2024-2025 Highlight report: 2SLGBTQI+

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Reporting on progress to address violence against Indigenous 2SLGBTQI+ people.

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Introduction

In response to the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls' Final Report and Call for Justice 1.1, the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and 2SLGBTQI+ People National Action Plan (National Action Plan) was released on June 3rd, 2021. The Federal Pathway to Address Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls and 2SLGBTQI+ People (federal pathway) is the federal government's contribution to the National Action Plan. As National Action Plan partners, the 2SLGBTQQIA+ Committee contributed their own action plan tailored to the specific needs and priorities of Indigenous 2SLGBTQI+ people.

As a result of colonialism, racism, sexism, homophobia, and transphobia, Indigenous 2SLGBTQI+ people in Canada are marginalized and at extreme risk of violent victimization. The 2SLGBTQQIA+ Committee's Final Report sets out a path towards acceptance and addressing the marginalization, erasure, and discrimination of Indigenous 2SLGBTQI+ people within their communities, as well as Canadian society at large. These priorities touch on the ability of Indigenous 2SLGBTQI+ people to access health, wellness, culture, safety, and justice.

The 2SLGBTQQIA+ Committee's Final Report has been clear that any approach to addressing violence against Indigenous 2SLGBTQI+ people must be led by Indigenous 2SLGBTQI+ people and be supported by federal resources and investments. The following report, which is a part of the 2024–25 Federal Pathway Annual Progress Report, discusses federal pathway initiatives that have made progress in 2024–25 toward the priorities identified by the 2SLGBTQQIA+ Committee.

Improving the safety and wellbeing of Indigenous 2SLGBTQI+ people

The MMIWG2SLGBTQQIA+ National Action Plan clearly states the need to improve the safety and wellbeing of Indigenous 2SLGBTQI+ people. It also speaks to the fact that at the intersection of race, gender, and sexuality, Indigenous 2SLGBTQI+ people have been uniquely harmed and marginalized by colonialism. Finally, it communicates that as a result, there is an urgent need to invest in the safety and wellbeing of Indigenous 2SLGBTQI+ people and reduce their exposure to violent victimization.

The Family Violence Prevention Program (FVPP) is an ongoing program at Indigenous Services Canada dedicated to supporting Indigenous-led and community-driven efforts to prevent and respond to family violence across Canada, prioritizing culturally appropriate services for First Nations, Inuit, Métis, urban Indigenous, and 2SLGBTQI+ communities. The program funds a range of emergency shelters, transitional (second-stage) housing, and violence prevention activities to ensure safety and healing for Indigenous individuals and families. Some examples of funded projects that will support Indigenous 2SLGBTQI+ people include:

The Indigenous Shelter and Transitional Housing Initiative (ISTHI), jointly funded by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation and Indigenous Services Canada, has allocated funding to support the construction and operation of new shelters across Canada. As of 2024–25, ISTHI is funding seven projects with 2SLGBTQI+ partners. ISTHI enables Indigenous governance over shelter systems, strengthens community-led violence prevention infrastructure, and integrates culturally relevant models of care, representing a fundamental shift toward self-determination and housing sovereignty. An example of one of the projects funded by this initiative includes:

The Inclusive Washrooms in Government Buildings initiative, led by Public Services and Procurement Canada, supports the implementation of Universal and/or All-Access washrooms across federal workspaces. These inclusive washrooms are designed to provide a safer, more accessible option for employees and visitors, including 2SLGBTQI+ individuals, particularly those who are 2-Spirit, trans, non-binary, or gender non-conforming. The provision of universal washrooms is mandated under the CSA/ASC B651 Standard, Accessible Design for the Built Environment, which must be applied during major rehabilitation and recapitalization projects that involve base building upgrades. Importantly, this initiative does not replace gendered washrooms but instead adds a third option to ensure all individuals can choose the facility that best meets their needs. An Inclusive Washrooms Guide is planned for release in 2025 to support project teams.

Federal 2SLGBTQI+ Action Plan

The Federal 2SLGBTQI+ Action Plan aims to advance rights and equality for 2-Spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, and additional sexually and gender-diverse (2SLGBTQI+) people in Canada. The Action Plan is a whole-of-government approach designed to address persisting disparities faced by 2SLGBTQI+ communities and to build a safer, more inclusive country. It advocates for addressing systemic disparities and fostering a safer, more inclusive society, in part through the implementation of legal, policy, and programmatic changes.

Through the Federal 2SLGBTQI+ Action Plan, the Government of Canada has committed up to $40 million to the 2SLGBTQI+ Community Capacity Fund and up to $35 million for the 2SLGBTQI+ Projects Fund. As of January 2024, 19 projects supporting Indigenous 2SLGBTQI+ communities were approved for funding. The 2SLGBTQI+ Community Capacity Fund and the 2SLGBTQI+ Projects Fund support the implementation of the Federal 2SLGBTQI+ Action Plan by providing critical financial support to organizations serving 2SLGBTQI+ communities, including Indigenous 2SLGBTQI+ people. These funds aim to strengthen the organizational capacity of community-based initiatives and support projects addressing systemic barriers to equality and inclusion. The funds prioritize historically marginalized groups, including Indigenous, Black, and racialized 2SLGBTQI+ individuals.

For updates on the 2024–25 fiscal year, consult Government of Canada's progress by priority area as it becomes availble. With regards to supporting Indigenous 2SLGBTQI+ peoples, please also visit: Support Indigenous 2SLGBTQI+ peoples.

Improving the Indigenous 2SLGBTQI+ data landscape

The National Inquiry and the 2SLGBTQQIA+ Committee have each emphasized the importance of improving the Indigenous 2SLGBTQI+ data landscape. At present, although there is national data on rates of violence experienced by Indigenous men and women, there is no such data for Indigenous 2SLGBTQI+ people, let alone for subsets of this population such as 2-Spirit people or Indigenous trans people. As the National Inquiry reported, the majority of existing data on Indigenous 2SLGBTQI+ people are collected by the police, and is undermined by the lack of trust that Indigenous peoples have toward the police. As a consequence of all these issues, violence against Indigenous 2SLGBTQI+ people is largely invisible, which poses major challenges in the effort to addressing the MMIWG2S+ crisis. In response to this gap, the federal government continues to invest in the Indigenous 2SLGBTQI+ data landscape.

Administered by Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada, the Indigenous-Led Data Research Projects Program funds innovative Indigenous-led approaches to improving data methodologies specific to missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQI+ people, including initiatives that work to develop qualitative distinctions or identity-based indicators, address existing methodological gaps for groups who are underserviced or underrepresented in data—such as Indigenous 2SLGBTQI+ people—and define safety through Indigenous ways of understanding. An example of an Indigenous 2SLGBTQI+ data project funded through this initiative includes:

Led by Statistics Canada under the Disaggregated Data Action Plan, the Disaggregated Data and New Data Collection initiative focuses on enhancing the national collection of disaggregated data, including 2SLGBTQI+ data and Indigenous identity data of victims and accused persons in police-reported criminal incidents. The initiative directly responds to longstanding demands for more granular, distinctions-based data to address overrepresentation, systemic bias, and inequity in policing across Canada.

As part of a broader whole-of-government strategy to strengthen data equity, the initiative expands the Uniform Crime Reporting Survey to allow the collection of Indigenous and racialized identity data in police-reported crime. These updates are part of a wider commitment to improve data on 4 Employment Equity groups:

The initiative ensures that these data are broken down by gender, geographic region, age, and other intersecting identity markers to better reflect lived experiences and inform responsive policies. Through the efforts of this initiative, improved data on the lived experiences of Indigenous 2SLGBTQI+ people will become available.

Conclusion

As set out in the National Inquiry and the 2SLGBTQQIA+ National Action Plan, Indigenous 2SLGBTQI+ people have unique needs and challenges as a result of colonialism, racism, sexism, homophobia, and transphobia. The federal government recognizes the need for action to improve Indigenous 2SLGBTQI+ people access to health, wellbeing, culture, safety, and justice.

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