Canadians for Equal Marriage
Political Advertising, Ad Campaign, Campus Signage
Canada the Fair
When Canada’s same-sex marriage law, Bill C-38, was passed, Canada became the first country in the western hemisphere and only the fourth in the world to allow same-sex couples to marry. But passage had by no means been a certainty. Bill C-38 would be a political showdown between the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and strong provincial governments. In order to avoid bureaucratic chaos and inequality for some Canadians under the law, Canadians for Equal Marriage was formed to begin a dialog between Canadians and their elected government officials. The goal was to build a national consensus in among Canadians and the government to drive the passage of Bill C-38 in Ottawa, making same-sex marriage the law in all of Canada.
Creative Idea
The Civil Rights Battle of our Time
Despite many visible similarities, Canada and the United States have some less-than-obvious fundamental differences. One of which is the historical relationship between the populace and the role of civil rights in society. While a large percentage of African-Americans are descendants of people brought forcibly from Africa to the US before the Civil War, Canada’s black population is primarily the result of voluntary immigration from other British Commonwealth realms during the 20th century. Therefore, Canada observed, but did not experience first-hand, the US Civil Rights Era. Positioning the passage of Bill-C38 as winning the civil rights battle of our time was came with all the power but none of the political divisiveness of such statements made in the US. The power of the message could, therefore, be elevated above political discourse and be presented as an issue of fairness.
