Sound Allyship? Straight Politicians and LGBQ Representation in Canada

How do heterosexual politicians who are allies perform LGBQ representation? Through the eyes of Canadian LGBQ parliamentarians, I uncover some heterosexual politicians’ motivations for becoming allies and some of their concrete practices in this regard. I also identify some criticisms voiced by LGBQ parliamentarians in relation to their heterosexual colleagues’ activities of LGBQ representation. Straight politicians become allies for ideological and lived experience reasons. However, beyond best intentions, heterosexual allyship is not without its critics among LGBQ parliamentarians. In conclusion, I contemplate some of the contributions that this article can make to substantive representation and argue for further work to address the voices and experiences of straight parliamentarians on their allyship activities of LGBQ representation.