OTTAWA -- Groups serving LGBTQ+ people are urging the Carney government to extend funding and programming aimed at growing mental health and security concerns. “Without core funding and material commitments to help uphold the Charter rights of 2SLGBTQIA+ people, we are facing a dire crisis across the sector,” LGBT YouthLine head Lauren Pragg told reporters Tuesday on Parliament Hill. “We are facing a dire crisis across the sector. Many organizations have been forced to close,” Pragg said. The organization has seen its funding drop by half since the Trudeau government launched an action plan in 2022 to support LGBTQ2S+ Canadians. That plan included funding for increasing security at Pride parades and boosting research programs. That programming is set to expire in the spring, prompting multiple LGBTQ2S+ groups to take to Parliament Hill on Tuesday to press for the funding to be renewed and expanded. Ottawa has given no commitment on extending the action plan. “We are reviewing the Action Plan, and decisions regarding the next steps for the program will be announced at the appropriate time,” wrote Erin Quevillon, a spokesperson for Gender Equality Minister Rechie Valdez, in a statement. “The Federal 2SLGBTQI+ Action Plan has delivered important results, including strengthening community organizations and advancing the rights and inclusion of 2SLGBTQI+ people.” Egale Canada said there are rising needs as minorities face online threats. The organization has also advocated against new provincial policies affecting transgender youth. Alberta Sen. Kristopher Wells says the Liberal government should put dollars behind its pledge to not abandon sexual and gender minorities, and match its rhetoric by expanding existing programs to confront rising threats. “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 Dignity Network coalition says Canada needs to speak out for people abroad facing repression, including in Turkey. Prime Minister Mark Carney announced Tuesday he’d be visiting that country later this month. The Turkish government has launched a recent series of raids on LGBTQ2S+ organizations, HIV-advocacy groups, nightclubs and the homes of activists. Human Rights Watch has called it the widest crackdown on LGBTQ2S+ people in recent years, but Canada has been silent. It is in the midst of negotiating a new trade deal with Turkey. “This is about more than LGBTIQ rights. Attacks on our communities are increasingly part of a broader assault on civil society, human rights, and democracy itself,” coalition head Doug Kerr said. “These movements, these narratives, these politics, disinformation (all) cross borders, and have impact even here at home.” This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 6, 2026. Dylan Robertson, The Canadian Press
