Helen Kennedy (born 1958) is a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

human rights advocate and former city councillor. She has been the executive director of

Egale Canada Egale Canada is a Canadian charity founded in 1986 by Les McAfee to advance equality for Canadian lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBTQ) people and their families, across Canada. The organization's current executive director is former To ...

(Canada's leading 2SLGBTQI organization) since 2007.

Background

Helen was born in

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

. She went to Canada in 1979 at age 21. Kennedy began her career as an activist and change agent with the Industrial Accident Prevention Association. At the Industrial Accident Prevention Association, she became an advocate for workplace safety and people with disabilities, building awareness as editor of the association's magazine. In 1985, she was hired by the

Ontario New Democratic Party The Ontario New Democratic Party (NDP; , NPD) is a social democratic political party in Ontario, Canada. The party sits on the centre-left of the political spectrum. It is Ontario’s provincial section of the federal New Democratic Party. The ...

caucus at Queen's Park. She served the party for 14 years, in opposition and government. During that time, Kennedy founded the East York Tenants Association, which lobbied for rent controls and tenant rights. She also established Citizens for Access, an awareness campaign to open up public buildings to people with

disabilities Disability is the experience of any condition that makes it more difficult for a person to do certain activities or have equitable access within a given society. Disabilities may be cognitive, developmental, intellectual, mental, physica ...

Municipal politics

In 1988, she successfully ran for city councillor in

East York East York is a district and former municipality within Toronto, Ontario, Canada. From 1967 to 1998, it was officially the Borough of East York, a borough within the upper-tier municipality of Metropolitan Toronto. The borough was dissolved ...

. Her campaign was the first in Canada to provide campaign literature on tape for the blind. She served until 1991, leaving due to the increased demands of her position at Queen's Park when the NDP won the provincial election and formed the government. In 1999, Kennedy joined

Toronto City Council Toronto City Council is the governing body of the municipal government of Toronto, Ontario. Meeting at Toronto City Hall, it comprises 25 city councillors and the mayor of Toronto. The Toronto City Council 2022–2026, current term began on Nove ...

lor

Olivia Chow Olivia Chow (born March 24, 1957) is a Canadian politician who has been the 66th and current mayor of Toronto since July 12, 2023. Previously, Chow served as the New Democratic Party (NDP) member of Parliament (MP) for Trinity—Spadina fro ...

's team at City Hall, as constituency assistant in Ward 20. Following Chow's resignation from city council to run in the 2006 federal election, Kennedy submitted her nomination as a candidate for the

municipal elections In many parts of the world, local elections take place to select office-holders in local government, such as mayors and councillors. Elections to positions within a city or town are often known as "municipal elections". Their form and conduct var ...

with Chow's endorsement. In additional to Chow, Kennedy's candidacy was also endorsed by

Green Party of Canada The Green Party of Canada () is a federal political party in Canada, founded in 1983 with a focus on green politics. The Green Party is currently the fifth largest party in the House of Commons by seat count. It elected its first member of ...

leader

Elizabeth May Elizabeth Evans May (born June 9, 1954) is a Canadian politician, environmentalist, lawyer, activist, and author. She has served as the member of Parliament (MP) for Saanich—Gulf Islands since 2011. May is the leader of the Green Party ...

and

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

Senator

Nancy Ruth Nancy Ruth Rowell Jackman (born January 6, 1942) is a Canadian heiress, activist, philanthropist and former Canadian senator. Prime Minister Paul Martin appointed her to the Senate on March 24, 2005. While initially appointed as a Progressiv ...

. The seat was won by

Adam Vaughan Adam G. Vaughan (born July 3, 1961) is a Canadian lobbyist and former politician who was the Toronto city councillor for Ward 20 Trinity—Spadina from 2006 to 2014 and the member of Parliament (MP) from 2014 to 2021. A member of the Liberal Pa ...

, a former political reporter with

Citytv Citytv (sometimes shortened to City, which was the network's official branding from 2012 to 2018) is a Television in Canada, Canadian television network owned by the Rogers Sports & Media subsidiary of Rogers Communications. The network consis ...

Canadians for Equal Marriage

Kennedy was a founding member of Canadians for Equal Marriage, which ultimately resulted in Canada being the fourth country in the world to legalize

same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same legal Legal sex and gender, sex. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 38 countries, with a total population of 1.5 ...

Executive Director of Egale Canada

In April 2007, she was named executive director of

. She is the first woman to head the organization. Under Kennedy, Egale has made significant contributions towards equality through research initiatives which reveal the current state of inclusion, awareness campaigns and education programs to shift the culture of inclusion, and legal advocacy. Under Kennedy's guidance, Egale has filled a critical gap by establishing Canada’s first and only transitional home for 2SLGBTQI homeless youth - Friends of Ruby. Helen also played a large role internationally as the former Co-Secretary General of ILGA, a worldwide federation of 1100 member organizations campaigning for LGBTI rights. In March 2025, after 18 years in the role, it was announced that Kennedy would be leaving her role as executive director.

Awards and Recognition

In 2018, Kennedy received The Lifetime Achievement Award at Start Proud’s Leaders To Be Proud Of Awards. In 2023, she was recognized by

Women and Gender Equality Canada Women and Gender Equality Canada (WAGE; ), known as Status of Women Canada from 1976 to 2018, is a department of the Government of Canada. Previously an agency under the Department of Canadian Heritage, it gained department status after a vote in ...

as a ''Woman of Impact'' in human rights for her contributions to advancing gender equality in Canada.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kennedy, Helen 1958 births Living people Ontario municipal councillors LGBTQ municipal councillors in Canada Canadian LGBTQ rights activists Canadian lesbian politicians Irish emigrants to Canada Women municipal councillors in Ontario 20th-century Canadian municipal councillors 20th-century Canadian women politicians 20th-century Canadian LGBTQ people 21st-century Canadian politicians 21st-century Canadian women politicians 21st-century Canadian LGBTQ people