Our History

Our History

1986

Equality for Gays and Lesbians Everywhere (EGALE) founded by Les McAfee, to advocate for increased rights and recognition and to combat discrimination.

1995

Egan v. Canada: With Egale’s intervention, The Supreme Court of Canada found for the first time that human rights based on sexual orientation are protected under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

1996

Amendment to the Canadian Human Rights Act adding sexual orientation as a ground for discrimination.

1996

Egale Canada Human Rights Trust is launched and becomes Canada’s national 2SLGBTQI charity.

1998

Vriend’s case: Supreme Court decision requiring that all Canadian provinces and territories prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation.

2002

With Egale’s help, Marc Hall wins rights to Jean-Paul Dumond to Oshawa Catholic High school prom.

2003

Halpern v. Canada: With Egale’s intervention, the Ontario Court of Appeal finds the common law definition of marriage violates the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Michael Leshner and Michael Stark become the first married same sex couple in Canada.

2005

Civil Marriage Act receives royal assent, recognizing equal marriage across Canada.

2011

Egale publishes findings of our first national climate survey on homophobia, biphobia and transphobia in Canadian secondary schools.

2014

Egale Youth OUTReach, offering individual counselling, homelessness and suicide crisis services for 2SLGBTQI youth up to age 29.

2016

Egale announces the creation of Egale Centre, Canada’s fi­rst dedicated 2SLGBTQI youth transitional housing service.

2016

Egale’s Just Society Committee submits The Grossly Indecent Report to the Government of Canada requesting an apology and reparations for the criminal persecution, job loss, ineligibility for pension, and dishonourable discharge from the military following decriminalization in Canada.

2017

Bill C-16 is passed, adding gender expression and gender identity as protected grounds to the Canadian Human Rights Act and also to the Criminal Code.

2017

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau delivers an historic apology on behalf of the Government of Canada for years of state-sponsored, systemic oppression and rejection targeting LGBTQ2 public servants and military personnel.

2018

Egale announces it will undertake the second national climate survey on homophobia, biphobia and transphobia in Canadian secondary schools.

2018

Egale releases the IDENTITY Report following our inaugural national conference, IDENTITY: Canadian Perspectives on 2SLGBTQI Inclusion, to bring together the many perspectives on the state of inclusion for our community and chart a path forward together.

2019

Egale launches Speak OUT, a national survey to understand the unique experiences of 2SLGBTQI youth with dating violence.

2019

Egale launches a new organization called Friends of Ruby, to oversee its established direct services for youth, including the former Egale Centre and Egale Youth OUTreach.

2019

Egale launches a brand refresh that more closely reflects our people and the communities we serve.

2021

Egale places the “2S” for “Two Spirit” at the beginning of the “LGBTQI” acronym to acknowledge that Two Spirit, Indigiqueer and LGBTQI Indigenous People were the first sexual orientation and gender minority people in North America/Canada. While this is a small gesture, it is one of many ways that we at Egale strive to demonstrate solidarity with Indigenous Peoples across Turtle Island.

2022

Egale Canada and the National Institute on Ageing, launch The National Resource Centre on 2SLGBTQI Aging (NRCA) – first-of-its-kind digital resource centre that shares curated, cutting-edge research and resources about aging that address the unique needs of 2SLGBTQI older adults and their communities.

2023

Egale Canada launches application for the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) to remove Fox News from the list of non-Canadian programming authorized for distribution in Canada due to Fox News’ false and horrifying claims about 2SLGBTQI people.

2023

Egale Canada takes legal action in New Brunswick and Saskatchewan to combat those province’s harmful school pronoun policies: Policy 713 (New Brunswick) and ‘Use of Preferred First Name and Pronouns by Students’ Policy (Saskatchewan).

2024

In response to rising of Anti-2SLGBTQI hate throughout Canada, Egale Canada launches the Rainbow Action Hub – a one-stop-shop for the why and how to combat the rise of anti-2SLGBTQI hate in Canada. The hub includes resources, tools, education, and information aimed at 2SLGBTQI organizations, advocates and activists.

2024

Egale Canada initiates legal action against the Government of Alberta, challenging the constitutionality of Bill 26 which denies medically-necessary care from being provided to gender diverse youth in the province.