June is Pride Month, and marks the beginning of Pride Season in Canada. Pride season runs June to September and includes a variety of summer Pride events. Last year, Canada officially established Pride Season to celebrate 2SLGBTQ+ people all over the country. In honour of Pride Season, we would like to bring to your attention some Canadian 2SLGBTQ+ politicians.
In our last Federal election in 2021, a record-breaking eight 2SLGBTQ+ candidates were elected to parliament. This is double the amount of the last federal election in 2019, when four openly 2SLGBTQ+ members of parliament (MPs) were elected. There were also 62 openly 2SLGBTQ+ candidates who ran for major federal parties in 2021.
- In 1988, Svend Robinson made history when he became the first MP in Canada to announce to the public that he was gay. He was the NDP MP for Burnaby-Kingsway in BC. Six months later he was re-elected.
- In 2013, Kathleen Wynne made history by becoming the first woman Premier of Ontario, and first openly gay premier in Canada. She was also the leader of Ontario's Liberal Party from 2013 to 2018.
- In 2017, Julie Lemieux made history by becoming the first openly transgender mayor in Canada. She was elected in Très-Saint-Redempteur, Quebec. In 2021, she was re-elected, which also made her the first transgender person to be re-elected in Canada as mayor.
- In 2021, Blake Desjarlais made history in 2021 when he became the first openly Two-Spirit person to be elected to the House of Commons. He is also Alberta’s only Indigenous MP.
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