Words by Emma Paidra, Uncloseted Media
Design by Chyna Sudbury

In October 2025, Canadian politicians from British Columbia (BC) gathered in the provincial capital to vote on a motion to symbolically condemn the “intolerant” and “harmful” views of the Association for Reformed Political Action (ARPA), a far-right group that describes itself as a “Christian political advocacy organization.” 

“They are an organization that wants to end the federal ban on the documented, harmful and sinister practice of conversion therapy,” Rohini Arora, a member of Canada’s left-wing New Democratic Party, argued to her colleagues. “They’re the harassers in that story. The things that they stand for are about not letting people be who they are, not letting them love who they love.”

Every Conservative politician in the room refused to vote on the motion and instead walked out. This was likely due to former Conservative Party leader John Rustad asking his party members to “not participate in divisive politics.”   

Despite the motion passing 48-3, ARPA is very active in Canadian politics. They’ve filed 322 communication lobbying reports with the Canadian government since 2012. Some of these include efforts to eliminate education around sexual orientation and gender identity in BC’s schools, as well as end access to gender-affirming care for minors. One of ARPA’s current fights is to overturn Canada’s ban on conversion therapy.