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What’s more, Peterson has famously vowed to use only the pronouns “he” or “she” — even if a student prefers to be called “they” in his university classroom.

All of it has made Peterson a lightning rod for criticism among the transgender community, a standard-bearer for free speech activists and a subject of intense curiosity.

Cara Tierney, a part-time University of Ottawa visual arts professor and local artist, was among those who protested the gallery’s decision to invite Peterson to speak.

“We don’t believe federal funding should be used to endorse individuals who have exceptionally problematic views, and who attempt to block human rights legislation to protect some of the most vulnerable people in our society,” she said.

“For the National Gallery to hire this individual sends a message to the trans community that we’re not valued in this space, and that our bodies are not considered valid.”

Mohamed Abdourahman, an Algonquin College student, was one of those turned away at the door. He came to support Peterson’s right to free speech. “I don’t think he’s transphobic; he just doesn’t want to be forced to use a particular pronoun,” Abdourahman argued. “There are times I disagree with Peterson, but he should be able to express himself.”

A former National Gallery employee, artist Pascale Arpin, designed and carried a protest sign outside the gallery that declared, “Ignorance is not creative.”

“I am embarrassed for the gallery today,” Arpin said. “Because in 2017, and given the importance of trans, gender-fluid, non-binary artists in making the gallery what it is, it’s an embarrassment that this is even a question: that someone who is transphobic would even speak here.”

In the gallery’s atrium, wearing a Make America Great Again baseball hat, Brandon Cryderman, 21, said he was disappointed at not being able to listen to Peterson, whom he admires for his fight against Bill C-16. He had travelled from Ingleside, near Cornwall, to hear his presentation.

“I feel I should have the right to call someone he or she. It might be rude, but I don’t think I should go to jail for that.”