List of the first openly LGBTQ holders of political offices in Canada

The following is a list of the first openly LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender) holders of elected or appointed political office in Canada.

LGBT people have served at all three main levels of political office in Canada: municipal, provincial and federal. As of 2022, every Canadian province and territory has been represented by at least one out LGBTQ officeholder.

In addition to the milestones noted below, Canada has also had a number of prominent politicians who were not out as LGBT during their careers in politics, either coming out after they retired or being officially outed only in posthumous biographical sources, as well as openly LGBT politicians whose election or appointment to office was not a historically significant first as other LGBT people had already held the same office before them. For a more thorough list of Canadian LGBTQ politicians regardless of whether they represented historic firsts or not, see also List of LGBT politicians in Canada.

First overall First openly gay political candidate, regardless of electoral status: Peter Maloney ran for a seat on the Toronto Board of Education in the 1972 Toronto municipal election as an openly gay candidate."Homosexual plans to run for seat on school board". Toronto Star, July 25, 1972. (He had previously been an Ontario Liberal Party candidate in St. George in the 1971 Ontario provincial election, and some later biographical sources have stated that he ran as an openly gay candidate at that time as well,"Elegy to Club Toronto". Daily Xtra, April 21, 2010. but no indication of his sexuality is seen in any media coverage of the 1971 election. The first known coverage of Maloney which makes any reference to his sexuality is of a 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. 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 been credited with this distinction 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 political organization rather than a traditional political party or for a non-partisan office. First transgender candidate, regardless of electoral status: Jamie Lee Hamilton ran for Vancouver's Park Board in 1996.Peace River Block News Dawson Creek, BC; 1995 December 15, page 8. Christin Milloy, an Ontario Libertarian Party candidate in the 2011 provincial election in Ontario, was the first transgender candidate in a provincial election. Jennifer McCreath, a Strength in Democracy candidate in Avalon in the 2015 federal election, was the first transgender candidate in a federal election."Jennifer McCreath running for federal election in Avalon". CBC News, July 27, 2015. Trevor Kirczenow was Liberal candidate in Provencher in the 2019 federal election, becoming the first openly transgender candidate nominated by a major party in a federal election. First openly gay person elected to office: Raymond Blain (Montreal City Council, 1986) is commonly credited with this distinction, although Maurice Richard, who was elected to the National Assembly of Quebec in 1985 after coming out as gay sometime during his term as mayor of Bécancour, Quebec from 1976 to 1985, predated him and the story was simply not picked up by national media until later on. Out lesbian Sue Harris won election to the Vancouver Park Board in 1984."Out-of-closet lesbian wins Vancouver vote". The Body Politic, January 1985. Jim Egan (Comox-Strathcona Regional District board, 1981) may also have predated all of them, although sources are unclear on whether he ran as an openly gay candidate at the time. First transgender person elected to office: Julie Lemieux was elected to the municipal council of Très-Saint-Rédempteur in the 2013 municipal election, and later ran for and won the mayoralty of the village in the subsequent 2017 municipal election. Although reported as a lesbian-identified woman at the time of their election to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta in 2015, Estefan Cortes-Vargas came out as non-binary in an assembly debate later in the year.

Federal Parliament Member of Parliament: Male: Svend Robinson, MP (NDP) – elected 1979 [Came out: 1988] Female: Libby Davies, MP (NDP) – elected 1997 [Came out: 2001] Two-spirit: Blake Desjarlais, MP (NDP) – elected 2021 Senator: Male: Laurier LaPierre – 2001 Female: Nancy Ruth – 2005

At least two federal MPs who predated Robinson, Heward Grafftey and Charles Lapointe, and one who was first elected alongside him in 1979, Ian Waddell, are known to have come out as gay or bisexual after their retirement from politics.

By provincial delegation As of 2024, seven of Canada's ten provinces have elected at least one LGBT MP to the House of Commons or had an LGBT senator appointed from their province.

British Columbia Male: Svend Robinson, MP (NDP) – elected 1979 [Came out: 1988] Female: Libby Davies, MP (NDP) – elected 1997 [Came out: 2001] Already out at first election: Bill Siksay, MP (NDP) – 2004 Nova Scotia Scott Brison, MP (Progressive Conservative, later Liberal) – elected 1997 [Came out: 2002] Ontario Mario Silva, MP (Liberal) – 2004 Senator Nancy Ruth (Progressive Conservative, later Conservative) – 2005 Quebec Senator Laurier LaPierre (Liberal) – 2001 Réal Ménard, MP (Bloc Québécois) – elected 1993 [Came out: 1994] Saskatchewan Sheri Benson, MP (NDP) – 2015 Alberta Randy Boissonnault, MP (Liberal) – 2015 Two-spirit: Blake Desjarlais, MP (NDP) – elected 2021 Senator Kristopher Wells - appointed 2024 Newfoundland and Labrador Seamus O'Regan, MP (Liberal) – 2015

Cabinet Federal cabinet minister: Male: Scott Brison, 2004 Female: Pascale St-Onge, 2021

Parties Leader of a federal political party: Chris Lea (Green) – 1990 Deputy leader of a federal political party represented in Parliament: Libby Davies (NDP) – 2007

Provincial and territorial As of 2024, every Canadian province and territory has elected at least one out LGBTQ member to its provincial or territorial legislature.

The provinces of British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario, Nova Scotia and Quebec and the territory of Yukon have had more than one LGBT member, and all have had both gay men and lesbian women serve in the legislatures. The other provinces and territories have had only one each to date. Alberta, Manitoba, Nova Scotia, Ontario, and Yukon have also had elected MLAs who identified as non-binary.

Some figures, including Ian Scott, Keith Norton, Phil Gillies, Dave Cooke and Dominic Agostino in Ontario, Claude Charron and Guy Joron in Quebec, Andrew Thomson in Saskatchewan and Richard Hatfield in New Brunswick, predated the firsts listed here but were not out to the general public during their time in politics.

To date, most LGBT people who have served in provincial or territorial legislatures have represented urban districts in larger cities, while very few have ever served in a purely rural district.

Lieutenant Governor Brenda Murphy (New Brunswick) – 2019Brenda Murphy 'humbled' to be appointed New Brunswick's new lieutenant-governor. CBC News, September 5, 2019.Brenda Murphy officially sworn in as lieutenant-governor of New Brunswick. Global News, September 9, 2019. Provincial Premier Female: Kathleen Wynne (Ontario) – 2013 (First female premier of Ontario, first openly LGBT premier in Canada) Male: Wade MacLauchlan (Prince Edward Island) – 2015"Wade MacLauchlan on brink of becoming PEI premier". The Globe and Mail, February 21, 2015. One provincial premier, Richard Hatfield in New Brunswick, predated Wynne but was not out as gay during his political career, instead being outed only after his death. Provincial Deputy Premier Male: George Smitherman (Ontario) (Liberal) – 2006 Genderqueer: Uzoma Asagwara Manitoba NDP - 2023 Provincial cabinet minister: British Columbia – Tim Stevenson – 2000 Quebec – André Boisclair – 2002 Ontario – George Smitherman – 2003 Manitoba – Jim Rondeau – 2004 Nova Scotia – Joanne Bernard – 2013 Alberta – Ricardo Miranda – 2016"Alberta Premier Rachel Notley announces six new cabinet posts". CBC News, February 2, 2016. Leader of a provincial party: Allison Brewer (New Brunswick New Democratic Party) – 2005 Leader of a provincial party with seats in a legislature: André Boisclair (Parti Québécois) – 2005 Provincial and territorial legislators: British Columbia Male: Mike Farnworth, 1991 (came out during leadership run in 2010); Ted Nebbeling and Tim Stevenson, 1996 (both out when elected) Female: Jenn McGinn, 2008 Alberta Male: Michael Connolly and Ricardo Miranda, 2015 Genderqueer: Estefan Cortes-Vargas, 2015"An Alberta MLA on battling gender identity". Maclean's, December 1, 2015. Cortes-Vargas publicly identified as a lesbian woman at the time of their election to the legislature,"NDP candidate supports education" . Sherwood Park News, April 30, 2015. and came out as non-binary during a debate in the legislature later in the year. Female: Janis Irwin, 2019 Two-spirit: Brooks Arcand-Paul, 2023 Manitoba Male: Jim Rondeau, 1999 Female: Jennifer Howard, 2007 Genderqueer: Uzoma Asagwara, 2019 Ontario Male: George Smitherman, (Liberal) Female: Kathleen Wynne, MPP 2003 (Liberal) Non-binary: Kristyn Wong-Tam, MPP 2022 (NDP) Bisexual: Suze Morrison, MLA (NDP) elected 2018, came out 2021 Quebec Male: Maurice Richard and André Boulerice, 1985 Female: Agnès Maltais, 2003 (came out) Newfoundland and Labrador: Gerry Rogers, 2011 Nova Scotia Male: Rod Wilson, 2024 Note: Although Wilson was the first openly gay man elected, Cecil Clarke previously served from 2001 to 2011 in the Nova Scotia House of Assembly, but was not out at that time and came out during his later stint as a mayor. Female: Joanne Bernard, 2013 Genderqueer: Lisa Lachance, 2021 (NDP) Prince Edward Island: Wade MacLauchlan, 2015 Saskatchewan Nathaniel Teed, 2022 Yukon Male: Dale Eftoda, 2001 Non-binary: Lane Tredger, 2021 Northwest Territories: Julie Green, 2015 Nunavut: Janet Brewster, elected 2021, came out 2022"Nunavut Legislature raises Pride flag for 1st time". CBC North, June 2, 2022. New Brunswick: Luke Randall, 2024 Note: Although Randall was the first out LGBTQ person elected to the assembly, Richard Hatfield previously served from 1961 to 1987, but was not openly gay during his political career and was outed only after his death.

Municipal

Overall firsts

Mayors Mayor of any municipality: Maurice Richard served as mayor of Bécancour, Quebec from 1975 to 1985. Contemporary biographical sources indicate that he came out as gay sometime during his mayoralty, but are not clear about when; it is known, however, that he was out as gay by the time of his campaign for election to the National Assembly of Quebec in 1985. After serving in the provincial legislature from 1985 to 1994 as its first openly LGBT member, he was reelected to another stint as mayor of Bécancour in 1995. Mayor of a major city: Glen Murray (Winnipeg) – 1998 (credited as first openly gay major of a major city in North America) Transgender mayor: Julie Lemieux was elected mayor of Très-Saint-Rédempteur in the 2017 municipal election.