Cheri DiNovo

Cheri DiNovo is a former Canadian politician and current United Church of Canada minister.

After dropping out of school following multiple deaths in her family, DiNovo enrolled at York University, where she became involved in the student protest movement of the 1960s. She later earned a master’s of divinity and a doctorate in ministry from the University of Toronto.

DiNovo is known for her work in politics, having passed more pro-LGBT bills than anyone in Canadian history. The bills she has championed include Toby’s Act, which added trans rights to the Ontario Human Rights Code in 2012; the Affirming Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Act, which banned conversion therapy for LGBT youth in 2015; Cy and Ruby’s Act which established equality for LGBT parents in 2015; and the Trans Day of Remembrance Act in 2017.

In 2021, DiNovo published the autobiography The Queer Evangelist. The book details her transformation from a traumatized, drug-using “street kid” to a bi politician and religious leader. It discusses her involvement in left politics, her criticism of latent racism, antisemitism, and homophobia within organizations, and her officiating of the first same-sex marriage before it was legalized.

DiNovo also hosted a weekly radio show, The Radical Reverend, from 2000 to 2006. She also has two children.