Pride in a Time of Prejudice

As part of Francesco MacAllister-Caruso's mandate as a Concordia University Public Scholar for 2025-2026, they are tasked with organizing a one-day spotlight event on campus to highlight his area of study and its importance to public discourse in Canadian society. Given their own research on 2S/LGBTQ+ political representation and public policy, Francesco hopes to use this event as an opportunity to provide a clear overview of Canada’s approach to queer and trans issues, with a focus on media narratives, public policy developments, social services, and legal advocacy. While focused on scholarly and community perspectives, the event is open to the general public and free to attend, as well as available virtually, ensuring its accessibility. 

How can you participate? Join us in person or online by registering for the Zoom Meeting or watching live on YouTube.

Have questions? Send them to info.4@concordia.ca

See panel information below: 

2S/LGBTQ+ Political Representation, Media Framing, and Space-Making in Canada (Panel 1, 1pm - 2:45pm)

Over the past several decades, Canada has seen a major shift in how it responds to the political claims of 2S/LGBTQ+ people—from the legalization of same-sex marriage to the criminalization of conversion practices. While often framed as signs of progress, these changes raise ongoing questions about whose voices are heard in political debates, which issues are treated as legitimate policy concerns, and which remain contested.

This panel takes a broad look at contemporary 2S/LGBTQ+ representation in Canada by asking: whose perspectives have gained visibility, why some issues attract broad political consensus while others provoke controversy, and how media, electoral politics, and digital spaces shape who gets heard, and by whom. The panel will also consider how queer and trans issues are framed differently across jurisdictions, highlighting the diversity of political contexts within Canada.

How Law, Governance, and Professional Practices Shape 2S/LGBTQ+ Advocacy (Panel 2, 3pm - 4:30pm)

It is well established that formal legal recognition does not guarantee substantiveequality. While courts and legislatures play a critical role in shaping 2S/LGBTQ+ rights, many of the most consequential policy outcomes are produced through administrative systems, professional regulation, corporate governance, and other sites of institutional power that operate beyond public view. This panel focuses on how 2S/LGBTQ+ rights are interpreted, implemented, and constrained in practice. Panelists will examine the role of administrative tribunals, regulatory bodies, professional training, and non-state actors in shaping access to justice, inclusion, and accountability for 2S/LGBTQ+ people.

By bringing legal scholarship into conversation with lived experience and governance expertise, this panel highlights the gap between rights on paper and rights as lived realities. It asks how institutional design, discretion, and accountability mechanisms can either advance or undermine equality—and what this means for future 2S/LGBTQ+ policy advocacy in Canada.

Kit Chokly

Communications Studies, McGill University - 2024 Foundation Scholar 

Leah Schmidt

Gender Studies, University of Cambridge - 2025 Foundation Scholar 

Quinn Albaugh

Assistant Professor of Political Science, Queen’s University - Non-Foundation Member

Elizabeth Baisley

Assistant Professor of Political Science, Queen’s University - Non-Foundation Member

Debbie Owusu-Akyeeah 

Director of Policy and Advocacy, Action Canada for Sexual Health and Rights - Non-Foundation Member

Zoe Savitsky 

Osgoode Hall Law School, York University - 2024 Foundation Scholar 

Madison Dabbs-Petty

Counselling Psychology, University of Alberta - 2024 Foundation Scholar 

Michelle “Mic” Liu

Civil Engineering, University of Ottawa - 2022 Foundation Scholar 

Samuel Singer 

Associate Professor, Faculty of Law, University of Ottawa - Non-Foundation Member

Francesco MacAllister-Caruso

Public Scholar and PhD Candidate, Policial Science, Concordia University

Organized by Francesco MacAllister-Caruso.

This event is made possible through the generous support of Concordia's Public Scholars Program and the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation's Public Interaction Program (PIP).