Save PDF (1.9 MB) - CORE

minority rights deployed as cherished a Canadian value. This nod to nationalism has
been a notable element of the struggle for gay marriage in Canada, where there has
been political capital to be made from contrasting the apparent confusion in the
United States with the pragmatism of a more socially-liberal Canada that is
apparently more at ease with managing social diversity (Smith, 2007, p. 22).
The Civil Marriage Act received Royal Assent on 29 th July 2005, though the
Conservative Party, returned to power in January 2006 as a minority government,
had pledged to offer Parliament a free vote on the repeal of same-sex marriage.
However, with public opinion already swinging behind marriage equality, this did not
proceed further than a parliamentary debate. Despite securing a majority at the
2011 general election, Prime Minister Stephen Harper has confirmed that same-sex
marriage would not be re-visited (National Post, 2012), suggesting a degree of
political consensus on the issue. Lesbian and gay couples have also responded to the
legalisation of marriage in significant numbers. The 2011 census records a total of
21,015 married same-sex couples in Canada, with same-sex couples, irrespective of
marital status, largely concentrated in the metropolitan areas of Toronto, Montreal
and Vancouver (Statistics Canada, 2012).
In contrast to the UK, the Canadian government’s decision to legislate on same-sex
marriage can be seen as the culmination of a protracted litigation strategy geared
towards framing marriage equality as a human rights issue. LGBT social movements
have played an important role, with organisations such as Egale established in 1985
with clear goals of amending federal and provincial laws that discriminate against
LGBT people. This focus on rights-seeking over more transformative liberationist
LGBT politics has led some to disparage Egale as, “the respectable face of the LGB
lobby.” (Warner, 2002, p. 241), though the relatively strong legal position of LGBT
people in Canada suggests an enviable track record for what Miriam Smith has
called, “the most successful social movement in the world,” (2011, p. 73).
Elements of the rights-based litigation strategy pursued by LGB activists in Canada
have also been followed in a number of US states, including in California. However,
20