These eight incredible Canadian Women, Elle Canada exclaims, then promptly goes on to reveal that #1 and #3 are men (while #2 sports a tight bandage over her hair and neck because Islam is such a women-friendly religion).

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.

Yay he’s trans and brown, so Elle Canada gets two prizes for incloosivitee.

No one walks the talk more than Ontario member of provincial parliament Sarah Jama. Since the conflict in Gaza began in October 2023, she has repeatedly called for a ceasefire and spoken in defence of the Palestinian people. After a kaffiyeh ban was introduced in the Ontario legislature in April, Jama continued to wear hers anyway—again and again, even after being removed.

Ah yes “the conflict in Gaza began in October 2023” – when Hamas slaughtered a bunch of people at a music festival. That “conflict.”

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.

Fae Johnstone is misogyny.

Elle Canada is a sour joke.