Hate crimes against Ottawa’s LGBTQ2+ community have been rising rapidly over the past six years, according to data from the Ottawa Police Service putting many in the community on edge.
From 2018 to 2023, police-reported LGBTQ2+-motivated hate crimes in Ottawa have risen from six per year to 93 per year.
The data reflects hate crimes reported to Ottawa police. Hate crimes may be underreported, especially those targeting LGBTQ2+ individuals. This is usually because of mistrust in law enforcement, according to a 2022 Egale Canada report.
“The statistics are sobering because we know that they only tell part of the story,” said Ottawa Police Chief Eric Stubbs in a 2023 press release. “So often these types of incidents go unreported and we know that this data only provides a glimpse of what people are experiencing out in the community.”
Val Hussain agrees. General attitudes towards the LGBTQ community have been sliding more negative in recent years, said the programming coordinator at Carleton University’s Gender and Sexuality Resource Centre (GSRC).
Hussain said they are observing growing acceptance of anti-LGBTQ2+ mindsets.
“We see people who are xenophobic, or specifically homophobic, transphobic, being more vocal about it and more aggressive about it, because there’s less accountability that they need to take for it,” they said.
In Ottawa, LGBTQ2+-motivated hate crimes appear to spike in June and August; June is widely celebrated as pride month and Ottawa’s Capital Pride events are held in August.
Hussain said the centre’s Pride initiatives on campus have seen a backlash. In April 2024, Carleton’s rainbow pride crosswalk was defiled, and the GSRC’s mural in the campus tunnels was vandalized with black paint.
Somerset Ward Coun. Ariel Troster says that while she believes Ottawa still “overwhelmingly” supports the LGBTQ2+ community, there’s been a recent spike in hate directed towards LGBTQ2+ events.
“I’ve certainly seen some really upsetting backlash against things like drag story times and Pride related events all over the city,” she said. “We saw a real spike that corresponded with when the convoy was in town, and certainly there’s some concern that the election of Donald Trump in the States could further embolden people.”
This trend isn’t just happening in Ottawa. From 2019 to 2023, police-reported LGBTQ2+ motivated hate crimes rose by about 224.53 per cent nationwide, according to Statistics Canada.
LGBTQ2+ activists in Ottawa say that sticking together now is more important than ever. Troster says that despite anxiety and fear, community is vital in times of crisis.
“It’s definitely a concerning time. I came out in 1998, I’ve been out for 26 years. I’ve never seen this kind of backlash before. Even during the gay marriage debates. It’s very concerning,” Troster said. “It’s something that I hope will pass over time, and in the meantime, we need to just really stick together and ensure that our community remains safe.”
