What to know
- Black Queer Canada (BQC) has launched as Canada’s first research and policy lab dedicated to Black 2SLGBTQIA+ communities.
- The organization grew out of the Enchanté Network’s Back to Our Roots consultation, which highlighted the challenges and experiences of Black Queer and TransCanadians.
- BQC conducts research that disaggregates data by identity factors like region, age, and immigration status to ensure all experiences are represented.
- Through regional summits and national conferences, BQC connects leaders across the country and creates spaces for collaboration and support.
- The organization aims to improve outcomes in housing, employment, and rural inclusion, while giving Black Queer folks opportunities to thrive.
Many Black Queer Canadians are open about their experiences, including both the joy and the barriers they face — but those stories rarely make it into discussions about policy. A new organization wants to change that by putting hard data behind stories of lived experience and bringing those voices into national decision-making.
Black Queer Canada (BQC) is Canada’s first research and policy lab dedicated to addressing the unique, intersectional challenges facing Black 2SLGBTQIA+ communities.
During an interview at Ottawa’s National Art Centre (NAC), BQC Executive Director Tyler Boyce told Queer & Now that the organization is dedicated to conducting research to put quantitative, hard numbers behind the stories of Black 2SLGBTQIA+ communities. The aim is to allow storytelling to be used to better inform policy and legislation decisions. The organization itself emerged out of work already happening within Canada’s national Queer advocacy networks.
The Enchanté Network — which spearheaded the Back to Our Roots Project, ultimately leading to the creation of BQC — is Canada’s national network of 2SLGBTQIA+ organizations and is led by a Black, Queer team. Still, Boyce explained that it differs from having an organization built specifically for Black Queer communities.
“We believe truly that the antidote to tokenism is infrastructure, and that Black Queer and Transpeople deserve to have our voices heard, not just because an organization happens to have a Black Queer executive director,” Boyce explained. “But because we have an organization that’s going to be there for the Black Queer and Trans people of today, and for the generations to come.”
While the organization launched in February of this year, it’s been a long time coming. The groundwork for the organization began years earlier through a national consultation examining the experiences of Black 2SLGBTQIA+ Canadians.
Back to Our Roots
In 2024, The Enchanté Network hosted the Back to Our Roots conference, digging into the results of a national consultation with Black 2SLGBTQIA+ Canadians. BQC board member Brittan Davidson was heavily involved in the project, and explained that the results shared a holistic, bird’s eye view on the status and the experiences of Black Queer people across the country. This data is what fueled BQC’s upcoming research into homelessness within our communities, including the root of the issue.
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“We know at the root cause of the challenges that Black, Queer and Trans people face, is when you do come out, there’s this increased risk of losing the resources that you have available to you within your family system, within your community,” Davidson explained. “Because of the historical homophobia that has happened through colonization that impacts Black communities in a very unique way.”
They shared that the research will examine both the outcomes of Black 2SLGBTQIA+ youth with supportive families, and those without that network.
“What does it look like for them to thrive when they have that [family support] in place? And on the other side, what does it look like for Black Queer and Trans youth that don’t have that?”
This includes asking what limits the possibilities, and what resources would allow them to have brighter futures.
“We must take a deeper dive into that, and shed light on what I would say is at the roots of a lot of the challenges that Black Queer and Trans people are facing in Canada,” Davidson continued.
Black Queer Canada: Research
Part of that research includes meeting Black 2SLGBTQIA+ communities where they are across the country. The organization hosted several regional summits across Canada over the summer, visiting places like Calgary and Halifax to collect information and share resources with Black 2SLGBTQIA+ people in these areas.
“So we have special data reports on Black Queer people who are trans, gender non-conforming and non-binary; people who live in rural and remote areas; and healthcare and health outcomes,” BQC manager of research Zoë David-Delves told Queer & Now.
Work like this, which the organization plans to continue, helps to ensure that the nuanced experiences of these communities aren’t further marginalized, or excluded from the narrative by having their stories swept under the rug. David-Delves explained that they also pay special attention to disaggregating the large amount of data they collect based on various identity factors like region, age, ability, and immigration status.
“All of these things are important to know, because we always talk about Blackness not being a monolith. Queerness is not a monolith either,” she explained. “So of course, Black Queerness cannot be a monolith. It’s extremely diverse in and of itself.”
“The intersections are infinite, almost. So we want to ensure that we’re doing research that encapsulates that.”
She explained that while Black and 2SLGBTQIA+ communities are sometimes considered over-consulted, it’s in a way that’s superficial and lacking cultural comprehensiveness. This leads to research that does not investigate the intersectionality of Black Queer experiences.
“We don’t want to paint with one brush, we want to ensure that those intersections are accounted for, yeah. So that’s why we’re heavy on research, so that we can know what the issues are, to advocate for them from a policy standpoint on a national scale.”
Davidson explained that, while it’s a common assumption that cities like Toronto are the only places where Black 2SLGBTQIA+ people thrive, it is a myth. During these regional summits, it was evident that Black Queer and Trans communities are resilient and thriving across Canada, even in places with fewer dedicated resources.
“Black Queer and Trans people thrive in every single ecosystem that they’re put into, against all odds,” they told Queer & Now.
Black Queer Canada Conference
While research and policy influence are central to BQC’s work, the organization also focuses on building connections between Black Queer leaders and organizations across the country.
“Many people are in isolation while doing this work. They’re advocating on the ground in their communities, and they’re doing it, sometimes alone, sometimes under fear, most of the time without the resources that are needed,” Davidson explained. “One of the things that we do really well is create space for us to be in conversation, to share the knowledge that we have because we can resource each other.”
This includes events like the BQC conference that took over the NAC with a series of workshops, presentations, and events for three days in February, bringing together leaders from coast-to-coast to learn, share and celebrate.
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This includes Shelly-Ann Skinner, Chair of The Enchanté Network. They explained that these events are vital because they are one of the few places where Black 2SLGBTQIA+ communities can finally “unmask.”
“When we gather, we aren’t just networking; we are building a reciprocal engine of care and strategy,” Skinner told Queer & Now. “These conferences prove that we don’t have to wait for permission to lead; we are already the leaders we’ve been waiting for.”
Skinner is also founder and president of UPlift Black, a not-for-profit and centre for social justice and inclusion in Barrie, Ontario. The organization works to support and empower Black, Indigenous, racialized, and 2SLGBTQIA+ entrepreneurs, creatives and activists through anti-discriminatory, culturally relevant programming.
This is an example of the different smaller, local organizations BQC works with. Skinner explained that UPlift Black is a regional anchor and a dedicated collaborator with the national organization.
“We provide the ‘boots on the ground’ in Simcoe County, offering a local sanctuary where BQC’s national vision can take root,” Skinner shared. “We aren’t just affiliates; we are co-conspirators in ensuring Black Queer identity is celebrated and resourced everywhere.”
The future of Black Queer Canada
With research underway and new partnerships forming across the country, BQC is now looking toward what comes next. So what does the future of this young organization look like? Boyce explained that they are working toward a future where Black 2SLGBTQIA+ folks have fulfilling, happy lives.
He envisions a world “where Black Queer and Trans folks have beautiful homes, great employment outcomes, safe streets, and are able to enjoy what so many other groups in Canada take for granted: the ability to fulfill their potential and create the life that they want for themselves, because that is something that is available to them”
He also shared hopes that BQC gives brilliant Black Queer and Trans youth somewhere to share their unique gifts with the world.
“I hope this can be somewhere where they can bring their brilliance and their ideas and watch them flourish into beautiful realities for Black Queer and Trans people of today and also of tomorrow,” he explained.
BQC communications lead Jody Philogène explained that she hopes to see the organization continue to use storytelling to elevate the voices of Black 2SLGBTQIA+ Canadians, as representation is crucial.
“It’s important for BQC to be that voice, to amplify the voices of the community, and that’s what the core of us is, you know,” Philogène explained. “And we want everyone to be seen.”
“Even for me, taking this role… It’s like, this is what I needed when I was younger. So, we’re here to be that for people.”
Davidson hopes the organization can also function as a knowledge hub and support for Black 2SLGBTQIA+ people living in rural areas.
“I’d love to see a world where Black Queer and Trans people don’t feel like they have to leave their rural community in order to be their full selves.”
