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Ghislaine Gendron vs. transgender people

Ghislaine Gendron is a Canadian writer and anti-transgender activist. Gendron has served on the board of Pour les droits des femmes du QuĂ©bec (PDF QuĂ©bec) and served as national co-coordinator for Women’s Declaration International (WDI) Canada, responsible for QuĂ©bec and the francophonie.

Anti-trans activism

Gendron served on the board of Pour les droits des femmes du QuĂ©bec from 2014 to 2021. In 2020, Gendron and colleagues published an open letter in support of comments made by anti-trans extremist J.K. Rowling. They argue that “biological sex” is a material reality with legal and social significance for women. They contend that recognizing gender identity should not require denying or minimizing the importance of sex-based distinctions, and that legal protections for women depend on retaining sex as a meaningful category.

In response, a coalition of about 100 feminists published an open letter disputing Gendron’s claims.

On March 8, 2025 Canadian Women’s Sex-Based Rights (caWsbar) held an event called Reality Based Women Unite in Calgary. The event featured Liza Vespi, Maureen Sullivan, Drea Humphrey, Ghislaine Gendron, Trish Oliver, John Carpay, Amy Hamm, Heather Mason, and Kara Dansky.

Anti-surrogacy activism

Gendron is opposed to gestation pour autrui (GPA), or surrogacy. Surrogacy was made illegal both in France and Québec in 1994. In 2002, Québec passed a civil union Act which modernized assisted reproduction law and recognized parental projects involving assisted reproduction, particularly for LGBTQ couples, but surrogacy agreements remained unenforceable, and the birth parent had to consent to a legal adoption of the child.

On June 18, 2022, Women’s Space Vancouver held an event featuring Gendron titled “Surrogacy with Ghislaine Gendron.”

In 2023, QuĂ©bec’s Bill 12 received Royal Assent, and the civil code included a legal framework governing surrogacy while emphasizing the protection of surrogate mothers and children. It requires several

  • parties must have a written surrogacy agreement before pregnancy
  • surrogate must generally be at least 21 and domiciled in Quebec
  • only the surrogate may unilaterally withdraw from the agreement before birth
  • commercial surrogacy remains prohibited
  • intended parents may establish parentage by administratively changing the child’s filiation

In response, PDF Québec created a satellite site called Pour les droits des enfants du Québec [For the rights of Québec children] (PDEQ). Gendron and like-minded activists seek to reimpose similar complete bans in both Québec provinicial law and Canadian federal law.

Gendron filed briefs opposing Bill 12, which revised Quebec’s surrogacy laws and made surrogacy an enforceable contract and gives surrogates 30 days to decide if they wish to keep the baby.

“Ghislaine Gendron, the Canadian co-coordinator of Women’s Declaration International, is alarmed by Velez’s findings, and said in an interview that surrogates sign contracts without fully grasping the risks. Gendron called surrogacy the “opposite” of freedom: a commercial transaction for delivery of what she apologetically calls a “product” — which in this case is a child. According to Gendron, the woman generating that product, no matter how fervently she believes she’s exercising her reproductive rights, is reduced to a human incubator.”

References

Ashley, Florence (November 18, 2021). Au QuĂ©bec, la notion de sexe inclut les personnes trans [In Quebec, the concept of sex includes trans people.]. La Presse https://www.lapresse.ca/debats/opinions/2021-11-18/replique/au-quebec-la-notion-de-sexe-inclut-les-personnes-trans.php

Open letter (July 3, 2020). Nier l’identitĂ© de genre d’une position fĂ©ministe [Denying gender identity from a feminist standpoint]. La Presse https://www.lapresse.ca/debats/opinions/2020-07-03/nier-l-identite-de-genre-d-une-position-feministe.php [response to this article by Gendron et al.]

Anti-trans coverage

Faruqui, Ferrukh (October 20, 2025). Opinion: Putting a Pause on the Practice of Surrogacy. Undark https://undark.org/2025/10/20/opinion-surrogacy-health-risks/

Faruqui, Ferrukh (January 1, 2025). Should Canada allow surrogates to be compensated? Canadian Affairs https://www.canadianaffairs.news/2025/01/01/should-canada-allow-surrogates-to-be-compensated/

Selected writing by Gendron

AthĂ©a, Nicole; Gendron, Ghislaine; Trilling, ClĂ©mence (March 26, 2024). GPA: «Non, le QuĂ©bec ne vient pas de mettre en place une “GPA Ă©thique”» [Surrogacy: “No, Quebec has not just implemented ‘ethical surrogacy’”]. Le Figaro https://www.lefigaro.fr/vox/monde/gpa-non-le-quebec-ne-vient-pas-de-mettre-en-place-une-gpa-ethique-20240326

Gendron, Ghislaine; Sirois, MichĂšle (2022). Une particularitĂ© Ă  dĂ©fendre : le cas du QuĂ©bec [A distinctiveness to defend: the case of Quebec]. In Stoicea-Deram, Ana-Luana; Devillers, Marie-JosĂšphe [editors]. Ventres Ă  louer: Une critique fĂ©ministe de la GPA [Wombs for Rent: A Feminist Critique of Surrogacy]. L’ÉchappĂ©e ISBN 978-2373091007

El Mabrouk, Nadia; Gendron, Ghislaine; St-Amour, Johanne (November 15, 2021). Assimiler genre et sexe ? Tout le monde est concernĂ© [Equating gender and sex? It affects everyone.]. La Presse https://www.lapresse.ca/debats/opinions/2021-11-15/assimiler-genre-et-sexe-tout-le-monde-est-concerne.php

Gendron, Ghislaine; Sirois, MichĂšle (November 12, 2020). Protecting the Physical and Psychological Integrity of Children and Adolescents with Gender Dysphoria: Brief on Bill C-6. Pour les droits des femmes du QuĂ©bec (PDF QuĂ©bec) https://www.ourcommons.ca/Content/Committee/432/JUST/Brief/BR11002891/br-external/PourLesDroitsDesFemmesDuQu%C3%A9bec-10347826-e.pdf

El-Mabrouk, Nadia; Gendron, Ghislaine; Jubinville, Lyne; Girard, Marie-Claude; Faubert, Chantal (June 22, 2020). Nier la biologie, sans consĂ©quence sur les droits des femmes? [Denying biology, with no consequences for women’s rights?]. La Presse https://www.lapresse.ca/debats/2020-06-22/nier-la-biologie-sans-consequence-sur-les-droits-des-femmes

Resources

Women & Girls Alberta (womenandgirlsalberta.ca)

IMDb (imdb.com)