Queer Mobilizations

How did the LGBTQ movement emerge from the bedrooms of the nation to affect policy changes in Canada’s governmental institutions?

Canada is considered a leader when it comes to LGBTQ rights, but as Queer Mobilizations shows, this has less to do with progressive politicians than with the work of queer activists who have fought for policy changes from their local city halls to the chambers of Parliament.

Ever since certain homosexual acts were decriminalized in 1969, queer activists have fought for – and won – a series of public policy battles in governments across Canada. As Queer Mobilizations shows, anti-discrimination legislation, the extension of benefits to same-sex couples, the right to marry, adoption rights, and the protection of gay-straight alliances in schools did not result from a single act nor from the work of a single organization but rather from the concerted efforts of many people, in many places, over many years.

This volume examines the relationships between LGBTQ activists and local, provincial, and federal governments. The contributors explore how various governments have tried to regulate and repress LGBTQ movements, and how, in turn, queer activists have successfully shaped public policy, across the political spectrum, from city halls to the House of Commons.