The following is a non-exhaustive list of LGBTQ politicians in Canada who have been identified or acknowledged on public record. The list is grouped by members of the two houses of the federal parliament, provincial legislatures, mayors, municipal councillors, and others.
Federal politicians House of Commons Canada got its first openly gay MP in February 1988 when Svend Robinson, an NDP MP first elected in 1979 representing the riding of Burnaby, came out publicly. Despite facing much abuse after the announcement, he went on to become one of the longest-serving MPs with 25 years in parliament. In the following 16 years until Robinson stepped down in 2004, three other sitting MPs came out while in office - Réal Ménard of the Bloc, Robinson's close ally and fellow BC NDP MP Libby Davies, and Nova Scotia Progressive Conservative MP Scott Brison who crossed the floor to the Liberals a year after coming out and went on to become the first openly LGBTQ cabinet minister, serving in the cabinet of both Paul Martin and Justin Trudeau. The 2004 general election returned the first two MPs who were openly gay when first elected: Robinson's aide and successor Bill Siksay and Ontario Liberal MP Mario Silva, and brought the number of openly LGBTQ sitting MPs to five. The 2021 general election returned nine openly LGBTQ MPs, the high watermark for LGBT representation in parliament and with representation from the three main national parties (four Liberals, three NDPs, and two Conservatives). Three of those MPs served in cabinet concurrently between 2021 and 2024, the highest number of LGBTQ cabinet members to date.
Number of openly LGBTQ MPs in each Parliament
Parliament Openly LGBT MPs Ministry / Openly LGBTcabinet members Duration Seats Lib Con/P.C. NDP BQ Total 33rd (1984 - 1988) 282 1Robinson 1 24th(Mulroney) 0 34th (1988 - 1993) 295 1 25th(Campbell)0 35th (1993 - 1997) 295 1Ménard 2 26th(Chrétien) 0 36th (1997 - 2000) 301 2RobinsonDavies 3 37th (2000 - 2004) 301 4 1Brison 27th(Martin) 0 38th (2004 - 2006) 308 2Brison, Silva 2DaviesSiksay 5 1 Brison 39th (2006 - 2008) 308 5 28th(Harper) 0 40th (2008 - 2011) 308 3Brison, SilvaOliphant 1 ➘ 0 Ménard 6 ➘ 5 41st (2011 - 2015) 308 1Brison 4 ➚ 5Davies, GarrisonMorin, Toone, Scott 5 ➚ 6 42nd (2015 - 2019) 338 4 ➘ 3Brison, OliphantBoissonnaultO'Regan 2 Garrison, Benson 6 ➘ 5 29th(J.Trudeau) 2 ➘ 1BrisonO'Regan 43rd (2019 - 2021) 338 2Oliphant, O'Regan 1Duncan 1 Garrison 4 1O'Regan 44th (2021 - 2025) 338 4Oliphant, O'ReganBoissonnaultSt-Onge 2DuncanLastman 3 Garrison, BarronDesjarlais 9 3O'Regan BoissonnaultSt-Onge 45th (Elected 2025) 343 3OliphantKlassen Chang 4 30th(Carney) 0
LEGEND : indicates the person was not openly LGBT while in office (entire row) or when first elected (first elected cell). Term of Office: Year without specific date indicates at general election held that year Party affiliation:
Incumbent MPs
Member Province (electoral district) First elected Notes Hon. (b. 1956) Ontario(Don Valley West) 2008 (out of office 2011-15) Privy Counsellor (since 2021), Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs (since 2019). The most senior out legislator (by first election) currently in office (as of October 2024) (b. 1987) Ontario(Stormont—Dundas—Glengarry) 2019 (b. 1984) Ontario(Thornhill) 2021 Deputy Leader of the Official Opposition (since September 2022)(b. 1985/86)British Columbia(Burnaby Central)2025 British Columbia(South Surrey—White Rock) 2025 Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Fisheries (since June 2025)
Former MPs
Member Province (electoral district) Term Notes Start End Hon. (1928–2010) Quebec(Brome—Missisquoi) 1958 1968 (defeated) Came out publicly after retirement from parliament.Cabinet minister in the Clark ministry 1972 1980 (defeated) Hon. (b. 1944) Quebec(Charlevoix) 1974 1984 (defeated) Came out after retirement from parliamentCabinet minister in both of P.E. Trudeau ministries (20th & 22nd) (b. 1952) British Columbia(Burnaby—Douglas) 1979 2004(stood down) Became the first openly LGBT sitting MP when came out publicly while in office in 1988 (1942–2021) British Columbia(Vancouver Kingsway 1979–1988, Port Moody—Coquitlam—Port Coquitlam 1988–93) 1979 1993 (defeated) Later BC MLA (1996–2001) and minister (1998–2001).Came out as bisexual during his 2004 bid to return to parliament. Réal Ménard (b. 1962) Quebec(Hochelaga) 1993 2009-09-16 (resigned) First LGBT MP from Quebec. Hon. (b. 1967) Nova Scotia(Kings—Hants) 1997 2000-07-24 (resigned) Came out publicly while in office in 2002First openly LGBTQ member of cabinet, minister in the Martin and J. Trudeau ministriesFirst openly LGBT MP from Nova ScotiaFirst openly LGBT candidate for the leadership of the Progressive Conservative (2003) and the Liberal (2006) partiesCrossed the floor from Progressive Conservative to the Liberal in 2003. 2000 2019-02-10 (resigned) (b. 1953) British Columbia(Vancouver East) 1997 2015(stood down) Became the first openly LGBT woman in parliament when she publicly revealed in 2001 that she was in a same-sex relationship. (b. 1955) British Columbia(Burnaby—Douglas) 2004 2011(stood down) First LGBT MP who was openly LGBT when first elected (along with Mario Silva) (b. 1966) Ontario(Davenport) 2004 2011 (defeated) First LGBT MP who was openly LGBT when first elected (along with Bill Siksay)First LGBT MP from Ontario (1952–2014) Quebec(Repentigny) 2006-11-27 2008 (stood down) As a Catholic priest received bishop's dispensation to seek election, but was later ordered by the Vatican to stand down. Did not came out publicly during his lifetime, acknowledged his homosexuality to biographer. (b. 1950) British Columbia(Esquimalt—Saanich—Sooke) 2011 2025 (stood down) (b. 1985) Quebec(Chicoutimi—Le Fjord) 2011 2015 (defeated) (b. 1965) Quebec(Gaspésie—Îles-de-la-Madeleine) 2011 2015 (defeated) (b. 1962) Ontario(Toronto Danforth) 2012-03-19 2015 (defeated) (b. 1963) Saskatchewan(Saskatoon West) 2015 2019 (defeated) First LGBT MP from Saskatchewan Deputy leader of the NDP (2019) Hon. (b. 1970) Alberta(Edmonton Centre) 2015 2019 (defeated) First LGBT MP from AlbertaCabinet minister in the J. Trudeau ministry (2021–24) 2021 2025 (stood down) Hon. (b. 1971) Newfoundland and Labrador(St. John's South—Mount Pearl) 2015 2025 (stood down) First LGBT MP from Newfoundland and LabradorCabinet minister in the J. Trudeau ministry (2017–24) British Columbia(Nanaimo—Ladysmith) 2021 2025 (defeated) (b. 1993) Alberta(Edmonton Griesbach) 2021 2025 (defeated) First MP to be identified as two-spirit Hon. (b. 1977) Quebec(Brome—Missisquoi) 2021 2025 (stood down) First lesbian cabinet minister, minister in the J. Trudeau ministry (2021–24)
Senate Party affiliation or grouping:
Incumbent Senators
Senator Province (division)TermNotes Appointedon advice of Mandatory Retirement Hon. (b. 1956) New Brunswick 2016-11-10(J. Trudeau) 2031-04-27 Hon. (b. 1959) Ontario 2016-11-10}(J. Trudeau) 2034-11-10 Hon. (b. 1968) Ontario 2023-12-20(J. Trudeau) 2043-01-28 Hon. (b. 1971) Alberta 2024-08-31(J. Trudeau) 2046-10-07 Hon. (b. 1965) Quebec (Victoria) 2025-02-27(J. Trudeau) 2040-10-07 Hon. (b. 1967) British Columbia 2025-02-28(J. Trudeau) 2042-09-26
Former senators
Senator Province (division)TermNotes Appointedon advice of End Hon. Laurier LaPierre (1929–2012) Ontario 2001-06-13Chrétien 2004-11-21 First openly LGBT person to be appointed senator Hon. Nancy Ruth (b. 1942) Ontario (Cluny) 2005-03-24(Martin) 2017-01-06 First out lesbian to be appointed to senator.Initially affiliated with the Progressive Conservative (2005–08), joined the Conservative caucus in March 2008.
List of openly LGBTQ party leaders
Leader Leadership In OfficeNotes Start End (b. 1990) not elected to the House of Commons Interim Leader of the November 2021 November 2022 First transgender person to lead a federal party in Canada. (b. 1990) not elected to the House of Commons Co-leader of the February 2025 April 2025 Led party in the 2025 federal election with Elizabeth May.
Provincial/territorial politicians Peter Maloney was Canada's first known openly gay candidate for political office."Elegy to Club Toronto". Daily Xtra, April 21, 2010. The first locatable media reference to Maloney publicly identifying as gay is of a national Liberal Party policy conference in early 1972, several months after the election was over."Maloney tells Liberals of his homosexuality". The Globe and Mail, February 14, 1972. Later the same year, he unequivocally earned the distinction regardless, when he ran as an out gay candidate for the Toronto Board of Education in the 1972 municipal election."Homosexual plans to run for seat on school board". Toronto Star, July 25, 1972."Pete's Defeat". The Body Politic, Vol. 7 (Winter 1973), p. 20. Robert Douglas Cook, a Gay Alliance Toward Equality candidate for the electoral district of West Vancouver-Howe Sound in the 1979 British Columbia provincial election, has also been credited as Canada's first openly LGBTQ political candidate by some media outlets,EVERITT, J., & CAMP, M. (2014). "In versus Out: LGBT Politicians in Canada". Journal of Canadian Studies, 48(1), 226-251. but was in fact merely the first to run as a candidate of an explicitly gay-identified advocacy organization rather than a traditional political party or for a non-partisan office. Other confirmed LGBTQ candidates who preceded Cook included Ian Maclennan running for a seat on the Ottawa Board of Education in 1976;"Gay person running for Board of Education". The Body Politic, Vol. 29 (December 1976/January 1977), p. 5. Therese Faubert running as a League for Socialist Action candidate in Brampton"Gays gain despite Tory triumph". The Body Politic, Vol. 35 (July/August 1977). p. 10. and Frank Lowery running as an Ontario New Democratic Party candidate in Scarborough North in the 1977 Ontario provincial election; Dean Haynes running for Toronto City Council in 1978, although he withdrew from the race before election day;Robin Hardy, "Gay Candidate Drops Campaign, But Sees Role for Gay Alderperson". The Body Politic, Issue 46, p. 6. and Jim Monk running for the Windsor Board of Education in 1978."Gay candidate loses in school board race". The Body Politic, Vol. 49 (December 1978/January 1979), p. 12. George Hislop was a candidate for Toronto City Council in 1980, and later ran as an independent candidate for St. George in the 1981 Ontario general election.
The first documented LGBT provincial politician actually predated confederation. George Herchmer Markland, a protegee of Bishop John Strachan, was first appointed to the Legislative Council of Upper Canada in 1820, and to the Executive Council in 1822 when he was only 32. A leading figure of the Family Compact by the late 1830s, he resigned from all public offices in 1838 in exchange for having the investigation into his potential liaisons with several young men dropped.. Richard Hatfield of the Progressive Conservative Party of New Brunswick never acknowledged his sexuality to the public during his lifetime and it was not until three years after his death that his sexuality was formally confirmed in the press by cabinet colleagues and journalists.