Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau wins LGBT+ rights award

Apr 20 2018
Written by Jasmine Andersson

conversion therapy Photo: (GEOFF ROBINS/AFP/Getty Images)

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at the 2017 Pride Parade in Toronto. (GEOFF ROBINS/AFP/Getty)

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will be awarded an international LGBT+ travel award for making Canada a better place for people to visit.

The Pinnacle Award, which is presented by The International Gay & Lesbian Travel Association (IGLTA), will be given to the PM for making Canada a more welcoming place for LGBT+ travellers.

“I am incredibly proud to extend this IGLTA Honor to Prime Minister Trudeau. He presides over a country with some of the world’s most advanced LGBTQ rights, but instead of resting on those credentials, he makes it a personal point to vocally support our community and keep moving our issues forward,” IGLTA Board chair Juan Julia told Travel Daily News.

“There is no doubt that LGBTQ travelers are respected and embraced in Canada, and that welcoming message is amplified every day through his actions as Prime Minister.”

Trudeau is a vocal supporter of LGBT+ rights.

Trudeau became the first Canadian Prime Minister to march at Pride, and has appeared on the cover of Attitude magazine to speak about the importance of fighting for LGBT+ rights.

“The LGBT+ community has become emblematic of the fight for human rights,” he told the publication.

“The fact that so many people have gone for so long feeling that they had to be ashamed, or hide something about their core identity to fit into society is a lesson for everyone to push against. Every time someone says to me, ‘Why do you still feel it’s important to walk Prides?’

“[I say] it’s because there’s so much more to do, and the more that we are exposed to stories that reveal our own biases, the privileges we take for granted, that other people don’t have, the better we’ll be at standing up for other people’s rights and opportunities.”

Although Trudeau has professed public support for the communities, the case of alleged Toronto serial killer Bruce McArthur targeting and killing victims from Toronto’s Gay Village has put LGBT+ citizens on edge.