The following is a list of the first openly LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender) holders of elected or appointed political office in Canada. LGBT people have served at all three main levels of political office in Canada: municipal, provincial and federal. As of 2022, every Canadian province and territory has been represented by at least one out LGBTQ officeholder. In addition to the milestones noted below, Canada has also had a number of prominent politicians who were not out as LGBT during their careers in politics, either coming out after they retired or being officially outed only in posthumous biographical sources, as well as openly LGBT politicians whose election or appointment to office was not a historically significant first as other LGBT people had already held the same office before them. For a more thorough list of Canadian LGBTQ politicians regardless of whether they represented historic firsts or not, see also List of LGBT politicians in Canada.

First overall

* First openly gay political candidate, regardless of electoral status: Peter Maloney ran for a seat on the

Toronto Board of Education The Toronto Board of Education (TBE; commonly known as School District 15), officially known as the Board of Education for the City of Toronto, is the former secular school district serving the pre-merged city of Toronto. The board offices were l ...

in the

1972 Toronto municipal election The 1972 Toronto municipal election was held December 4, 1972, to elect the governments of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, the five other boroughs, and the government of Metro Toronto as well. The election was overshadowed by the 1972 federal election ...

as an openly gay candidate. (He had previously been an

Ontario Liberal Party The Ontario Liberal Party (OLP; french: Parti libéral de l'Ontario, PLO) is a political party in the province of Ontario, Canada. The party has been led by interim leader John Fraser (Ontario MPP), John Fraser since August 2022. The party esp ...

candidate in

St. George Saint George (Greek: Γεώργιος (Geórgios), Latin: Georgius, Arabic: القديس جرجس; died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was a Christian who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to tradition he was a soldier ...

in the 1971 Ontario provincial election, and some later biographical sources have stated that he ran as an openly gay candidate at that time as well, but no indication of his sexuality is seen in any media coverage of the 1971 election. The first known coverage of Maloney which makes any reference to his sexuality is of a party policy conference in early 1972, several months after the election was over.) Robert Douglas Cook, a

Gay Alliance Toward Equality The Gay Alliance Toward Equality, or GATE, was one of the first Canadian gay liberation groups.Ed Jackson and Stan Persky, ''Flaunting It! 1964-1982: A Decade of Gay Journalism from The Body Politic''. Pink Triangle Press, 1982. Formed in sp ...

candidate for the electoral district of

West Vancouver-Howe Sound West Vancouver-Howe Sound was a provincial electoral district in the Canadian province of British Columbia from 1966 to 1986. The riding's predecessor was North Vancouver, which first appeared on the hustings from 1903. For other historical and ...

in the 1979 British Columbia provincial election, has been credited with this distinction by some media outlets,EVERITT, J., & CAMP, M. (2014). "In versus Out: LGBT Politicians in Canada". ''

Journal of Canadian Studies The ''Journal of Canadian Studies'' () is a bilingual peer-reviewed academic journal dedicated to the Canadian studies, interdisciplinary study of Canada. It is published three times a year by the University of Toronto Press. Abstracting and inde ...

'', 48(1), 226-251. but was in fact merely the first to run as a candidate of an explicitly gay-identified political organization rather than a traditional political party or for a non-partisan office. * First transgender candidate, regardless of electoral status:

Jamie Lee Hamilton Jamie Lee Hamilton (September 20, 1955 – December 23, 2019) was a Canadian political candidate and advocate of aboriginal people, residents of Vancouver's poverty-stricken Downtown Eastside, and sex trade workers. She was an independent candid ...

ran for Vancouver's Parks Board in 1996.''Peace River Block News'' Dawson Creek, BC; 1995 December 15, page 8. Christin Milloy, an

Ontario Libertarian Party The Ontario Libertarian Party (OLP; french: Parti libertarien de l'Ontario) is a minor libertarian party in the Canadian province of Ontario. Founded in 1975 by Bruce Evoy and Vince Miller, the party was inspired by the 1972 formation of the Unit ...

candidate in the 2011 provincial election in Ontario, was the first transgender candidate in a provincial election. Jennifer McCreath, a

Strength in Democracy Strength in Democracy ( French: ''Forces et Démocratie'', ) was a Canadian federal political party founded in 2014 by two Quebec Members of Parliament (MPs). From October 2014 to October 2015, the party was represented in the House of Commons of ...

candidate in

Avalon Avalon (; la, Insula Avallonis; cy, Ynys Afallon, Ynys Afallach; kw, Enys Avalow; literally meaning "the isle of fruit r appletrees"; also written ''Avallon'' or ''Avilion'' among various other spellings) is a mythical island featured in the ...

in the 2015 federal election, was the first transgender candidate in a federal election.

Trevor Kirczenow Trevor Kirczenow (born 1985) is a transgender health researcher and diabetes healthcare advocate. He is an author and community organizer in the field of LGBTQ lactation and infant feeding. He has run twice as a candidate for the Liberal Party o ...

was

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

candidate in

Provencher Provencher is a federal electoral district in Manitoba, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 1871. It is a largely rural district in the province's southeast corner. Its largest community is the city of St ...

in the 2019 federal election, becoming the first openly transgender candidate nominated by a major party in a federal election. * First openly gay person elected to office:

Raymond Blain Raymond Blain was a Canadian politician who served on the Montreal City Council from 1986 to 1992."Montreal voters chose gay councillor in '86". ''Ottawa Citizen'', March 8, 1988. He has been credited by media as the first openly gay politicia ...

(

Montreal City Council The Montreal City Council (french: Conseil municipal de Montréal) is the governing body in the mayor–council government in the city of Montreal, Quebec. The head of the city government in Montreal is the mayor, who is first among equals in the ...

, 1986) is commonly credited with this distinction, although

Maurice Richard Joseph Henri Maurice "Rocket" Richard (; ; August 4, 1921 – May 27, 2000) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player who played 18 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Montreal Canadiens. He was the first player in NHL hist ...

, who was elected to the

National Assembly of Quebec The National Assembly of Quebec (officially in french: link=no, Assemblée nationale du Québec) is the legislative body of the province of Quebec in Canada. Legislators are called MNAs (Members of the National Assembly; french: link=no, déput ...

in 1985 after coming out as gay sometime during his term as mayor of

Bécancour, Quebec Bécancour () is a city in the Centre-du-Québec region of Quebec, Canada; it is the seat of the Bécancour Regional County Municipality. It is located on the south shore of the Saint Lawrence River at the confluence of the Bécancour River, o ...

from 1976 to 1985, predated him and the story was simply not picked up by national media until later on. Out lesbian Sue Harris won election to the

Vancouver Parks Board The Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation, commonly referred to as the Vancouver Park Board, is the elected board with exclusive possession, jurisdiction and control over public parks in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Established by sectio ...

in 1984. Jim Egan (

Comox-Strathcona Regional District The Regional District of Comox-Strathcona was a regional district of British Columbia, Canada from 1967 to 2008. On February 15, 2008, the regional district was abolished and replaced by two successor regional districts, Comox Valley and Strathco ...

board, 1981) may also have predated all of them, although sources are unclear on whether he ran as an openly gay candidate at the time. * First transgender person elected to office:

Julie Lemieux Julie Lemieux (born December 4, 1962) is a Canadian voice actress. Career Lemieux has provided the voice for characters such as Sammy Tsukino in '' Sailor Moon'', young Darien Shields in '' Sailor Moon R: The Movie'', and Peruru in '' Sailor Moo ...

was elected to the municipal council of

Très-Saint-Rédempteur Très-Saint-Rédempteur is a municipality located in the Montérégie region of Quebec, Canada, along the border with Ontario. The population as of the Canada 2021 Census was 978. The municipality includes the town of Saint-Redempteur, and lies ...

in the 2013 municipal election, and later ran for and won the mayoralty of the village in the subsequent 2017 municipal election. Although reported as a lesbian-identified woman at the time of their election to the

Legislative Assembly of Alberta The Legislative Assembly of Alberta is the deliberative assembly of the province of Alberta, Canada. It sits in the Alberta Legislature Building in Edmonton. The Legislative Assembly currently has 87 members, elected first past the post from singl ...

in 2015,

Estefan Cortes-Vargas Estefan Cortes-Vargas (born Estefania Cortes-Vargas, 1991) is a Colombian-born Canadian politician and non-profit administrator who was elected in the 2015 Alberta general election to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta, representing the elector ...

came out as

non-binary Non-binary and genderqueer are umbrella terms for gender identities that are not solely male or femaleidentities that are outside the gender binary. Non-binary identities fall under the transgender umbrella, since non-binary people typically ...

in an assembly debate later in the year.

Federal

Parliament

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

: **Male:

Svend Robinson Svend Robinson (born March 4, 1952) is a Canadian politician. He was a Member of Parliament (MP) from 1979 to 2004, who represented suburban Vancouver-area constituencies of Burnaby for the New Democratic Party (NDP). He is noted as the first mem ...

– elected 1979 ame out: 1988**Female:

Libby Davies Libby Davies (born February 27, 1953) is a Canadian politician from British Columbia. She was the member of Parliament for Vancouver East from 1997 to 2015, House Leader for the New Democratic Party (NDP) from 2003 to 2011, and Deputy Leader ...

– elected 1997 ame out: 2001**

Two-spirit Two-spirit (also two spirit, 2S or, occasionally, twospirited) is a modern, , umbrella term used by some Indigenous North Americans to describe Native people in their communities who fulfill a traditional third-gender (or other gender-variant) ...

Blake Desjarlais Blake Desjarlais (born December 29, 1993) is a Canadian politician who has represented Edmonton Griesbach in the House of Commons since 2021. A member of the New Democratic Party (NDP), Desjarlais is of Cree and Métis descent, making him Al ...

(

NDP NDP may stand for: Computing * Neighbor Discovery Protocol, an Internet protocol * Nortel Discovery Protocol, a layer two Internet protocol, also called SONMP * Nondeterministic programming, a type of computer language Government * National Deve ...

) – elected 2021 **Already out at first election:

Bill Siksay William Livingstone Siksay (born March 11, 1955) is a Canadian politician. He was the Member of Parliament (MP) who represented the British Columbia riding of Burnaby—Douglas for the New Democratic Party from 2004 to 2011. Early life Siksay ...

– 2004 *

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

: **Male:

Laurier LaPierre Laurier L. LaPierre (November 21, 1929 – December 16, 2012) was a Canadian Senator, professor, broadcaster, journalist and author. He was a member of the Liberal Party of Canada. Fluently bilingual, LaPierre was best known for having bee ...

– 2001 **Female:

Nancy Ruth Nancy Ruth Rowell Jackman (born January 6, 1942) is a Canadian heiress, activist, philanthropist and former Canadian Senator. She was appointed by Prime Minister Paul Martin, on March 24, 2005. While initially appointed as a Progressive Conse ...

– 2005 At least two federal MPs who predated Robinson,

Heward Grafftey William Heward Grafftey, (August 5, 1928 – February 11, 2010) was a Canadian politician and businessman. Early life Born in Montreal, Quebec, to a wealthy family, he was a nephew of artist Prudence Heward of the Beaver Hall Group, and wrot ...

and

Charles Lapointe Charles Lapointe, (born July 17, 1944) is a Canadian businessman and former politician and public servant. Lapointe was first elected to the House of Commons of Canada in the 1974 federal election as a Liberal Member of Parliament for Charle ...

, and one who was first elected alongside him in 1979,

Ian Waddell Ian Gardiner Waddell (November 21, 1942March 15, 2021) was a Canadian politician, author and filmmaker. He served in the House of Commons of Canada from 1979 to 1993, and in the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia from 1996 to 2001. Ea ...

, are known to have come out as gay or bisexual after their retirement from politics.

By provincial delegation

As of 2015, seven of Canada's ten provinces have elected at least one LGBT MP to the House of Commons or had an LGBT senator appointed from their province. * British Columbia **Male:

, MP (

) – elected 1979 ame out: 1988**Female:

, MP (

) – elected 1997 ame out: 2001**Already out at first election:

, MP (

) – 2004 * Nova Scotia **

Scott Brison Scott A. Brison (born May 10, 1967) is a Canadian former politician from Nova Scotia. Brison served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for the riding of Kings-Hants from the 1997 federal election until July 2000, then from November 2000 to Febru ...

, MP ( Progressive Conservative, later

) – elected 1997 ame out: 2002* Ontario ** Mario Silva, MP (

) – 2004 ** Senator

( Progressive Conservative, later

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

) – 2005 * Quebec ** Senator

(

) – 2001 **

Réal Ménard Réal Ménard (born May 13, 1962) is a Canadian politician, who was a Bloc Québécois member of the House of Commons of Canada from 1993 to 2009. He was the second Canadian member of Parliament to come out as gay. Ménard is a political scien ...

, MP (

Bloc Québécois The Bloc Québécois (BQ; , "Québécois people, Quebecer Voting bloc, Bloc") is a list of federal political parties in Canada, federal political party in Canada devoted to Quebec nationalism and the promotion of Quebec sovereignty movement, Que ...

) – elected 1993 ame out: 1994* Saskatchewan **

Sheri Benson Sheri Benson (born 1962 or 1963) is a Canadian politician who represented the riding of Saskatoon West in the House of Commons of Canada from the 2015 election until her defeat in 2019. She is a member of the New Democratic Party (NDP). Prior t ...

, MP (

) – 2015 * Alberta **

Randy Boissonnault Randy Paul Andrew Boissonnault (born July 14, 1970) is a Canadian politician who has served as Minister of Tourism and Associate Minister of Finance since October 26, 2021. A member of the Liberal Party, he represents the riding of Edmonton C ...

, MP (

) – 2015 **

, MP (

) – elected 2021 * Newfoundland and Labrador **

Seamus O'Regan Seamus Thomas Harris O'Regan (born January 18, 1971) is a Canadian politician who served as the Minister of Natural Resources from 2019 to 2021. A member of the Liberal Party, O'Regan has represented St. John's South—Mount Pearl in the Hou ...

, MP (

) – 2015

Cabinet

* Federal

cabinet minister A minister is a politician who heads a ministry, making and implementing decisions on policies in conjunction with the other ministers. In some jurisdictions the head of government is also a minister and is designated the ‘prime minister’, � ...

– 2004

Parties

* Leader of a federal political party:

Chris Lea Chris Lea is a designer, politician and political activist in Canada. He was the leader of the Green Party of Canada from 1990 to 1996. Lea is notable for being the first out of the closet, openly gay political party leader in Canadian history. B ...

(

Green Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 Nanometre, nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by ...

) – 1990 * Deputy leader of a federal political party represented in Parliament:

(

) – 2007

Provincial and territorial

To date, only

New Brunswick New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. It is the only province with both English and ...

has never had a person serve in its provincial legislature who was out as gay during their term in office, although

Richard Hatfield Richard Bennett Hatfield (April 9, 1931 – April 26, 1991) was a New Brunswick politician and the longest serving premier of New Brunswick from 1970 to 1987.Richard Starr, ''Richard Hatfield, The Seventeen Year Saga,'' 1987, Early life T ...

was outed as gay after his death. The provinces of

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

Manitoba Manitoba ( ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population o ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

and

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

and the territory of

Yukon Yukon (; ; formerly called Yukon Territory and also referred to as the Yukon) is the smallest and westernmost of Canada's three territories. It also is the second-least populated province or territory in Canada, with a population of 43,964 as ...

have had more than one LGBT member, and all except Nova Scotia have had both gay men and lesbian women serve in the legislatures; Nova Scotia to date has only elected LGBTQ women, with no out gay men yet serving in the legislature. The other provinces and territories which have had out LGBT legislators have had only one each to date. Alberta, Manitoba and Ontario have had elected MLAs who identified as non-binary. Some figures, including Ian Scott,

Keith Norton Keith Calder Norton (January 26, 1941 – January 31, 2010) was a Canadian politician and public servant. He served as a Progressive Conservative member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1975 to 1985, and was until 2005 the chief c ...

Phil Gillies Philip Andrew Gillies (born May 7, 1954) is a former politician in Ontario, Canada. He served in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1981 to 1987 as a Progressive Conservative, and was a cabinet minister in the government of Frank Miller. ...

and

Dominic Agostino Dominic Agostino (October 14, 1959 – March 24, 2004) was a Canadian politician who represented the riding of Hamilton East for the Liberal Party in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1995 until his death in 2004. Background Born in Sic ...

in Ontario,

Claude Charron Claude Charron (born October 22, 1946 in L'Île-Bizard, Quebec) is a former CEGEP teacher, provincial politician, writer and broadcaster. He became Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and the youngest Member of the National Assembly of Quebec. ...

and

Guy Joron Guy Joron (June 2, 1940 – December 28, 2017) was a politician in Quebec, Canada. Background He was born on June 2, 1940 in Montreal. He had a B.A. in political science from Université de Montréal. Member of the legislature Joron successfull ...

in Quebec and Andrew Thomson in Saskatchewan, predated the firsts listed here but were not out to the general public during their time in politics. To date, most LGBT people who have served in provincial or territorial legislatures have represented

urban Urban means "related to a city". In that sense, the term may refer to: * Urban area, geographical area distinct from rural areas * Urban culture, the culture of towns and cities Urban may also refer to: General * Urban (name), a list of people ...

districts in larger cities, while very few have ever served in a purely

rural In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Typical rural areas have a low population density and small settlements. Agricultural areas and areas with forestry typically are describ ...

district. * Lieutenant Governor **

Brenda Murphy Brenda Murphy (born 1958 or 1959) is a Canadian activist and politician, who is the 32nd lieutenant governor of New Brunswick, since September 8, 2019.Alexander Quon"Brenda Murphy officially sworn in as lieutenant-governor of New Brunswick" Glo ...

(

) – 2019 * Provincial Premier **Female:

Kathleen Wynne Kathleen O'Day Wynne ( ; born May 21, 1953) is a Canadian former politician who served as the 25th premier of Ontario and leader of the Ontario Liberal Party from 2013 to 2018. She was elected to the Legislative Assembly in 2003 and sat as the ...

(

) – 2013 (First female premier of Ontario, first openly LGBT premier in Canada) **Male:

Wade MacLauchlan H. Wade MacLauchlan CM OPEI (born 10 December 1954), is a Canadian legal academic, university administrator, politician and community leader. He served as the fifth president of the University of Prince Edward Island from 1999 to 2011, becomin ...

(

Prince Edward Island Prince Edward Island (PEI; ) is one of the thirteen Provinces and territories of Canada, provinces and territories of Canada. It is the smallest province in terms of land area and population, but the most densely populated. The island has seve ...

) – 2015 **One provincial premier, Richard Hatfield in New Brunswick, predated Wynne but was not out as gay during his political career, instead being outed only after his death. * Provincial Deputy Premier **Male:

George Smitherman George Smitherman (born February 12, 1964) is a former Canadian politician and broadcaster. He represented the provincial riding of Toronto Centre in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1999 to 2010, when he resigned to contest the mayora ...

(

) (

) – 2006 * Provincial cabinet minister: **

–

Tim Stevenson Tim Stevenson (born 1945) is a Canadian politician and United Church minister. He served as councillor on the Vancouver City Council, 2002 to 2018 as a member of Vision Vancouver. He was a founding member of Vision Vancouver. Background Ste ...

– 2000 **

–

André Boisclair André Boisclair (; born April 14, 1966) is a former Canadian politician and convicted sex offender in Quebec, Canada. He was the leader of the Parti Québécois, a social democratic and sovereigntist party in Quebec. Between January 1996 and M ...

– 2002 **

–

– 2003 **

–

Jim Rondeau Jim Rondeau (born April 6, 1959) is a former politician in Manitoba, Canada. He served as a member of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba from 1999 to 2016, and served as cabinet minister in the provincial governments of Gary Doer and Greg Sel ...

– 2004 **

–

Joanne Bernard Joanne Lynn Bernard (born October 4, 1963) is a Canadian politician, who was elected to the Nova Scotia House of Assembly in the 2013 provincial election. As a member of the Nova Scotia Liberal Party, she represented the electoral district of D ...

– 2013 **

– Ricardo Miranda – 2016 * Leader of a provincial party:

Allison Brewer Allison Brewer (born July 15, 1954) is a Canadian social activist and politician, and the former leader of the New Brunswick New Democratic Party. She has been particularly active in areas of lesbian and gay rights and access to abortion. She is o ...

(

New Brunswick New Democratic Party The New Brunswick New Democratic Party (french: link=no, Nouveau Parti démocratique du Nouveau-Brunswick) is a social-democratic provincial political party in New Brunswick, Canada linked with the federal New Democratic Party (NDP). History Or ...

) – 2005 * Leader of a provincial party with seats in a legislature:

(

Parti Québécois The Parti Québécois (; ; PQ) is a sovereignist and social democratic provincial political party in Quebec, Canada. The PQ advocates national sovereignty for Quebec involving independence of the province of Quebec from Canada and establishin ...

) – 2005 * Provincial and territorial legislators: **

***Male:

Mike Farnworth Michael C. Farnworth (born July 23, 1959) is a Canadian politician who has served as the 15th and current deputy premier of British Columbia since 2021, and the minister of public safety and solicitor general since 2017. A member of the British C ...

, 1991 (came out during leadership run in 2010);

Ted Nebbeling Ted Nebbeling (1944 – October 28, 2009) was a British Columbia Legislative Assembly Member and Minister of State for the Community Charter from 2001 to 2004. Marriage He married Jan Holmberg, his partner of 32 years, on November 15, 2003, i ...

and

, 1996 (both out when elected) ***Female:

Jenn McGinn Jenn McGinn (born in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island) is a Canadian politician, who was elected to the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, representing the electoral district of Vancouver-Fairview, in a by-election on October 29, 2008. ...

, 2008 **

***Male: Michael Connolly and Ricardo Miranda, 2015 ***

Genderqueer Non-binary and genderqueer are umbrella terms for gender identities that are not solely male or femaleidentities that are outside the gender binary. Non-binary identities fall under the transgender umbrella, since non-binary people typically ...

, 2015 Cortes-Vargas publicly identified as a lesbian woman at the time of their election to the legislature,"NDP candidate supports education"
. ''Sherwood Park News'', April 30, 2015. and came out as non-binary during a debate in the legislature later in the year. ***Female:

Janis Irwin Janis Irwin (born September 9, 1984) is a Canadian politician who was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta in the 2019 Alberta general election. She represents the electoral district of Edmonton-Highlands-Norwood as a member of the Albe ...

, 2019 **

***Male:

, 1999 ***Female: Jennifer Howard, 2007 ***Genderqueer:

Uzoma Asagwara Uzoma Asagwara is a Canadian politician and retired basketball player. Since 2019, they have represented the Union Station electoral district in the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba.Bryce Hoye"Meet the rookies: Manitobans elect 13 first-time ...

, 2019 **

***Male:

, 1999 ***Male:

Terence Kernaghan Terence Devin Kernaghan is a Canadian politician, who was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario in the 2018 provincial election.Kathleen Wynne Kathleen O'Day Wynne ( ; born May 21, 1953) is a Canadian former politician who served as the 25th premier of Ontario and leader of the Ontario Liberal Party from 2013 to 2018. She was elected to the Legislative Assembly in 2003 and sat as the ...

, 2003 ***Non-binary:

Kristyn Wong-Tam Kristyn Wong-Tam (born ) is a Canadian politician who has represented Toronto Centre in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario since 2022 as a member of the Ontario New Democratic Party (NDP). They served on Toronto City Council from 2010 to 2022 ...

, 2022 ***Bisexual:

Suze Morrison Suze Morrison is a Canadian former politician, who was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario in the 2018 provincial election. She represented the riding of Toronto Centre as a member of the Ontario New Democratic Party, and was the Ont ...

, elected 2018, came out 2021 **

***Male:

and André Boulerice, 1985 ***Female:

Agnès Maltais Agnès Maltais (born November 7, 1956) is a Canadian politician from Quebec. She was a Member of the National Assembly of Quebec for the riding of Taschereau in the Quebec City region. She represented the Parti Québécois. Maltais mostly work ...

, 2003 (came out) **

Newfoundland and Labrador Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...

Gerry Rogers Gerry Rogers (born 1956) is a Canadian documentary filmmaker and politician. She was leader of the Newfoundland and Labrador New Democratic Party from 2018 until 2019. She served in the Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly as NDP MHA for ...

, 2011 **

***Female:

, 2013 ***Genderqueer:

Lisa Lachance Lisa Lachance is a Canadian politician, who was elected to the Nova Scotia House of Assembly in the 2021 Nova Scotia general election. She represents the riding of Halifax Citadel-Sable Island as a member of the Nova Scotia New Democratic Party ...

, 2021 **

, 2015 **

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada, western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on t ...

***

Nathaniel Teed Nathaniel Teed is a Canadian politician, who was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan in a by-election on September 26, 2022. He represents the district of Saskatoon Meewasin as a member of the Saskatchewan New Democratic Party c ...

, 2022 **

***Male:

Dale Eftoda Dale Eftoda is a Canadian politician, who represented the electoral district of Riverdale North in the Yukon Legislative Assembly from 2000 to 2002. He was a member of the Yukon Liberal Party caucus. Eftoda became the first openly gay member of ...

, 2001 ***Female: Emily Tredger, 2021 **

Northwest Territories The Northwest Territories (abbreviated ''NT'' or ''NWT''; french: Territoires du Nord-Ouest, formerly ''North-Western Territory'' and ''North-West Territories'' and namely shortened as ''Northwest Territory'') is a federal territory of Canada. ...

Julie Green Julie Green is a Canadian politician, who was elected to the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories in the 2015 election. She represents the electoral district of Yellowknife Centre. Green was re-elected in 2019. She was acclaimed to ...

, 2015 **

Nunavut Nunavut ( , ; iu, ᓄᓇᕗᑦ , ; ) is the largest and northernmost Provinces and territories of Canada#Territories, territory of Canada. It was separated officially from the Northwest Territories on April 1, 1999, via the ''Nunavut Act'' ...

: Janet Brewster, elected 2021, came out 2022

Municipal

Overall firsts

Mayors

* Mayor of any municipality:

served as mayor of Bécancour,

from 1975 to 1985. Contemporary biographical sources indicate that he came out as gay sometime during his mayoralty, but are not clear about when; it is known, however, that he was out as gay by the time of his campaign for election to the

in 1985. After serving in the provincial legislature from 1985 to 1994 as its first openly LGBT member, he was reelected to another stint as mayor of Bécancour in 1995. * Mayor of a major city: Glen Murray (

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...

) – 1998 (credited as first openly gay major of a major city in North America) * Transgender mayor:

was elected mayor of

in the 2017 municipal election. One mayor,

Charlotte Whitton Charlotte Elizabeth Whitton (March 8, 1896 – January 25, 1975) was a Canadian feminist and mayor of Ottawa. She was the first woman mayor of a major city in Canada, serving from 1951 to 1956 and again from 1960 to 1964. Whitton was a Cana ...

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

(1951–56, 1961–64), has been the subject of unresolved debate about her sexual orientation. Whitton spent much of her adult life in a

Boston marriage A "Boston marriage" was, historically, the cohabitation of two wealthy women, independent of financial support from a man. The term is said to have been in use in New England in the late 19th/early 20th century. Some of these relationships were r ...

-style living arrangement with another woman, Margaret Grier; in 1999, 24 years after Whitton's death, the

National Archives of Canada Library and Archives Canada (LAC; french: Bibliothèque et Archives Canada) is the federal institution, tasked with acquiring, preserving, and providing accessibility to the documentary heritage of Canada. The national archive and library is th ...

publicly released many intimate personal letters between Whitton and Grier. The release of these papers sparked much debate in the Canadian media about whether Whitton and Grier's relationship could be characterized as lesbian, or merely as an emotionally intimate friendship between two unmarried women. Whitton never publicly identified herself as lesbian during her lifetime, and thus could not be considered Canada's first out LGBT mayor regardless of the status of her relationship with Grier.

City councillors

* First city councillor: At the last

caretaker Caretaker may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''The Caretaker'' (film), a 1963 adaptation of the play ''The Caretaker'' * '' The Caretakers'', a 1963 American film set in a mental hospital * Caretaker, a character in the 1974 film '' ...

meeting of

Tecumseh Tecumseh ( ; October 5, 1813) was a Shawnee chief and warrior who promoted resistance to the expansion of the United States onto Native American lands. A persuasive orator, Tecumseh traveled widely, forming a Native American confederacy and ...

's municipal council following the 1980 municipal elections, outgoing councillor and unsuccessful mayoral candidate Cameron Frye acknowledged that he was gay."Reeve gauche: A sad come-out". ''

The Body Politic ''The Body Politic'' was a Canadian monthly magazine, which was published from 1971 to 1987.

'', February 1981. The campaign had been marked by rumours about Frye's sexuality, including the distribution of hate literature claiming that Frye would promote a "gay lifestyle" as mayor and would lead the town into "moral decay","Victim of hate mail loses in bid for mayor". ''

The Body Politic ''The Body Politic'' was a Canadian monthly magazine, which was published from 1971 to 1987.

'', December 1980. although Frye refused to confirm or deny the claims about his sexuality during the campaign."Hate mail clouds campaign in town that promotes love". ''

Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part ...

'', November 2, 1980. Frye was first elected to the municipal council in 1972. * First city councillor already out at first election:

(Montreal), 1986 School Board Trustee * First trans school board trustee: Lyra Evans was elected in October 2018.

By province

Alberta

* City councillor in Edmonton: **Male: Michael Phair – 1992 **Female:

Sherry McKibben Sherry McKibben (M.Phil, MSW, RSW) (1944–2014) was an Edmonton alderman (city councillor) who was elected in the 1994 by-election to replace Ward 4 alderman Judy Bethel, who was elected to the House of Commons and resigned her seat on council ...

– 1994 * City councillor in Red Deer: Paul Harris – 2010 * City councillor in Calgary:

Jeromy Farkas Jeromy Farkas is a Canadian fundraiser, filmmaker, athlete, columnist, and former politician. He was elected to Calgary City Council in the 2017 municipal election to represent Ward 11 for a four-year term. Farkas is the first and only Calgar ...

– 2017

British Columbia

* City Councillor in Trail: Paul Butler – 2018 to present * Town Councillor in Golden: Joy Guyot – 2022 to present * City councillor in Vancouver: **Male: Gordon Price – 1986 **Female:

Ellen Woodsworth Ellen Woodsworth is an international speaker and activist based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. She is the founder and matriarch of Women Transforming Cities International Society and the Co-Chair of WILPF, Canada. Woodsworth was a Van ...

– 2002 * City councillor in Esquimalt:

Randall Garrison Randall C. Garrison (born August 27, 1951) is a Canadian politician. Elected to the House of Commons in the 2011 federal election, he represents the electoral district of Esquimalt—Saanich—Sooke and is a member of the New Democratic Party ...

– 2008 * City councillor in Cumberland: Conner Copeman – 2011 * City councillor in Victoria:

Marianne Alto This is a list of mayors of Victoria, the capital city of the Canadian province of British Columbia. The mayor leads Victoria City Council, the city's governing body, and is elected to a four-year term. The current mayor is Marianne Alto, who was ...

– 2010 * Mayor of Victoria:

Lisa Helps Lisa Helps (born April 6, 1976) is a Canadian politician and former mayor of Victoria, British Columbia, with her inauguration taking place on December 4, 2014. She narrowly defeated incumbent mayor Dean Fortin in the 2014 municipal election.

– 2014 *Mayor of Whistler:

– 1990 to 1996

Manitoba

* City councillor in Winnipeg: Glen Murray – 1989

New Brunswick

* Mayor of Caraquet: Kevin Haché – 2012 * Municipal Councillor in

Quispamsis Quispamsis (, sometimes shortened to ) is a Kings County suburb of Saint John, New Brunswick, located to the northeast in the lower Kennebecasis River valley. Its population was 18,768 as of the 2021 census. History The original inhabita ...

: Noah Donovan — 2021.

Newfoundland and Labrador

* Deputy mayor in Harbour Grace, Newfoundland and Labrador: Sonia Williams – 2013 * Municipal councillor in Wabana, Bell Island: Donovan Taplin – 2013. * Transgender municipal councillor: Charlotte Gauthier, Gillams – 2020

Nova Scotia

* City councillor in Halifax: Krista Snow – 2003 * Municipal Councillor in Region of Queens: Brian Fralic – 2012 * Mayor of Cape Breton Regional Municipality:

Cecil Clarke Cecil Phillip Clarke (born April 12, 1968) is a politician in Nova Scotia, Canada. He was the mayor of the Cape Breton Regional Municipality from 2012 to 2020, and represented the riding of Cape Breton North in the Nova Scotia House of Assembly ...

– elected 2012 ame out: 2018

Ontario

* Brant: David Bailey – mayor, elected 2018 * Barrie: Keenan Aylwin – city councillor, elected 2018 * Fort Frances: Douglas Judson – town councillor, elected 2018 * Cochrane: Devon Prevost – town councillor, elected 2014 * Goderich: Kevin Morrison – mayor, elected 2014 * Hamilton: Aidan Johnson – city councillor, elected 2014 * North Dundas:

Eric Duncan Eric Anthony Duncan (born December 7, 1984) is an American former professional baseball second baseman and quality control coach for the Miami Marlins of Major League Baseball (MLB). Considered an excellent high school baseball player, Duncan ...

– mayor; elected 2010, came out 2017 * Ottawa: **Male:

Alex Munter Alexander Mathias Munter (born April 29, 1968) is the President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO), and a former elected official and business owner in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Advocacy Thro ...

( Kanata) and

Stéphane Émard-Chabot Stéphane Émard-Chabot is a former Ottawa city councillor who has served as assistant dean of the University of Ottawa law school since 2001. A native of Sandy Hill, he has a B.Comm and law degree from Ottawa and a degree from École Supérieure ...

– city councillors, elected 1994 **Non-Binary:

Catherine McKenney Catherine McKenney (born June 3, 1961) is a Canadian politician who served on Ottawa City Council from 2014 to 2022, representing Somerset Ward. McKenny did not seek re-election as councillor in the 2022 Ottawa election, instead running for may ...

– city councillor, elected 2014 **Mayor: Jim Watson – elected 2010, came out 2019 * Tillsonburg: Mark Renaud – city councillor, elected 2003 * Toronto: **Male:

Kyle Rae Kyle Rae (born January 23, 1954) is a Canadian consultant and former politician. Rae was a member of Toronto City Council from 1991 to 2010, representing Ward 6 in the old city from 1991 to 1997 and Ward 27 Toronto Centre-Rosedale following the ...

– city councillor, elected 1991 **Female:

– city councillor, elected 2010

Quebec

* City councillor in Montreal: **Male:

– 1986

Saskatchewan

* City councillor in Prince Albert: ** Male: Evert Botha – 2016 * City councillor in Saskatoon: ** Male: Darren Hill – 2006 ** Female: Lenore Swystun – 2000 * Mayor of La Ronge: Colin Ratushniak – 2020 * Town Councillor in Biggar: Dakota Ekman – 2020

References

{{LGBT in Canada

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

LGBT history in Canada Lists of Canadian politicians

First overall

Federal

Parliament

By provincial delegation

Cabinet

Parties

Provincial and territorial

Municipal

Overall firsts

Mayors

City councillors

By province

Alberta

British Columbia

Manitoba

New Brunswick

Newfoundland and Labrador

Nova Scotia

Ontario

Quebec

Saskatchewan

See also

References