Canada issues LGBTQ2S+ travel warning for United States

Canada has a warning for LGBTQ+ travellers heading to the United States: check the local laws of your destination ahead of time because it could spell trouble.

Global Affairs Canada on Tuesday (Aug. 29) issued an international travel advisory to warn members of the LGBTQ+ community that they could face discrimination if they travel to some places in the U.S.

Ottawa’s advisory for U.S. travel now includes a special advisory for LGBTQ+ people because "some states have enacted laws and policies" that may affect them. 

The update doesn't specify which states, or which laws, are of concern. Rather, it says travellers should check the local laws of their destination before travelling there.

The update comes after at least 18 U.S. states passed laws that limit or ban certain things such as gender-affirming medical care for minors and teaching about sexual orientation in schools.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security also warned in May that threats of violence against the LGBTQ+ community were happening more often.

Human rights & travel 

Human rights and travel have clashed in parts of the U.S. over the past year – specifically in Florida, where civil rights groups, last spring, issued travel advisories in protest of controversial policies sanctioned by the state’s Governor Ron DeSantis.

The National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People (NAACP), the League of United Latin American Citizens, and Equality Florida, a gay rights advocacy group, were among the organizations that raised concerns.

In a statement to PAX at the time, Dana Young, president and CEO of Visit Florida, the state’s destination marketing organization, called it “disappointing” that partisan organizations were “attempting to weaponize travel in pursuit of political ends.”

“Travel advisories issued with blatant factual misrepresentations are a disservice to the travelling public and are disrespectful to the incredibly diverse visitors and residents that are proud to call Florida home,” Young said.

READ MORE: Three civil rights groups have now issued travel advisories for Florida

The CEO noted that Visit Florida prides itself on “welcoming every visitor with the same warmth and friendliness, no matter where they are from, what they believe, whom they love or what their abilities are.”

Canadians who do not identify exclusively as female or male are allowed to have an “X” printed on their passport, travel document, citizenship certificate or permanent resident card.

However, according to Canada's general page for LGBTQ+ travellers, individuals who use an X on their passport, where it identifies gender, could may face discrimination in some destinations.

Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was asked about Canada’s LGBTQ+ travel update on Tuesday.

She said advisories issued by Global Affairs Canada are based on advice from professionals in the department whose job it is to monitor possible dangers.

As reported by the Canadian Press, Freeland would not say if the Liberals had discussed the issue with U.S. President Biden. Instead, she spoke of Canada’s important relationship with the U.S.

"We are able to manage that relationship regardless of the choice that the people of the United States make," Freeland told reporters.

"Even as we work hard on that government-to-government relationship, every Canadian government, very much including our government, needs to put at the centre of everything we do the interests and the safety of every single Canadian and every single group of Canadians."

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