Advocacy Limitations on Gender and Sexually Diverse Activist Organizations in Canada’s Voluntary Sector

Abstract

Registered charities are restricted when engaging in advocacy, whereas Canadian nonprofits face a far more difficult time when fundraising. The impact of such limitations on Canadian gender and sexually diverse1 activist organizations is one example of the implications on Canada’s democratization process. Despite the efforts of the Voluntary Sector Initiative (VSI), and updated political activity policies, Canada lags behind both the U.K. and U.S. in recognizing and legitimizing advocacy as an important contribution to its democratic process. An organized challenge of the system at the political and legal level is called for to address this issue.