Our Story

At a public panel on the struggle against Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality Act, leading Ugandan human rights defenders Frank Mugisha and Richard Lusimbo spoke about the dangers facing LGBTIQ+ people in their country. They challenged us here in Canada to do more — to mobilize our voices, organizations, and our own government to support LGBTIQ+ human rights not only in Uganda, but around the world.

Their message resonated deeply. In the months following WorldPride, Canadian activists and organizations began to connect to explore how Canada could play a stronger, more coordinated role internationally. What began as informal conversations quickly grew into a collaborative effort of many individuals and organizations.

In the lead-up to Canada’s 2015 federal election, this collaboration produced the Dignity Initiative Call to Action on International LGBTIQ+ Human Rights, endorsed by a coalition of civil society organizations. The call outlined 22 recommendations, developed in partnership with activists around the world, urging the next Government of Canada to strengthen its leadership in advancing LGBTIQ+ rights globally through diplomacy, development assistance, refugee protection, and international partnerships.

The momentum created by this initiative made it clear that there was a need for a stronger platform to connect Canadian organizations working on international LGBTIQ+ issues through ongoing collaboration, national roundtables, and joint advocacy. We came together for the first time in June 2016 in Ottawa and decided to create Dignity Network Canada. By 2017, with just volunteer efforts, we continued our advocacy work and created a steering committee of over 15 organizations from across Canada and a global advisory committee. In 2018, at the global Equal Rights Coalition conference in Vancouver, we advocated for Canada’s first international assistance program, a new $30M set of programs launched by Global Affairs Canada in 2019, including the Act Together for Inclusion Fund, a signature project with our member Equitas.

In January 2020, Dignity Network Canada was formally incorporated as a Canadian not-for-profit organization, enabling the network to expand its programs, partnerships, and advocacy. In September 2020, we hired our first staff. Since then, we have grown and expanded our team and launched our new 2025-2030 strategic plan, as well as the successful Beyond Borders fundraising campaign in collaboration with our member, Rainbow Railroad, to support our work.

Today, Dignity Network Canada brings together over 65 member organizations across Canada working collectively to advance dignity, equality, and human rights for LGBTIQ+ people around the world. The challenge issued at WorldPride in 2014 — to turn solidarity into action — continues to guide our work.