Disclaimer: (updated September 2)
This original article represents the opinions of a political personality but does not reflect the opinions of the publishers of ELLE Canada and its parent company, KO Media or any other ELLE affiliates. Following a number of concerning messages posted online and received by our magazine, the publisher chose to edit the original version of the article in order to protect everyone’s safety. Its byline was also removed. The original version of the article is still available in print, in our September issue.

VIVEK SHRAYA

Quadruple threat Vivek Shraya is all the things: musician, writer, actor and artist. Last year, she debuted her Canadian Screen Award-winning CBC web series, How to Fail as a Popstar, which is based on her own adventures growing up in Canada and trying to make it big and become the world’s first trans, brown Madonna. Shraya is also the founder of the award-winning imprint VS. Books, which offers publishing opportunities to emerging BIPOC writers. Meanwhile, her last book, 2022’s People Change, was included on CBC Books’ list of 26 Canadian Books to Read for Pride Month.

“At the core, every medium of art allows me to not only know and love myself better but also make connections with others,” says Shraya. “I find being a human to be a lonely experience, and making art and sharing it helps lessen the loneliness.” Though she is clearly a prolific and passionate artist, it’s tough for Shraya to discuss the impact her work has had and is having on young brown queer people. She does say simply, “My hope is that my work represents possibility.” There’s no doubt.

FAE JOHNSTONE

Few log as many overtime hours as Fae Johnstone, executive director of Wisdom2Action, an LGBTQIA2S+ consulting firm that facilitates the improvement of LGBTQIA2S+ inclusion for non-profits, government agencies and other organizations. The Ottawa native, who is also the executive director of the Society of Queer Momentum, has worked long and hard advocating for more rights and social support for the queer community, particularly amid resurgent homophobia, transphobia and misogyny. She has helped create spaces for joy and provided communities with the tools to take action themselves. “A more free, equal and socially just Canada is not only possible but also, in fact, a moral imperative,” says Johnstone. “None of us is free until all of us are free. No one should be made to live in fear, confronted with material inequality or denied their freedom simply because of who they are.”

Johnstone’s passion rarely wavers, even when she faces hate and slander (online and offline). “I refuse to cower and be silent, and I hope my visibility and outspokenness will give others the space to speak up and take action too,” she says. “I hope that my role in the public eye can be an example for other trans and queer people—that it can show we can change the world and rise to new heights in defiance of the boxes and limitations forced upon us. We can counter the divide-and-conquer strategy of our opposition by celebrating the world we are building together, being our true selves and organizing for a better future.”

CONNIE WALKER

A Pulitzer Prize- and Peabody Award-winning investigative journalist, Connie Walker has made it her mission to expose the violence faced by so many Indigenous communities and reveal the immense impact of intergenerational trauma stemming from Indian Residential Schools. Her work, which includes several podcasts investigating the stories of missing and murdered Indigenous people for CBC and now Gimlet Media, has given a platform to the voiceless and proven how essential new media is for marginalized journalists. “My biggest motivation is my family and my community,” says Walker, who’s from the Okanese First Nation in Saskatchewan. “I grew up on my reserve at a time when the media portrayal of Indigenous women and girls was full of stereotypes and misconceptions that were so harmful. At the time, I wondered how many Indigenous people worked in mainstream media and were allowed to tell [their] own stories. It motivated me to become a journalist; I wanted to help change harmful narratives about Indigenous people generally but also help provide insight into issues in my own community. I wanted to see myself and people like me in the media.”

There is tremendous heart in Walker’s work as well as grit and strength. It all fuels her pursuit of a better, brighter and more just future for Indigenous people. “All of the recognition of our work feels like proof that Indigenous people should be supported [in telling] our own stories,” says Walker. “It sounds like a no-brainer, but the truth is it’s been incredibly difficult to get to this point. For decades, survivors have fought to tell the truth about what they endured in residential schools and Indigenous families have struggled to get attention and support to help deal with the intergenerational trauma that continues to affect us all. I hope this recognition of my work helps create more space for other Indigenous journalists, storytellers and creators to tell [their] own stories in [their] own ways.”

TAYLOR LINDSAY-NOEL

Using her platform to her advantage, Toronto’s Taylor Lindsay-Noel has been logging her accessibility experiences as a quadriplegic around the city on social media—particularly TikTok—in a bid for a more inclusive world. “What motivates me is the hope that I’ll bring awareness to an issue that truly affects everybody,” says Lindsay-Noel. “Advocating for accessibility is advocating for our future. It’s definitely not an easy job, but it’s necessary, and I’m happy to do it.”

A woman of many talents, Lindsay-Noel is a former Olympic hopeful who was paralyzed in a gymnastics accident at the age of 14. Shifting gears, she went on to study radio and television arts, creating a podcast called Tea Time With Tay while at university and later founding her own tea company. That company, Cup of Té, even went on to become one of Oprah’s Favorite Things. Ever the advocate, Lindsay-Noel donates a portion of each sale to mental-health causes. “My ultimate goal is to live in a world with fully inclusive spaces—a world where everybody, no matter their disability, can access every space they encounter as easily as an able-bodied person,” she says.

FAWZIA MIRZA

Set and shot in Canada and Pakistan, 2023 film The Queen of My Dreams is a queer coming-of-age love story told from the brown perspective, and it was written and directed by Fawzia Mirza, who grew up in Sydney, N.S. It felt like a first for many reasons: its portrayal of brown queerness and growing up Muslim and the fact that it’s such a progressive Pakistani film. “As a queer Muslim South Asian artist, [I know that] the personal and the cultural are always intertwined,” says Mirza. “I can’t tell you a story of who I am without telling you a story of where I come from. When we are given the opportunity and the space [to share] our own narratives—to share our truths without them being filtered through the lens of the dominant culture—that is authenticity.”

The Queen of My Dreams is Mirza’s feature debut, but she’s working away on a number of projects for both film and television. She knows the industry is watching as more South Asian talents begin to carve out their own space, but she’s keen to right a few wrongs. “The industry glorifies our trauma,” says Mirza. “But we know that violence; we don’t need to put it onscreen. I want audiences to see not just our struggles but stories that centre our hope, love, beauty, resilience and liberation. That, to me, is revolutionary representation. I began writing out of necessity, because I didn’t see myself represented. Creating art helped save my life and reminded me that I’m not alone, and sharing that art has shown me the impact I can have. As our community rises, we will change the harmful narratives that others have perpetuated about us.”

SUZANNE SIMARD

A professor of forest ecology at the University of British Columbia and the author of 2021’s Finding the Mother Tree: Discovering the Wisdom of the Forest, Suzanne Simard should be a household name. She was recently chosen as one of Time magazine’s 100 Most Influential People for her work studying plant communication and intelligence. “Receiving this commendation is a profound honour, validating the efforts of my team to stand up for the forests and all who depend on them,” says Simard, whose work has even influenced the likes of James Cameron. (Hello, Avatar.) “This recognition fuels my motivation to continue striving for change, knowing our work makes a difference and inspires others.”

Simard, who grew up in B.C.’s Monashee Mountains, has published over 200 peer-reviewed articles and presented at conferences around the world, sharing her research on the relationships between trees and how they can teach us to heal forests, particularly amid climate change. In other words, her work couldn’t be more urgent or profound. “If they aren’t already, I hope people start paying attention to conserving biodiversity, combatting climate change and ensuring the health of our planet,” says Simard. “Forests are vital for our survival, and their well-being directly impacts our own.”

CASSIE CAMPBELL-PASCALL

After just its first season, the Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) has already made quite a splash, earning record-breaking television ratings and attendance records. One of the many women behind the league is former hockey player and broadcaster Cassie Campbell-Pascall, who serves as an adviser to the PWHL’s board. “My goal with the PWHL is to work as one team and play whatever role is needed to bring women’s hockey to the next level,” she says. “This first season has exceeded my expectations, but I want to continue to help in any way needed to make the league even better in year two.”

Born in Richmond Hill, Ont., Campbell-Pascall was the captain of the Canadian women’s ice-hockey team during the early 2000s, leading them to gold at the 2002 Winter Olympics and again at the 2006 games. After retiring from hockey that year, the legendary athlete joined Hockey Night in Canada (HNIC) as a reporter, becoming the first woman to do colour commentary on an HNIC broadcast. Later, she joined Sportsnet and ESPN, also inspiring more women to enter sports journalism. “One of the things that makes me most proud of my broadcasting career is that now so many former women’s hockey players are entering the broadcast world, and whether they cover the NHL or the PWHL, they do an amazing job,” she says. “I’m proud that my broadcasting career has lasted almost two decades and even prouder that more and more women are getting into covering hockey.”

Read more: 

Meet Seven Remarkable Women Who Hope To Represent Canada This Summer at The Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games
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