On Tuesday, August 29, 2023, the Canadian government issued a warning to members of the LGBT+ community planning to travel to the United States about the risks they may face in certain states.

Ottawa recommends in particular “Check local laws” regarding “Laws and Policies That Might Have an Impact” Members of this community in certain American states.

This type of warning is posted online on the State Department’s website and is typically targeted at countries known for their violations of LGBT+ rights, such as Russia, Egypt or Uganda.

In general, travel advisories issued by the Canadian government concern risks related to situations of political instability or natural disasters.

A “non-political” decision

Asked about this Tuesday, Canadian Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland emphasized at a press conference that this decision was not political.

“We have officials in government whose job it is to monitor what is happening in the world and to monitor the particular dangers that lurk in particular for certain groups of Canadians.”She said.

Canada, a country of 40 million people, is home to around one million LGBT+ people, according to Statistics Canada.

With 2.8 million visitors in June alone, the United States is the number one travel destination for Canadians.

Ottawa’s advice comes at a time when anti-LGBT+ rhetoric in the United States has met an avalanche of anti-transgender legislation enacted by conservative politicians and targeted boycotts of brands like Target supermarkets targeting LGBT+ -Support concerns, escalated.

In June, the US Supreme Court for the first time authorized certain companies to exclude LGBT+ customers on religious grounds.