OTTAWA — Two Conservative MPs say leading a fundraising cruise for LGBTQ+ refugees is a tangible way for the party to advance the rights of gender and sexual minorities.

“We’re all God’s creatures and we’re all loved, and we all deserve to be loved and we all deserve to feel safe and secure,” Scott Aitchison told The Canadian Press.

“I believe that it’s important for all of us to — not to preach that, but to demonstrate that.”

Aitchison is MP for Parry Sound—Muskoka, a riding popular with Torontonians who own cottages.

Last Friday, he announced a July 15 fundraising boat cruise for Rainbow Railroad, an organization that helps resettle persecuted LGBTQ+ people from around the world in Canada and other countries.

In a social media video, he and Conservative deputy leader Melissa Lantsman, who is lesbian, urged members of the public to buy $150 tickets.

The video drew a mix of praise, grumblings about the affordability crisis and criticism of the party’s relationship with the LGBTQ+ community.

Aitchison said he got the idea after a January 2023 visit to Kenya arranged by the non-profit Results Canada to see the work of the 2010 Muskoka Initiative, a health pact the Stephen Harper government signed with other G8 nations at a summit hosted in Aitchison’s riding.

Aitchison said that after hearing from specialists in maternal and infant health and meeting with LGBTQ+ activists in Kenya, he was “pretty enamoured” with their work to “literally save people’s lives from state-sponsored hate.”

“Most people probably in Canada don’t realize that there are over 60 countries where it’s still illegal to be who you are, if you’re gay or trans or lesbian,” he said.

“I mean, honestly, it’s illegal and it’s terrifying. Home is not secure to these folks.”

Aitchison said he promised to help fundraise for Rainbow Railroad but got sidetracked by the 2025 election and other duties.

The idea behind the two-hour Muskoka cruise, he said, is to expand Rainbow Railroad’s donor base beyond the big cities. The goal is to get 125 passengers and raise $20,000 to $25,000 through tickets and donations, and to consider future work to support the group.

LGBTQ+ rights are in retreat in much of the world.

In May, Ghana’s parliament passed a bill imposing prison terms of up to 10 years on people promoting LGBTQ+ activities. In March, Senegal ratified a law that doubles the penalties for same-sex acts and prescribes jail terms for financially supporting LGBTQ+ organizations.

Activists say there are small signs of progress, such as Thailand’s decision to legalize same-sex marriage last year.

Aitchison said he has met with MPs in Kenya who have chosen not to support measures to limit LGBTQ+ expression. He argued Canadians can show the world a path toward equality without lecturing others.

“It’s important for organizations like Rainbow Railroad, but more importantly … political leaders from around the world not to preach but to lead by example,” he said.

Aitchison does not identify as LGBTQ+ but is a member of the Pride Caucus, a multi-party group of MPs and senators working to advance the rights of gender and sexual minorities.

“This is not a partisan issue. I think people need to feel secure and safe and who they are, and that shouldn’t be political,” he said. “Using people to try to divide for political reasons is pretty gross to me.”

He added this work does not distract from his party’s primary political focus on Canadians’ affordability concerns.

The Conservative party has had a fraught relationship with prominent LGBTQ+ advocates, some of whom have criticized Tory Leader Pierre Poilievre for not taking part in Pride parades and for not opposing provincial policies that would require schools to inform parents if their child changes their name or gender identity.

Poilievre has spoken out against the persecution of LGBTQ+ people abroad and endorsed work by the Harper government to resettle some as refugees. In June 2023, he said Canada promises “freedom from bigotry and bashing, freedom to be judged by personal character — not by group identity.”

In autumn 2023, The Canadian Press obtained a message sent to MPs in Poilievre’s caucus telling them not to post online or talk to media about competing protests on Parliament Hill over how schools handle LGBTQ+ issues and what the memo described as “parental rights.”

At the time, thousands of protesters had gathered in cities across the country for competing rallies over the way schools teach sexuality and gender identity.

Aitchison said some MPs may have avoided posting on social media about attending Pride events or even deleted such postings due to the “negative, disgusting attention” these topics receive online.

“I’ve never been instructed by Pierre Poilievre or anybody else in our party not to do an event like this, or go to a Pride picnic or a Pride event,” he said.

“Going to a Pride parade doesn’t make you more or less accepting of LGBTQI+ people,” he said, suggesting the cruise can do more to change things on the ground.

In an email, Lantsman said that while Aitchison should speak to the event as he is the host, the idea is to go beyond symbolism.

“Honoured to be a part of this with him, and use our platforms to do something real and tangible for freedom with the LGBT community where it makes the most impact,” she wrote.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 24, 2026.