Trans activists tour Canada, building grassroots power against rising hate

At a time when the 2SLGBTQIA+ community faces heightened attacks — including legislative threats in provinces like Alberta — two Canadian Trans activists are taking their message on the road to decrease stigma through education and dialogue.

Fae Johnstone and Victoria Bucholtz (known as Karla Marx on social media) founded Queer Momentum in 2024 as an advocacy organization aimed at rebuilding the 2SLGBTQ+ rights movement. Both are already well-known in their own right for defending Queer Canadian rights through protests, campaigns, and educational initiatives. Now they're launching the Trans Canada Tour, a campaign spanning more than 60 events across the country, including town halls and public Q&A sessions designed to create direct dialogue between Trans people and the broader public.

"We have so many incredible activists on the local level, but at this moment we need to come together, because there are conservative politicians and far-right groups that want to divide us and strip our rights away," Johnstone told Queer & Now. "We need to unite, we need to build our power and bring that power to protect those rights."

The tour comes amid growing concerns about anti-Trans rhetoric and legislation across Canada. Recent policy changes in Alberta have intensified scrutiny of Trans rights, and organizers say the rising political climate has created an urgency to mobilize grassroots support and remind young 2SLGBTQIA+ people that their community has overcome backlash before.

Johnstone emphasized the organizational mission: to unite fractured local activism into a coherent national movement. "The goal is to reduce stigma by creating opportunities for open dialogue between Trans people and the broader public," she explained. By bringing activists directly into communities — rather than relying solely on social media or centralized campaigns — Queer Momentum hopes to shift public understanding from the ground up.

The tour also serves a psychological function for younger community members who may feel isolated or defeated. By showcasing organized resistance and solidarity, Johnstone and Bucholtz are signaling that despite legislative setbacks and viral anti-Trans messaging, the 2SLGBTQ+ movement remains active and capable of collective action.

The strategy mirrors historical activism approaches: personal storytelling and community presence as tools for consciousness-raising. In a political moment when Trans people are increasingly portrayed as abstract policy problems rather than neighbors and friends, direct dialogue becomes a form of resistance — humanizing people at the center of national debate by simply showing up and speaking truth.