LGBT rights in Canada
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights in Canada are some of the most advanced in the Americas and in the world. Same-sex sexual activity has been lawful in Canada since June 27, 1969, when the Criminal Law Amendment Act (also known as Bill C-150) came into force upon royal assent.
Canada is considered the most gay-friendly country in the world, being ranked first in the Gay Travel Index chart since 2018, and among the five safest in Forbes magazine since 2019. The country's largest cities feature their own gay areas and communities, such as Toronto's Church and Wellesley neighbourhood, Montreal's Gay Village commercial district, Vancouver's Davie Village and Ottawa's Bank Street Gay Village. Since the Supreme Court of Canada's 1995 decision in Egan v Canada, sexual orientation has been a prohibited basis of discrimination under Section 15 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Every summer, Canada's LGBT community celebrates gay pride in all major cities, with many political figures from the federal, provincial and municipal scenes.
In recent decades, Canada has seen major legal shifts in support of LGBT rights (e.g. decriminalization, anti-discrimination, anti-harassment, gay marriage, bans on conversion therapies, etc.). A global survey conducted in March 2013, showed that 80% of Canada's general population (87% among Canadians aged between 18 and 29) favoured social acceptance of homosexuality, which represented an increase of 10% in public opinion, within six years. Thereafter, polls from June 2013 have shown an increase in the Canadian population's point of view, with a large majority of Canadians supporting same-sex marriage, which has been legally permitted since 2005. The polls also show that 70% of Canada's population agree that "same-sex couples should have the same rights to adopt children as heterosexual couples do," and 76% agreeing that "same-sex couples are just likely as other parents to successfully raise children". By the year 2020, 91.8% of those surveyed in a poll commissioned by the Privy Council Office said they would be “comfortable” if a next-door neighbour was gay, lesbian or bisexual and that 87.6 per cent said they would be “comfortable” if a neighbour was a transgender person."