Michael Hendricks, one of Canada's most influential LGBTQ+ rights campaigners and a pioneer of the country's marriage equality movement, has died aged 84. Hendricks died on 18 July after living with a degenerative lung disease, according to reports from Canada. He is survived by his husband, René Leboeuf.
For decades, Hendricks was at the forefront of the fight for LGBTQ+ equality in Canada, campaigning for the rights of gay people during the HIV/AIDS crisis and helping to secure legal recognition for same-sex marriage.
Alongside Leboeuf, Hendricks became part of Canadian history in April 2004 when the couple became the first same-sex couple to marry legally in Quebec. Their landmark wedding came after a six-year legal battle that helped pave the way for marriage equality across Canada.
Same-sex marriage was subsequently legalised nationwide in Canada in 2005, with campaigners crediting Hendricks and Leboeuf's court challenge as one of the key moments in the country's journey towards equal marriage rights.
Before his work on marriage equality, Hendricks was deeply involved in advocacy during the HIV/AIDS epidemic of the 1980s and 1990s. Together with Leboeuf, he worked with activists and community organisations to support people living with HIV and commemorate those who died during the crisis.
One of his most enduring achievements was helping establish Parc de l'Espoir in Montreal's Gay Village, a memorial dedicated to people from Quebec who lost their lives to AIDS. More recently, Hendricks successfully campaigned to protect the site when proposed changes threatened its future.
Born in the United States in 1941, Hendricks moved to Canada after receiving a Vietnam War draft notice in 1968. He settled in Montreal, learned French and dedicated much of his life to campaigning for social justice and LGBTQ+ rights.
Over the years, he co-founded Lesbians and Gays Against Violence, helped establish influential LGBTQ+ advocacy organisations in Quebec and became a respected figure within Canada's queer community.
Tributes have poured in following news of his death, with campaigners and community leaders praising his lifelong commitment to equality. Speaking to Canadian media, those who knew him described Hendricks as a devoted activist whose work transformed the lives of countless LGBTQ+ people.
His legacy can be seen not only in Canada's legal recognition of same-sex marriage, but also in the generations of LGBTQ+ people who benefited from the rights and protections he spent decades fighting to secure.
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