LGBTQ rights in Canada

Canadian lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) rights are some of the most extensive in the world. Same-sex sexual activity, in private between consenting adults, was decriminalized in Canada on June 27, 1969, when the Criminal Law Amendment Act, 1968–69 (also known as Bill C-150) was brought into force upon royal assent. In a landmark decision in 1995, Egan v Canada, the Supreme Court of Canada held that sexual orientation is constitutionally protected under the equality clause of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. In 2005, Canada became the fourth country in the world, and the first in the Americas, that legalized same-sex marriage. In 2022, Canada was the third country in the world, and the first in North America, that statutorily banned conversion therapy nationwide for both minors and adults, and made it a crime to subject anyone to it, as defined by statutory law in the Criminal Code.

Canada was referred to as the most gay-friendly country in the world, when it was ranked first (indicating least dangerous) in Asher & Lyric's LGBTQ+ Danger Index in 2023. It was also ranked first in the Gay Travel Index chart in 2024, and ninth in the Equaldex Equality Index in 2024. 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. Every summer, Canada's LGBTQ community celebrates pride in all major cities, with many political figures from the federal, provincial and municipal scenes.

In recent decades, Canada went through some major legal shifts in support of LGBTQ rights (e.g., decriminalization, anti-discrimination, anti-harassment, gay marriage, homoparentality, blood donations, transgender rights and outlawing of conversion therapies).