The National Day Against Homophobia is a Canadian event created in 2003 by Fondation Émergence, a Quebec-based LGBTQ advocacy organisation. June 1, 2005, marked the event's third anniversary, which was celebrated with a posthumous award to the late

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

Pierre Trudeau Joseph Philippe Pierre Yves Elliott Trudeau (October 18, 1919 – September 28, 2000) was a Canadian politician, statesman, and lawyer who served as the 15th prime minister of Canada from 1968 to 1979 and from 1980 to 1984. Between his no ...

, who as

Minister of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice, is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

introduced legislation which repealed anti-gay clauses from the

Criminal Code A criminal code or penal code is a document that compiles all, or a significant amount of, a particular jurisdiction's criminal law. Typically a criminal code will contain offences that are recognised in the jurisdiction, penalties that might ...

. Trudeau is also famous for saying that "The state has no business in the bedrooms of the nation" (a sentence taken from an editorial in ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Newspapers in Canada, Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in Western Canada, western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of more than 6 million in 2024, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on week ...

''). In 2006, Fondation Émergence changed the day of observance to May 17, to align with the

International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia The International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia (IDAHOBIT) is list of minor secular observances#May, observed on 17 May and aims to coordinate international events that raising awareness, raise awareness of LGBTQ rights violati ...

(IDAHOBIT).

References

External links

Fondation Émergence
Anti-homophobia May observances LGBTQ events in Canada LGBTQ-related observances {{Canada-org-stub