by Monique Cuillerier, coordinator, WPSN-C
Canada’s third National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security (2023-2029) is at its midway point and as we await the, hopefully imminent, release of the most recent Canadian National Action Plan (CNAP) progress reporting, along with the appointment of a new Ambassador for Women, Peace and Security, now is a useful time to review the evolution of 2SLGBTQI+ representation within Canada’s WPS priorities and the concerns that have been articulated by members of the Women, Peace and Security Network – Canada (WPSN-C).
Over the last five years, in the Network’s publications, WPSN-C members have explored the inclusion of 2SLGBTQI+ communities in the government of Canada’s women, peace and security priorities from various perspectives. (It should be noted that the opinions expressed in the Network’s publications do not necessarily constitute the opinions of the WPSN-C. Nor should they be considered the opinions and views of all Network members.)
In the 2021 publication, Reflection on Canada’s National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security: Gains, Gaps & Goals, the article “Why Canada Needs to be Intersectional: Inclusion of LGBTQ+ Folks in Women, Peace and Security Priorities” by Alexandria Bohémier situates the need for the inclusion of 2SLGBTQI+ women and girls within the CNAP in the context of the 2020 announcement that Canada would develop a federal 2SLGBTQI+ Action Plan (which was subsequently launched in 2022). While the federal 2SLGBTQI+ action plan, Bohémier iterates that it “is an important first step for the [LGBTQ+] community in Canada, the community cannot exist in a silo. LGBTQ+ women and girls must be included in the WPS agenda and in Canada’s National Action Plan as they are both women and LGBTQ+ community members; their experiences as both cannot be separated from one another.”
Bohémier offers broad suggestions for the inclusion of 2SLGBTQI+ women and girls in the fourth year of the 2nd CNAP (which was in effect from 2017 to 2022). These suggestions include situating discrimination against 2SLGBTQI+ women and girls as a barrier to CNAP implementation; considering the impacts of homophobia and transphobia in the context of sexual and gender-based violence; addressing the issues faced by 2SLGBTQI+ women in the Canadian Armed Forces, including in peacekeeping operations; utilizing the government’s own internal 2SLGBTQI+ expertise in the development of the 3rd NAP; and increasing data collection on the experiences of 2SLGBTQI+ women and girls across the WPS agenda.
Fostering Feminist Peace At Home: Implications for CNAP3, the Network’s 2023 publication includes an article by Micaela Crighton, “Queering Canada’s Domestic Peace and Security: Opportunities for WPS and the 2SLGBTQIA+ Action Plan,” addressing the federal 2SLGBTQI+ Action Plan and CNAP3.
Crighton discusses the erasure of 2SLGBTQI+ communities from WPS spaces in general over time and how CNAP3 provides an “immense opportunity for a WPS implementation that uses a queered understanding of WPS as a tool to advance peace and security for all.”
It reflects on the binary nature of the 2nd CNAP and the potential of the government’s then recently launched 2SLGBTQI+ Action Plan, under the auspices of the Department of Women and Gender Equality (WAGE), to support “the expansion and
stabilization of the 2SLGBTQI+ Secretariat to enable the implementation of the Action Plan,
along with the new federal interdepartmental governance tables, presents an opportunity to support the development of a gender, peace and security understanding of WPS within the CNAP3, specifically in collaboration with the Canadian Ambassador for WPS.”
The Network’s 2024 publication, ‘Foundations for Peace’ in Turbulent Times: Analysis of Canada’s third National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security, analyzed the then-newly released 3rd National Action Plan, including a chapter on “Queering Peace and Security: 2SLGBTQI+ Reflections on Canada’s Third National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security” by Alexandria Bohémier.
According to Bohémier, in the 3rd and current NAP, “Canada strengthened its approach to queering the agenda demonstrably by reflecting on discourse and criticisms raised by experts on CNAP1 and CNAP2. CNAP3 also specifically notes the integration of the first federal 2SLGBTQI+ Action Plan as part of the policy alignment of the new WPS action plan.”
However, it is also acknowledged that “this is just a starting point, and these commitments must turn into action. To build sustainable peace, 2SLGBTQI+ individuals must be fully and meaningfully included. The Government of Canada must collaborate closely with [Queering Peace and Security] experts, both domestically and globally, to ensure its commitment to creating the most inclusive and impactful implementation of a NAP to date, which truly moves from words to action.”
Most recently, in October 2025, the Network released a publication to coincide with the 25th Anniversary of the UN Security Council Resolution 1325, WPS at 25 and Canada’s CNAP3: Feminist Reflections on Progress and Gaps, which included “From Reflection to Action: Queering Canada’s WPS Commitments at 25 Years,” written by Alexandria Bohémier, Kim Vance-Mubanga, and Sarah Clifford.
As the introduction states, recalling previous recommendations, “CNAP3 presents an opportunity to move beyond tokenism and toward co-creation, embedding queer and trans voices in the heart of peace and security practice.”
Bohémier, Vance-Mubanga, and Clifford warn that, although there have undoubtedly been gains over the last twenty-five years, “for 2SLGBTQI+ communities, this milestone underscores the need to move beyond rhetorical acknowledgement toward systemic change. Existing work being led by 2SLGBTQI+ individuals and organizations already provides roadmaps for how to centre queer and trans voices, dismantle tokenism, and embed co-creation into Canada’s WPS implementation efforts.”
We can see from the above the responses to incremental improvements in addressing 2SLGBTQI+ issues and increasing the inclusion of these communities within the government’s WPS priorities. But much still remains to be done, and opportunities for true change remain underdeveloped.
What can we expect next? The Government’s upcoming progress report, the first under CNAP3, will hopefully provide a clearer understanding of what has been accomplished so far under the Action Plan and what challenges remain unaddressed.
The WPSN-C acts as both a forum for exchange and action by Canadian civil society on issues related to WPS and a platform to promote and monitor the Government of Canada’s efforts to implement and support the UN Security Council resolutions on WPS.
Last June, for the 2025 Pride Month, the Network hosted, in collaboration with organizational members Women of Colour Advancing Peace, Security and Conflict Transformation – Canada (WCAPS-Canada), the Canadian Coalition for Youth, Peace & Security (CCYPS), Egale Canada, and Inter Pares, a virtual panel discussion on Queering Peace and Security.
That panel discussion, along with this blog series and articles in the Network’s publications, provides space for civil society to come together and discuss the challenges that remain for 2SLGBTQI+ communities within the WPS context, in general, and in relation to Canada’s NAP, in particular.
References
Canada’s National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security (Global Affairs Canada)
Federal 2SLGBTQI+ Action Plan (Women and Gender Equality Canada)
WPS at 25 and Canada’s CNAP3: Feminist Reflections on Progress and Gaps. Edited by Katrina Leclerc, Sandra Biskupski-Mujanovic and Sarah Keeler (2025).
‘Foundations for Peace’ in Turbulent Times: Analysis of Canada’s third National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security. Edited by Bénédicte Santoire, Katrina Leclerc and Beth Woroniuk (2024).
Fostering Feminist Peace At Home: Implications for CNAP3. Edited by Katrina Leclerc, Bénédicte Santoire and Beth Woroniuk (2023).
Reflection on Canada’s National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security: Gains, Gaps & Goals. Edited by Katrina Leclerc, Beth Woroniuk, and Claire Wählen (2021).
The views in this blog are those of the author only and do not necessarily represent those of the WPSN-C or its membership.
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