Canada likes to think of itself as one of the safest places on earth to be queer. A lot of that reputation rests on community groups: youth lines, rural drop-ins, francophone queer networks, newcomer support. And a big chunk of their money has an expiry date.

The Federal 2SLGBTQI+ Action Plan, Canada’s first, put $100 million over five years into queer and trans communities starting in 2022–23. According to the groups campaigning to save it, it expires in March 2027 unless there’s new money in Budget 2026.

So on Tuesday, October 6, they went to Parliament Hill.

What happened in Ottawa

More than 40 organisations took part in what organisers called the largest 2SLGBTQIA+ Day on the Hill in Canadian history. Egale Canada put the delegation at 45 groups. Six national organisations ran the day: Queer Momentum, Rainbow Railroad, Egale Canada, Pride at Work Canada, Fierté Canada Pride and Dignity Network Canada.

Delegates met senators, MPs and ministers, held a press conference in the Parliamentary Press Gallery and ended the day with a reception in the Senate co-hosted by the Canadian Pride Caucus.

Their ask is simple: renew the plan, put real money behind it, and don’t let what’s been built quietly lapse.

”A dire crisis across the sector”

The sharpest words came from LGBT YouthLine, which supports young queer and trans people. Its head told reporters, according to The Canadian Press: “We are facing a dire crisis across the sector.” She added: “Many organizations have been forced to close.”

YouthLine’s own funding has dropped by half since the plan launched in 2022, the report says.

The pressure isn’t only in big cities. In Prince Edward Island, Josie Baker of PEERS Alliance told CBC: “If this action plan is not extended, then we’re going to see a loss of capacity in the organizations here.” She said that would directly hit programmes including support for families of trans youth. She also heard “some hopeful messages” in Ottawa.

Egale’s executive director, Andrew Perez, framed it as protecting progress: “A renewed and strengthened Action Plan is essential to protecting that progress.” From New Brunswick’s francophone queer network Alter Acadie NB, Alex Arseneau put it more bluntly: “Canada cannot step back from that work now.”

Where the money actually went

It’s worth knowing what’s on the line. According to the Government of Canada, the $100 million broke down roughly like this:

  • Up to $40 million for capacity-building grants to community organisations
  • Up to $35 million for community projects, including $1.5 million in one-time emergency help with Pride security costs in 2023
  • Up to $11.7 million to stabilise and expand the federal 2SLGBTQI+ Secretariat
  • Up to $7.7 million for community-led research and new data
  • Up to $5.6 million for an awareness campaign against stigma

Capacity funding is the unglamorous part: rent, staff, the person who answers the phone. It’s also the part that’s hardest to replace.

What the government says

So far, no commitment. A spokesperson for Women and Gender Equality Minister Rechie Valdez told The Canadian Press: “We are reviewing the Action Plan, and decisions regarding the next steps for the program will be announced at the appropriate time.” She added that the plan “has delivered important results.”

Alberta Senator Kristopher Wells pushed back: “It’s about the direction that this government wants to set,” he said. “That starts at home, by providing the necessary resources that support communities on the ground.”

The Turkey question

The day also had an international edge. Rainbow Railroad’s Latoya Nugent said in the organisers’ release: “Canada cannot credibly champion 2SLGBTQI+ rights abroad without investing in the community’s capacity and safety at home.”

The Dignity Network coalition wants Ottawa to speak out on repression abroad, including in Turkey, where authorities have raided LGBTQ+ organisations, HIV groups, nightclubs and activists’ homes. Prime Minister Mark Carney announced on Tuesday that he will visit Turkey later this month, The Canadian Press reported. Canada, which is negotiating a trade deal with Ankara, has so far not joined Germany, France and others in condemning the crackdown. (We’ve been following that crackdown closely, most recently the block on T24.)

“Attacks on our communities are increasingly part of a broader assault on civil society, human rights, and democracy itself,” Dignity Network’s Doug Kerr said.

Why this matters beyond Canada

Organisers say 90% of LGBTQ+ organisations worldwide have seen funding cuts since January 2025. That’s their figure and it hasn’t been independently checked, but it explains why groups everywhere are watching budgets so closely. When a country with Canada’s reputation lets its flagship plan lapse, other governments notice.

The good news: nothing has been cut yet. The plan runs until March, the review is open, and dozens of groups just made sure every senator and MP knows the date. We’ll be watching what Ottawa decides.

Sources: The Canadian Press via CP24; Queer Momentum release via CNW; Egale Canada; CBC via Yahoo News Canada; Government of Canada, Women and Gender Equality; The Canadian Press via CTV, Sept 19. Photo: Centre Block, Parliament Hill, Saffron Blaze, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.