At the time of its inception in 1925, the United Church of Canada considered homosexuality a sin, and openly LGBTQ persons were rejected as candidates for ministry.
By the 1970s, attitudes had changed, and as early as 1977, the United Church urged Canada's Parliament to amend human rights laws to protect gay men and lesbians against discrimination.
[1] Although openly gay candidates were still rejected for ministry, that began to change on August 17, 1980, when a United Church of Canada task force released In God's Image...
[1] A poll taken within the church revealed that only 28% of members supported this concept, and conservative factions vowed to defeat the proposal that would be tabled at the 32nd General Council later that year.
In 2003, at the 37th General Council, commissioners affirmed that "human sexual orientations, whether heterosexual or homosexual, are a gift from God and part of the marvellous diversity of creation."