Conservative Party Leader Pierre Poilievre expressed his opposition to biological males competing in women’s sports and using women’s bathrooms during a press conference on Feb. 21 in Kitchener, Ont. In response to a question from Rebel News reporter David Menzies, who had reported on biological males competing in women’s rugby and basketball and how it impacted real women and girls, Poilievre stated that female spaces should be exclusively for females.
When asked if a future Conservative government would “make female safe spaces safe again” by passing a law to ban transgender women from female sports or from accessing female shelters and prisons, Poilievre commented that many of those spaces are under provincial or municipal control, so it’s not clear what laws the federal government could adopt to have an impact.
Following Poilievre’s statement on Feb. 5, in which he stated that his party stands for “common sense, like on everything else,” the Conservative leader took a firmer stance on Feb. 7, opposing puberty blockers for children and advocating for self-determination for minors. Meanwhile, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith announced plans to ban gender-altering surgery for minors under 18 and to restrict the use of puberty blockers for those under 16, as well as indicating that transgender men will not be allowed to compete in women-only sporting divisions.
Since becoming party leader in September 2022, core social issues have not been a primary focus for Mr. Poilievre. Instead, he has centered his message on affordability, which has resonated with Canadian voters. Additionally, Conservative Party delegates recently adopted resolutions at their latest convention opposing sex-change procedures for minors and banning men from women-only sports and spaces. The National Post/Léger poll published on Feb. 16 showed that 45 percent of respondents approve of a blanket ban on gender-reassignment surgeries for minors, with approximately 30 percent in support of the medical intervention with parental consent, while 11 percent support such surgeries without parental consent.
Liberals have reacted harshly to Alberta’s new policies, with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau calling them the “most anti-LGBT policies” in Canada and emphasizing the need to defend LGBT youth.