Belonging in Action | pflag Canada

Their child may have just come out as gay, lesbian, bisexual, trans or nonbinary, and they are trying to figure out what to say next. What they say and do in the months that follow can shape a young person’s health for years. Even small steps toward acceptance make a real difference.¹

pflag parents do not stop at asking for their own peer support. They also organize proms and arts groups so their kids can find each other. They speak up in schools, in their communities and with governments, wherever their kids need someone to. In building these spaces, they have made room for something bigger: social and peer support by and for 2SLGBTQIA+ people.

Support, belonging and advocacy have always been woven together at pflag Canada.

That work matters even more right now. In 2026, Statistics Canada reported that fewer Canadians believe people should be free to express their gender however they choose than did in 2018.² Families feel it. So do our communities.

That is what Belonging in Action is for. Over the next five years, we will reach more people in rural, remote and northern communities, offer resources in more languages and formats, and partner with organizations people already trust. It is ambitious. It is also built in steps a volunteer organization can take: new resources every year, pilots before programs, and regional hubs where the demand is real.

We have spent two years building the foundation. Now we get to build on it.

Christopher Longtin
Chair, Board of Directors, pflag canada
November 2026

¹ Ryan, C., Huebner, D., Diaz, R. M., & Sanchez, J. (2009). Family rejection as a predictor of negative health outcomes in White and Latino lesbian, gay, and bisexual young adults. Pediatrics, 123(1), 346–352.

² Statistics Canada. (2026, May 22). Perceptions of gender-based violence and gender equality, identity and expression in Canada, 2025. Juristat.

Our vision

A just, caring and accepting Canada, where all sexualities, genders and gender expressions are affirmed.

Our mission

To support, educate and advocate for 2SLGBTQIA+ people and those who love them, through a national network of chapters and volunteers.

Our guiding principles

How we operate, and how we serve. These principles shape every priority in this plan.

How we operate

Peer support

Lived experience is the foundation of what we do. It creates a sense of belonging that formal or clinical training alone cannot. This is why pflag exists.

Honesty and accountability

We say what is true, even when it is uncomfortable or means acknowledging that we still have work to do. We are accountable to the people and communities we serve, and we are prepared to listen, learn, change, and do better.

Taking care of the people who do this work

Volunteers, staff, and chapter leaders are the heart of pflag. This work should fit into people’s lives, not consume them. We respect boundaries, honour capacity, and make it safe to say no.

Solidarity

Our communities hold many identities at once. Those identities connect us to other communities and other experiences. So we listen, we learn, and we build respectful relationships that help the families we serve.

How we serve

Equity over uniformity

A parent in rural Saskatchewan may need something different than a parent in Vancouver. We support the harder-to-reach areas to create equity. Our measures focus on who we reach and the impact we have, not just headcount.

National reach

We support people from coast to coast to coast. Geography should not impact access to support. We will go where the need is and create avenues to access support independent of location.

Support and advocacy, together

Answering an urgent call from a parent is just as important as advocating for strong, safe public policy. Answering the call helps a family. Strong systems stop the next crisis from happening. We advocate with compassion, clarity, and courage, in our own communities and on a national level.

Belonging in Action

pflag Canada Strategic Plan

These five priorities set out where we will focus from 2027 to 2031, and what we will do under each one. As the work happens, we will share our progress here.

Chapter infrastructure and support

Strengthen the foundation that enables every pflag chapter to welcome, orient, and sustain new leaders and volunteers.

Redesign onboarding for new chapter leads and volunteers

Develop clear orientation materials, documented organizational history, and practical guidance for running meetings.
Incorporate conflict handling and de-escalation basics for volunteer leaders.
Create a low-barrier entry path for people stepping into chapter leadership for the first time.

Build a centralized digital resource hub for all chapters

Consolidate printable materials, branded templates, slide decks, localizable assets, and operational guidance in one shared location.
Reduce duplicated effort so chapters can access standardized tools rather than building from scratch.
Design for easy updating so resources remain current as policy and context evolve.

Launch a mentorship program pairing new chapter leads with experienced volunteers

Offer one-to-one mentorship and peer problem-solving pathways.
Explore reverse mentorship where more tech-comfortable volunteers support long-time leaders.
Keep the model flexible rather than prescriptive to fit diverse chapter contexts.

Develop a virtual chapter model for underserved regions

Create a national online support structure for people in rural, remote, and northern communities where a local chapter is not yet viable.
Ensure virtual participants have meaningful access to pflag’s programs, resources, and community.
Use virtual engagement data to identify where in-person regional presence may become feasible over time.

Equity, diversity, and inclusion in practice

Move beyond aspiration: ensure board composition, decision-making, materials, partnerships, and accountability mechanisms reflect the communities pflag serves.

Build a more reflective and intersectional board

Encourage recruitment of members with lived or professional experience.
Use board seats, committee roles, advisor positions, and invited contributor pathways to broaden perspective without performative representation.
Measure progress while recognizing focus may shift as community needs and capacity evolve.

Implement board-wide DEI education and continuing learning

Require annual continuing education hours for board members (target: 8), tied to a certificate of completion or a report of learning.
Invite Elders, community educators, and members of diverse communities to lead learning sessions.
Offer self-paced modules alongside facilitated experiences to suit different schedules and learning styles.

Establish bi-annual accountability reporting on board contribution

Produce bi-annual report cards showing how board members are contributing to meetings, learning commitments, and governance responsibilities.
Make accountability visible and documented rather than relying on informal norms.

Engage and compensate advisors from marginalized communities

Pay advisors from other intersectionalities to review policies, procedures, and actions, and provide honest guidance.
Partner with equity-based organizations to ensure advice is grounded in community reality.
Make materials available in multiple formats, including video and audio, not only text, and keep the website accessible for text-to-voice users.
Work with libraries and school boards to identify the most-spoken languages and prioritize multilingual resources accordingly.

Rural and remote access

Close the gap between what people in major centres can access and what is available to families in rural, remote, and northern communities.

Add a minimum of three new resources annually for years one through three

Build a practical resource library incrementally rather than trying to close all access gaps at once.
Prioritize resource types identified as highest-need by chapter leads and community navigator input.
Design resources to be usable in low-connectivity and lower-literacy contexts where possible.

Pilot a community navigator program in underserved regions

Train navigators to help individuals and families find the right services, understand local systems, and move from information to action.
Begin with regional pilots, drawing on potential government funding partnerships to support the model.

Launch an annual travel bursary program

Reduce transportation barriers that prevent people in rural and remote communities from attending meetings, events, and training.
Design the bursary to be low-barrier to apply for, with culturally appropriate adjudication.

Develop regional hubs as online participation scales

Begin with strengthened online access, a national newsletter, and online support groups.
Track where participants are concentrated and use that data to identify viable anchor points for future in-person presence.
Move toward formalized volunteer and regional structures by year three as demand and capacity allow.

Sector partnerships and coalitions

Expand reach and cultural relevance by partnering with organizations that already have trust and infrastructure with the communities pflag aims to serve.

Partner with settlement agencies, community health centres, libraries, and school boards

Leverage the trusted relationships, language capacity, and service infrastructure these organizations already hold in their communities.
Engage public libraries as underused referral and outreach points, particularly for newcomer families and rural communities.
Build formal relationships with school boards and educators who serve as referral and support pathways for families.

Develop multilingual resources in partnership with community organizations

Co-develop resources with organizations embedded in specific language communities to ensure cultural competence, not just translation.
Use short-form video to reach people in their preferred language and format, with settlement agencies and community members.
Leverage influencers and explore non-traditional avenues for delivery.
Prioritize spoken and video delivery alongside written materials.

Build cultural competency through deep partnership, not outreach

Examine programming and material accessibility in collaboration with diverse communities.
Test materials and approaches with community partners before broader distribution.
Seek feedback, co-creation, and honest critique from partners embedded in equity-deserving communities.

Build organic, trust-based relationships rather than symbolic inclusion

Invest the time required to build real relationships before expecting partners to lend their networks or credibility.
When expanding into new cities and communities, do the groundwork and practice genuine reciprocity.
Measure partnership depth by the quality of co-creation, not the number of agreements signed.

Community education and awareness

Equip the sectors that interact most directly with 2SLGBTQIA+ youth and their families to respond with competence, compassion, and practical support.

Build or amplify formal education sector programs

Where complementary organizations are actively engaged in these programs, amplify and support their work.
Develop school board partnerships that create referral pathways directing families toward pflag supports.
Equip educators with awareness tools and materials to support students and their families.
Identify and support educators as community connectors in their local contexts.

Advocate for improved healthcare provider training and competence

Engage healthcare system partners to identify gaps and champion policy and curriculum change.
Advocate for an expansion of gender-affirming care and its availability at the primary care level.
Support families navigating healthcare systems through locally developed guides and navigator connections.

Engage faith communities with care and strategic intent

Identify faith community leaders already working toward inclusion and build relationships with them.
Develop resources tailored to families seeking support that is culturally or spiritually grounded.
Approach faith community engagement as relationship-building over time, not one-time programming.

Develop workplace education initiatives

Create materials and programming that help workplaces understand the family and community dimensions of 2SLGBTQIA+ inclusion.
Explore partnerships with employers and trade unions who want to support employees and members with 2SLGBTQIA+ family members.
Connect workplace programming to pflag’s broader chapter and community support network.

Find your place in what comes next

Whether you want to volunteer, partner with us or find support near you, there is a place for you in this work.

Volunteer with pflag

Partner with us

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