Global activists urge Canada to double LGBTQ+ foreign aid

Global activists for gender and sexual minorities are urging Canada to double its foreign aid spending on LGBTQ+ people and organizations abroad, even as repressive new laws target those communities worldwide.

At a conference Thursday held by Dignity Network Canada—a coalition of Canadian groups advocating for LGBTQ+ rights internationally—activists spoke bleakly about American cuts to foreign aid and attacks on equity programming, just as restrictive legislation spreads. Two weeks ago, Ghana's parliament passed a bill calling for prison terms of up to 10 years for people promoting LGBTQ+ activities. In March, Senegal ratified a law that doubles penalties for same-sex acts and prescribes jail terms for financially supporting LGBTQ+ organizations.

Julia Ehrt, head of the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association, told the conference that Ottawa should consider doubling its contributions to LGBTQ+ organizations abroad, which currently stand at roughly $15 million a year. "But that doubling would go a long, long way within our movement," Ehrt said. "It would actually change the game, in particular if you found other governments to follow suit."

Stephen Brown, a University of Ottawa professor specializing in foreign aid and LGBTQ+ issues, said doubling that aid would bring it to roughly 0.33 per cent of Canada's total aid spending—still a fraction of overall contributions. He noted the funding would help address a global retreat on advocacy for sexual and gender minorities driven partly by policies of U.S. President Donald Trump.

MP Rob Oliphant, parliamentary secretary to Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand, urged advocates not to lose hope. "We're not going away as Canadians on the world stage," he said. "We will continue to be allies, friends with communities around the world that need support, that need friendship, that need money, that need encouragement." Oliphant recalled losing half his friends during the AIDS pandemic, noting that later years brought marriage equality and widespread acceptance—though transgender people still face discrimination.

Activists at the conference expressed confusion over where Prime Minister Mark Carney stands, after he said in November that Canada no longer has a feminist foreign policy. Canadian diplomatic missions still advocate for LGBTQ+ rights when local communities request it, through events and public statements, but advocates say Canada appears to be pulling back from that work.