(LifeSiteNews) — Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre offered former public school trustee Barry Neufeld, who was fined $750,000 by the British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal earlier this year for opposing gender ideology, some support this month.
Poilievre was a plenary speaker at the Canada Strong and Free Conference in Ottawa on May 7. At the end of his speech, audience members were invited to a meet-and-greet and to take photos with the Conservative leader. Neufeld was in attendance, wearing a “Restore the North” cap that he’d received from Conservative MP Jamil Jivani several weeks earlier.
“As I shook hands with Mr. Poilievre, he recognized me, warmly shook my hand, and said, ‘I agree with you, there are only two genders,’” Neufeld told me. “I jokingly replied: ‘Careful, if they hear you saying that, you might get sued, too!” Poilievre told Neufeld he was not concerned.
Neufeld’s case made international news in February when the BC Human Rights Tribunal ruled that 24 of his “publications,” including social media posts, constituted “discrimination” and “hate speech.” The tribunal made it clear that Neufeld’s rejection of gender ideology was key to their decision.
“If a person elects not to ‘believe’ that gender identity is separate from sex assigned at birth, then they do not ‘believe’ in transpeople. This is a form of existential denial,” the tribunal stated. “A person does not need to believe in Christianity to accept that another person is Christian. However, to accept that a person is transgender, one must accept that their gender identity is different than their sex assigned at birth.”
Despite the fact that the tribunal’s fine was clearly intended to bankrupt Neufeld — and constitutes one of the largest punitive “hate crime” fines in the history of the English-speaking West — Neufeld told me shortly after his conviction that no Canadian media outlet had reached out to him for his side of the story.
Poilievre, however, has been outspoken about the injustice of Neufeld’s predicament. “This is insane and Orwellian,” Poilievre said in an X post. “Governments and kangaroo courts now chill freedom of expression instead of fighting crime, censoring people who dare to speak their minds. Just ask the B.C. school board trustee who got slapped with a $750,000 fine for saying there are two genders.”
In 2025, a Canadian journalist attempted to play “gotcha” with Poilievre by noting that the Trump administration had affirmed only two genders and asking him if a Conservative government would adopt a similar position. Poilievre responded, “Well, I don’t know. Do you have any other genders you’d like to name?”
The reporter declined to answer that and reiterated the question. “I’m not aware of any other genders than men and women,” Poilievre replied. “If you have any others you’d like me to consider, you’re welcome to tell me right now.” The reporter observed that he “personally” is a man but asked Poilievre if he would recognize “gender-neutral” or “transgender.” For the third time, Poilievre affirmed that he was only aware of two genders. The reporter moved on.
It is one of those “signs of the times” that a political leader is even asked how many genders there are; it is almost worse that we are relieved when a Conservative leader affirms what every human on the planet knew a few years ago, but here we are. I’m pleased that Poilievre took the time to express his support for Neufeld online and in person and offered him some encouragement. He deserves it.
Neufeld is currently appealing his case to the British Columbia Supreme Court.
