly LGBTQ person leading a political party in Canada.
Light purple background : indicates the person was not openly LGBT while in office (entire row) or when first elected (first elected cell)
Light red background : indicates the person served as first minister
Leader | Leadership | In Office | Notes | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Start | End | |||||
Richard Hatfield (1931-91) MLA for Carleton Centre (1961-87) | Leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of New Brunswick Premier of New Brunswick (1970-87) | June 1969 | October 1987 | Led party to majority victories in 1970, 1974, 1978, 1982 elections, and to losing every seats in the 1987 election. Never publicly acknowledged being gay during his lifetime. See Prominent provincial office holders known to be LGBTQ | ||
André Boisclair (b. 1966) MNA for Gouin (1989-2004); for Pointe-aux-Trembles (2006-07) | Leader of the Parti Quebecois Leader of the Opposition of Quebec | November 2005 | May 2007 | The first openly LGBT person in Canada to lead a party represented in a legislature, led party in the 2007 election to third place defeat; also the first openly LGBTQ person appointed (in 1996) to a cabinet in Canada, cabinet minister in the Bouchard and Landry governments | ||
Allison Brewer (b. 1954) not elected to legislature | Leader of the New Brunswick New Democratic Party | September 2005 | November 2006 | Led party in 2006 election, won no seat. | ||
Kathleen Wynne (b. 1953) MPP for Don Valley West (2003-22) | Leader of the Ontario Liberal Party Premier of Ontario | January 2013 | June 2018 | The first openly LGBTQ first minister in Canada, first out party leader to lead a party to electoral victory (2014), led party to defeat in 2018 election. The first out woman appointed to a cabinet in Canada when appointed to the McGuinty ministry in 2006 | ||
Wade MacLauchlan (b. 1954) MLA for York-Oyster Bed (2015-19) | Leader of the Liberal Party of Prince Edward Island | February 2015 | May 2019 | First openly gay man to become first minister, led party to majority victory in the 2015 election, and to defeat in the 2019 election PEI's first openly LGBTQ MLA (and only to date) | ||
Sylvain Gaudreault (b. 1970) MNA for Jonquière (2007-22) | Interim Leader of the Parti Quebecois Leader of the Opposition of Quebec | May 2016 | October 2016 | Cabinet Minister in the Marois government | ||
Manon Massé (b.1963) MNA for Sainte-Marie–Saint-Jacques (since 2014) | Co-spokesperson (co-leader) of the Québec solidaire | May 2017 | November 2023 | The party's lead candidate in the 2018 election | ||
David Khan (b.1974) not elected to legislature | Leader of the Alberta Liberal Party | June 2017 | November 2020 | Led party in the 2019 Alberta election to its worst electoral results in history. | ||
Éric Duhaime (b.1969) has not been elected to the National Assembly | Leader of the Conservative Party of Quebec | April 2021 | incumbent | Led party in 2022 election, the party's vote share increased nine fold to 13% but won no seat. Only openly LGBTQ person currently leading a political party of significance in Canada. |
Mayor | City | Term | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Marianne Alto | Victoria, British Columbia | 2022–present | |
David Bailey | County of Brant, Ontario | 2018–present | |
Cecil Clarke | Cape Breton Regional Municipality, Nova Scotia | 2012–2020 2024–present | |
Eric Duncan | North Dundas, Ontario | 2010–2018 | |
Kevin Haché | Caraquet, New Brunswick | 2015–2021 | |
Lisa Helps | Victoria, British Columbia | 2014–2022 | |
Julie Lemieux | Très-Saint-Rédempteur, Quebec | 2017–present | First transgender mayor in Canada |
Réal Ménard | Mercier–Hochelaga-Maisonneuve, Quebec | 2010–2017 | |
Kevin Morrison | Goderich, Ontario | 2014–2018 | |
Glen Murray | Winnipeg, Manitoba | 1998–2004 | |
Ted Nebbeling | Whistler, British Columbia | 1990–1996 | |
Colin Ratushniak | La Ronge, Saskatchewan | 2020–2022 | |
Maurice Richard | Bécancour, Quebec | 1975–1985 1995–2013 | |
Jim Watson | Ottawa, Ontario | 1997–2000 2010–2022 |
People who did not hold a political office at the federal, provincial or municipal levels, but have some other form of political significance.
Person | Role | Notes | Ref |
---|---|---|---|
Enza Anderson | Candidate for Mayor of Toronto, 2000 | ||
Penny Ballem | City manager of Vancouver, British Columbia, 2008-2015 | ||
Betty Baxter | Federal election candidate for the New Democratic Party, 1993 | ||
Pierre Bourgault | Leader of the Rassemblement pour l'Indépendance Nationale, 1964-1968 | ||
Allison Brewer | Leader of the New Brunswick New Democratic Party, 2005-2006 | ||
Lori Campbell | Federal election candidate for the New Democratic Party, 2019 | ||
Keith Cole | Candidate for Mayor of Toronto, 2010 | ||
Robert Douglas Cook | Sole electoral candidate of the Gay Alliance Toward Equality, 1979 | ||
Ross Dowson | Socialist political candidate | ||
Éric Duhaime | Leader of the Conservative Party of Quebec, 2021–present | ||
Jim Egan | Representative for Electoral Area B (Comox North) on the Comox-Strathcona Regional District board, 1981-1993 | See also Egan v Canada | |
Norman Elder | Candidate for Toronto City Council | ||
Jamie Lee Hamilton | First known transgender candidate for political office | ||
Kaj Hasselriis | Candidate for Mayor of Winnipeg, 2006 | ||
Brent Hawkes | Provincial election candidate for the Ontario New Democratic Party, 1995 | See also Operation Soap, Metropolitan Community Church of Toronto | |
Jamey Heath | New Democratic Party of Canada strategist | ||
George Hislop | Toronto City Council candidate, 1980 | See also We Demand Rally, Operation Soap | |
El-Farouk Khaki | Activist, federal election candidate for the New Democratic Party in 2008 | ||
Trevor Kirczenow | Activist, academic, federal election candidate for the Liberal Party of Canada in 2019 and 2021 | ||
David Khan | Leader of the Alberta Liberal Party, 2019-2021 | ||
Khelsilem | First Nations band councillor | ||
Amita Kuttner | Interim leader of the Green Party of Canada, 2021-2022 | ||
Chris Lea | Leader of the Green Party of Canada, 1990-1996 | ||
John Alan Lee | Federal election candidate for the Cooperative Commonwealth Federation, 1958 | ||
Greg Malone | Federal election candidate for the New Democratic Party, 2000, and the Green Party of Canada, 2019 | ||
Peter Maloney | First known gay candidate for political office | ||
Christin Milloy | Provincial election candidate for the Ontario Libertarian Party, 2011 | ||
Micheline Montreuil | Federal candidate in 1984 and municipal candidate in 1993 | ||
Brenda Murphy | First out LGBTQ Lieutenant-Governor of a province | ||
Peg Norman | Two-time federal election candidate for the New Democratic Party | ||
Jeff Rock | Federal election candidate for the Liberal Party of Canada | See also Metropolitan Community Church of Toronto | |
Mary-Woo Sims | Federal election candidate for the New Democratic Party, 2006 Chief commissioner of the British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal, 1996-2001 | ||
Douglas Wilson | Federal election candidate for the New Democratic Party |
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