The Green Party of Canada is the only major federal political party with an openly queer (co-) leader. The Green Party was also the first (and only) party to have a non-binary person - Avi Kuttner as (interim) leader of the party.
As part of their published plans, the Green Party has pledged to “Stop the Hate”, fund community programs that address discrimination, protect LGBTQ2+ rights and access to gender-affirming healthcare.
In past statements, the previous Green Party Leader Avi Kuttner called for a strategy to end conversion practices following the passage of Canada’s conversion therapy ban, stable funding for trans and 2SLGBTQIA+ organizations, better healthcare access, stronger citizenship and immigrant policies for queer and trans people, and a strategy to combat anti-trans hate.
The Green Party of Canada platform includes the following commitments:
- Establish safe and timely pathways to asylum for 2SLGBTQIA+ individuals fleeing gender-based or state-sponsored persecution.
- Fully implement the 23 recommendations from the LGBT Purge Fund’s Emerging from the Purge report, ensuring justice and reparations for 2SLGBTQIA+ Canadians affected by state discrimination.
- Improve access to justice by ending discriminatory policing practices and expanding trauma-informed, culturally safe legal supports for 2SLGBTQIA+ people, with a focus on survivors of state violence and hate crimes.
- Strengthen federal employment equity programs to explicitly include gender identity and gender expression, and require federally funded employers to uphold non-discrimination standards for 2SLGBTQIA+ workers.
- Strengthen enforcement of the federal ban on conversion therapy to ensure survivors have access to justice and support services.
- Strengthen the federal census to accurately capture data on trans and non-binary Canadians, ensuring better policy decisions based on real demographic data.