She's heading off on a global tour with her identical twin and bandmate Sara, taking in Europe, Australia and North and South America. On top of that is a fresh drive to support LGBTQ women with their newly formed Tegan and Sara Foundation.

In January, Tegan also took part in the global women's march in Los Angeles, where the sisters have spent the last year living, working and witnessing the election coverage and Trump era.

"It's terrible. Every time you turn on the news, it feels like an asteroid should hit at any point here because we should end it all," she says, dryly.

"Whether we like or not, America influences what happens around the world a lot of the time, and it doesn't help when this great democratic country that's supposed to be so open-minded and land of the free turns into pandemonium.

"But the march was really amazing. It did its job – it ignited a lot of fire and ignited a lot of young people to care and get involved, and reminded all of us that we need to step up."

Tegan and Sara, the 36-year-old twins from Calgary, Canada, have performed together since 1995. Both have been openly gay from the start of their professional career in 1998, and they have a long history of passionate advocacy for the LGBTQ community.

Their foundation, launched in December, works to improve economic justice, health and representation for LGBTQ girls and women. This includes tackling the disproportionate levels of poverty in the community, particularly for marginalised women of colour and transgender women.

Tegan says they felt galvanised to formalise their long-term activism in a foundation, particularly in the Trump era. Initiatives include supporting organisations helping train women on a path into mayoral and state politics.

The sisters have always felt a responsibility to speak up on issues, but as their popularity has grown, they have felt a greater obligation because of their relatively privileged existence, beyond the struggles they have experienced as queer women.

"I think we realised all of a sudden a few years ago that we were the '1 per cent' in our community," Tegan says. "We've had great success. We make great money. We've travelled the world. We're educated. We have a wonderful family – we weren't thrown out when we came out, we had incredible support. We have incredible healthcare.

"I just was like, holy shit, I sit around all day talking about all the things that our audience is suffering from and for, and the issues they have, and I recognised that we had grown to a point where we no longer were suffering and I wanted to use that privilege, use those resources – quite literally put our money where our mouth is."

Their Australian dates include the Mardi Gras party alongside the Veronicas, a gig they are "thrilled and honoured" to be a part of. Tegan is well aware of the status of marriage equality here and hopes that they can help support the cause.

"It's so tough because we see Australia as such a progressive place and we've always had such a wonderful time there and we've always been so well-received. It's a funny thing when those two things don't add up," she says.

They're touring off the back of eighth album Love You to Death, which continues their evolution as an anthemic synthpop act, but with a deeper, darker edge.

This year also marks the 10-year anniversary of their major breakthrough album, The Con. The twins plan to tour North America, and repackage the album with elements such as acoustic demos for fans around the world. The album remains a point of pride as the first time they gained control and started to nail the Tegan and Sara sound.

"I'm glad people love it so much and that it resonates because, it's weird, it still really resonates with me. It was a very, very pivotal moment of our lives."

Tegan and Sara play the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras party on March 4; the Tivoli, Brisbane, on March 6; the Gov, Adelaide, on March 7; Melbourne Zoo on March 8; and Taronga Zoo, Sydney, on March 9.