Jim Egan

James Egan (September 14, 1921 – March 9, 2000) was a Canadian LGBT rights activist known for his role in the landmark Supreme Court of Canada case Egan v. Canada. He is considered Canada's first prominent LGBT activist, due to his initial period of activism from 1949 to 1964. Egan realized he was gay at a young age. He met John Norris "Jack" Nesbit, his lifelong partner, in 1948.

Early activism Professionally, Egan was self-employed as the owner of a biological specimen business, and so felt able to speak out without risk of losing his job, a fear that kept many other LGBT people in that era in the closet. His letters appeared in daily and weekly newspapers, and in magazines such as Saturday Night and Time. In another article in 1954 published in the tabloid Justice Weekly, he declared "The acceptance and integration that every thinking, responsible homosexual desires will come some day." even though Egan appeared in the article under a pseudonym, Nesbit — a more private person who was uncomfortable with Egan's public visibility – demanded that Egan give up his activism if he wanted to continue their relationship.

Move to British Columbia Although Egan initially refused and the couple broke up, Egan soon decided that he wanted to reunite with Nesbit and dropped his activist pursuits. The court ruled against Egan on the issue of spousal benefits, finding that the restriction of such benefits to heterosexual couples was a justified infringement because the core purpose of such benefits was to provide financial support to women who had spent their lives raising children rather than in paid employment Vriend v. Alberta, Little Sisters Book and Art Emporium v. Canada, and Halpern v. Canada, the decision that ultimately led to the legalization of same-sex marriage in Canada.

Later life Egan and Nesbit were subsequently named as grand marshals of Toronto's 1995 Pride Parade. The following year, they were the subjects of David Adkin's documentary film Jim Loves Jack. Egan published the memoir Challenging the Conspiracy of Silence: My Life as a Canadian Gay Activist in 1998,

Egan died of lung cancer on March 9, 2000, at his home in Courtenay, British Columbia.