The Ontario Liberal Party Leadership Candidates and Human Rights
November 20 will kick-off the final week of the Ontario Liberal Party leadership race before voting takes place that same weekend. But it’s also a day that’s of great importance to a community that has been largely ignored by the leadership candidates: trans and non-binary people.
The Transgender Day of Remembrance was first recognized in November 1999 after the quickly forgotten murders of two Black transgender women in Massachusetts in November 1995 and November 1998. Ontario would go on to officially recognize the date through the Trans Day of Remembrance Act, 2017 while the Legislative Assembly has observed a moment of silence on November 20 every year since.
Throughout this leadership race, the candidates have demonstrated a very different kind of silence by failing to stand up for Ontario’s 40,000 person strong trans and non-binary community as it faces increasing attacks within our province.
An Overview of the Global Rise in Anti-Trans Hate
If you’re not extremely online or don’t often flip through the pages of a physical newspaper, you might not be familiar with rising anti-trans hate. So here’s some background on how anti-trans rhetoric and legislation first modeled in the US and UK has quickly made landfall across Canada.
Being sandwiched geographically, historically, and politically between the US and the UK, it’s not all that unsurprising that the politics of those nations tends to leech into our own. Since the passage of same-sex marriage in the US, the far-right’s focus has landed squarely on trans people.
It started with bathroom bans and sporting restrictions but has now ballooned into book bans, health care restrictions, and attacks on the rights of trans kids. The onslaught is so large that 586 anti-trans bills have been put forward in 49 of 50 US States this year alone.
The UK has not been far behind given it is home to the so-called TERF (trans-exclusionary radical feminist) movement. While trans people were protected under the Gender Recognition Act of 2004, there are now attempts being made to roll back these rights by defining sex as one’s sex a birth (ironically this is being done under the Equality Act) in order to declare single-sex spaces and restrict transgender and non-binary people from accessing them.
In Canada, we tend to be 6–24 months behind both of these countries when it comes to human rights battles. Which is why it was not surprising that this year saw intensified efforts by conservative politicians across the country to strip trans and non-binary people of hard-won recognition of their intrinsic rights. They have seen the blueprint laid out by Conservatives in the UK and Republicans in the US. And they are now deploying it here in Canada.
In Canada, New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs first introduced the idea of mandatory parental consent if students wanted to change their pronouns or names at schools. What amounted to a forced-outing policy in schools that could put trans and non-binary kids at risk of parental violence, homelessness, and even suicide, was not even popular in his own caucus or with the general public. Yet he went ahead anyway.
New Brunswick’s Child and Youth Advocate called out that the policy violated the rights of kids under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Higgs did not cite any scientific arguments for rolling back the rights of trans kids to privacy, bodily autonomy, or to determine their own gender identity and expression. He also couldn’t cite a single complaint from a parent that led him to unilaterally force through these changes.
Months later, Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe decided to copy Higgs and introduce forced-outing policies in the province’s schools after a new and even more conservative-leaning party ate into his party’s support in a recent byelection.
The Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission came out against Moe’s proposal, stating that “The [Saskatchewan Human Rights Code] protects the human rights of all Saskatchewan residents, not just those over the age of 18. It applies to all residents of Saskatchewan equally and does not single out the parent/child relationship”. The commissioner resigned when the Premier overturned a court ruling on the matter by invoking the Not-withstanding Clause to enforce the forced-outing policy.
As all of this was happening, Ontario’s Education Minister echoed the two premiers in an interview and stated that “we have to respect the rights of parents”. A week later at a barbecue, Premier Ford removed all doubts about his government’s position when he added, “It’s not up to the teachers, it’s not up to the school boards to indoctrinate our kids”.
Instead of providing a full-throated defense of the rights of kids and trans and non-binary people, many in Liberal circles brushed all this off as a mere distraction from the Greenbelt scandal the Ford government continues to be embroiled in (and was in no danger of disappearing from the front pages even if trans rights had become a temporary focus).
What should have been an easy defense of human rights for each of the candidates expressed by a simple tweet instead ended up calling into question their leadership abilities, familiarity with existing education policy, and dedication to upholding human rights when the rights in question belong to kids as well as trans and non-binary people.
A lot of excuses have been made to those who actually did speak up. But whether these anti-trans comments and policies were dredged up for distraction, ideology, or meanspirited sport, the fact remains that human rights remain on the chopping block everywhere there is a conservative government in power in Canada. And it’s on Liberals to fight back.
Evaluating the Leadership Candidates
There are two ways we can evaluate the OLP leadership candidates on their leadership in defending trans and non-binary rights: we can look at their records in office as well as their comments shared so far in this race.
Note: Candidate records and statements have been compiled using legislative and parliamentary voting and bill records, news searches, and advanced searches on X (Twitter). While these lists were exhausting to compile, they may not be 100% exhaustive.
BONNIE CROMBIE
THE RECORD:
As a Federal MP (2008–2011):
- In 2010, she voted in favour of Bill C-389 which would amend the Canadian Human Rights Act to include gender identity and gender expression as prohibited grounds of discrimination
As Mayor of Mississauga (2014-Present):
- In 2019, she unveiled the Pride and Transgender flags at Mississauga City Hall and hosted the first annual Mayor’s Pride Social (which she has hosted every year since)
- In 2021 and again in 2022, she recognized and put out a statement about the Trans Day of Visibility, committing to addressing trans discrimination and transphobia in Mississauga
- In 2021, she called out the burning of a Pride flag at a local high school and attended the LGBTQ2IA+ solidarity rally that followed
- In 2022, she introduced and passed a motion at Council that officially declared June Pride Month, recognized Pride as an official City event, called for the raising of the Pride Progress Flag at City Hall, and that flags be purchased and raised at all city facilities for the month of June
- In June, she hosted her annual Mayor’s Pride Social and sent video greetings to the Progress Pride flag raising event in Mississauga
THE RACE (June 14-Present):
In June, Bonnie put out a statement in support of the LGBTQ2IA+ and students at the University of Waterloo after a hate-motivated triple stabbing was carried out targeting a gender studies class. She also attended Toronto Pride with the other leadership candidates. In July, anti-LGBTQ2IA+ organizers planned a protest in Mississauga and Bonnie put out a statement condemning it.
RESPONSE TO LECCE’S COMMENTS
When Lecce made his comments on August 28th, Bonnie was away on vacation. She put out her response three days later on August 31:
What the statement got right:
- Leading with the trans community by naming who has been harmed
- Calling out US-imported and far-right coordinated anti-trans campaigns
- Questioning the timing of the attack as a politically motivated distraction to the Greenbelt Scandal
- Laying out the Liberal track record in defending trans and non-binary people as well as the broader LGBTQ2IA+ community
- Committing to expanding on the Liberal record of support in the future
What the statement got wrong:
- Calling the attack nothing more than a distraction despite the dangerous and coordinated efforts by Canadian conservatives to introduce similar policies across the country
- Not highlighting the health and safety risks to trans and non-binary kids who are outed against their will
Her statement could have been improved by getting more specific about the effectiveness of our current school policies and what rolling them back would mean for trans and non-binary kids. However, it remains the clearest and strongest of all four statements made by the candidates.
RESPONSE SINCE LECCE’S COMMENTS
Since weighing in with this statement, she also called out anti-LGBTQ2IA+ protests at Queen’s Park, Mississauga, and other cities across Canada on September 20. Bonnie has also continued showing her support for the LGBTQ2IA+ community by coming out against the now overturned pride tape ban in the NHL. She also put out a tweet acknowledging Trans Awareness Week in November. On the Transgender Day of Remembrance, she retweeted the Party’s post.
Bonnie has not commented on or pushed back against the following:
- Doug Ford accusing educators of ‘indoctrinating students’ on gender (September 8)
- The passage of a policy resolution to ban gender affirming health care for youths at a Conservative Party of Canada policy conference (September 9)
- The passage of a policy resolution to demand single-sex spaces that are only open to “female persons” at a Conservative Party of Canada policy conference (September 9)
- Saskatchewan Premier Moe using the Notwithstanding Clause to implement a forced outing policy in that province’s schools (October 20)
NATE ERSKINE-SMITH
THE RECORD:
As a Federal MP (2015-Present):
- In 2017, supported legislation to prevent discrimination based on gender identity and gender expression
- In 2017, supported Prime Minister Trudeau’s formal apology on behalf of the Government of Canada for its historic systemic oppression, criminalization, and violence against the LGBTQ2IA+ community
- In 2018, supported the Liberal Government’s decision to destroy historical criminal records related to consensual same-sex activity
- In 2021, supported the Liberal Government’s ban on conversion therapy
- In 2022, he supported ending the gay blood donation ban in Canada
- In 2022, he attended Toronto Pride as he has every year since becoming an MP
- He showed support this April for the flying of the Pride flag in Norwich Township after the local council held a vote to ban it
THE RACE (May 8-Present):
In June, Nate attended Toronto Pride and specifically called out the importance of supporting the trans community. In July, Nate tweeted his solidarity with the trans and non-binary community as hate rallies began to take place across the province. He also attended London Pride in July.
RESPONSE TO LECCE’S COMMENTS
When Minister Lecce’s comments came out on August 28, Nate was also away on vacation and out of phone and email range. Three days later, he put out this lengthy statement over 18 tweets beginning with this one:
What the statement got right:
- Leading with the trans community by naming who has been harmed
- Calling out US-imported and far-right coordinated anti-trans campaigns
- Highlighting the health and safety risks to trans and non-binary kids who are outed against their will
- Questioning the timing of the attack as a politically motivated distraction to the Greenbelt Scandal
What the statement got wrong:
- Suggesting we make policy room for parents who suggest the teaching of tolerance in schools has gone too far
- Potentially suspending the faith-based views of children in favour of the ones expressed by their parents and other adults in the school system
- Accepting the euphemistic far-right premise of ‘parents’ rights’ by suggesting “the law recognizes the primacy of parental rights” and therefore agreeing parents have veto power over the rights of children
- Making an argument about ‘capacity to consent’ under the age of 16 that places age limits on the legally recognized rights of children
- Ignoring the existing legal protections of children, including the right to participate in any and all decisions that impact them regardless of their age (as laid out in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, ratified by Canada in 1991)
- Failing to commit to expanding on the Liberal record of support in the future
From speaking to him at length about this issue, I do believe Nate means well. Most of his answer can be chalked up to accepting the status quo in an unnecessarily long-winded manner. He would have been better served by simply starting with that position.
However, his considerations around age, if acted upon, would roll back existing rights that are currently being protected in schools. And making space for attacks on tolerance will only lead to more outward expressions of bigotry towards trans and non-binary kids.
RESPONSE SINCE LECCE’S COMMENTS
On September 19, a prominent trans-activist and president of Queer Momentum Fae Johnstone weighed in on a tweet from someone who had attended one of Nate’s campaign events. Nate responded, suggesting he might be open to revising his views on the age and rights discussion related to trans and non-binary kids.
When anti-LGBTQ2IA+ protests took place across the country and on the grounds of Queen’s Park on September 20, Nate attended the counter protest and tweeted his solidarity with the trans community. At the end of Trans Awareness Week and in advance of the Transgender Day of Remembrance in November, Nate shared a three-tweet thread of support.
Nate has not commented on or pushed back against the following:
- Doug Ford accusing educators of ‘indoctrinating students’ on gender (September 8)
- The passage of a policy resolution to ban gender affirming health care for youths at a Conservative Party of Canada policy conference (September 9)
- The passage of a policy resolution to demand single-sex spaces that are only open to “female persons” at a Conservative Party of Canada policy conference (September 9)
- Saskatchewan Premier Moe using the Notwithstanding Clause to implement a forced outing policy in that province’s schools (October 20)
TED HSU
THE RECORD:
As a private citizen:
- In 2017, Ted tweeted his support for the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, and Biphobia
As an Ontario MPP (2018-Present):
- In 2022 and again in 2023, Ted recognized the International Day of Transgender Visibility
- In April, Ted visited Norwich Township to stand with the community as it protested a local council vote to ban Pride flags on municipal property
THE RACE (May 28-Present):
In June, Ted spoke at the Pride flag raising at Queen’s Park and attended Toronto Pride with the other leadership candidates. He also spoke out when a child was bullied in Kelowna, B.C. by an adult shouting gender-based slurs.
To my knowledge, Ted was the first leadership candidate in the party’s history to hire a transgender campaign manager. However, when Lecce’s remarks put transgender rights in the spotlight in Ontario, Ted’s response was followed by the departure of that campaign manager a week later.
RESPONSE TO LECCE’S COMMENTS
Ted was the first to respond to Lecce’s comments a day later on August 29 over the course of six tweets, beginning with this one:
What the statement got right:
- Highlighting the health and safety risks to trans and non-binary kids who are outed against their will
What the statement got wrong:
- Failing to mention the trans community by name, recognize the harm they experience, or show solidarity with the community
- Not highlighting the health and safety risks to trans and non-binary kids who are outed against their will
- Making arguments that put age limits on the legally recognized rights of children
- Ignoring the existing legal protections of children, including the right to participate in any and all decisions that impact them regardless of their age (as laid out in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, ratified by Canada in 1991)
- Accepting the euphemistic far-right premise of ‘parents’ rights’ as a legal reality and agreeing they have veto power over the rights of children
- Stating that this is a new issue when there is well-known existing education policy in Ontario dating back over a decade on this topic
- Appearing to lack knowledge of our existing school policies related to gender identity and expression
- Failing to commit to expanding on the Liberal record of support in the future
The biggest problem with Ted’s statement is that anyone reading it would be hard pressed to tell the difference between his position and Minister Lecce’s position. The second biggest problem is how it depicts Ted as someone with very little knowledge of the existing education system despite wanting to steward it as premier.
Like the others, I think Ted means well. In the brief time I have known him, I’ve always found him to be a thoughtful anti-politician who doesn’t arrive at his positions because he believes votes will follow. In most cases that’s a plus. But in this case I worry it means he will not budge on his views on ‘parents’ rights’ and the self-determination of kids related to age because his stances are personal and unmovable. And I find that very concerning when human rights are on the line.
RESPONSE SINCE LECCE’S COMMENTS
When anti-LGBTQ2IA+ protests took place across the country and on the grounds of Queen’s Park on September 20, Ted tweeted his solidarity with the trans community and this time specifically named them. It was a major improvement but there is still more to be addressed from his initial missteps. During Trans Awareness week in November, Ted tweeted his support. On the Transgender Day of Remembrance, Ted shared some tweets in support.
Ted has not commented on or pushed back against the following:
- Doug Ford accusing educators of ‘indoctrinating students’ on gender (September 8)
- The passage of a policy resolution to ban gender affirming health care for youths at a Conservative Party of Canada policy conference (September 9)
- The passage of a policy resolution to demand single-sex spaces that are only open to “female persons” at a Conservative Party of Canada policy conference (September 9)
- Saskatchewan Premier Moe using the Notwithstanding Clause to implement a forced outing policy in that province’s schools (October 20)
YASIR NAQVI
THE RECORD:
As an Ontario MPP (2007–2018):
- In 2010, Yasir first tweeted his support for the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia (he has not missed recognizing any trans recognition days since) and also showed his support for these communities during Bullying Prevention Week of that year
- In 2011, he highlighted Ontario Trillium Grant funding for TransAction and joined the flag raising at the Trans Day of Remembrance in Ottawa
- In 2012, he supported The Accepting Schools Act that guaranteed students in Ontario schools the right to form Gay Straight Alliances
- In 2012, Yasir, NDP MPP Cheri DiNovo and PC MPP Christine Elliott jointly put forward Toby’s Act which enshrined transgender expression and identity into the Ontario Human Rights Code
- In 2015, When a similar bill was put forward by an NDP MP at the federal level, he called on his federal counterparts to reject Harper Conservative amendments that would strip trans people of their rights
- In 2015, as Minister of Corrections and Community Safety, he ensured that transgender prisoners would be housed according to their gender identity rather than their sex at birth and held in isolation (as was the previous practice)
- In 2015, he supported the government’s expansion of approvals for transgender sex reassignment surgeries under OHIP to any doctor or nurse trained by Rainbow Health Ontario in order to shorten the 1,200 person waitlist of people awaiting gender-affirming surgery
- In 2016, he called on the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly to introduce all gender washrooms in the people’s legislative building
- As Attorney General for Ontario, he passed the All Families Are Equal Act, which ensured LGBTQ2IA+ parents would be equally recognized under Ontario’s laws
- He supported the Liberal government’s revisions to the Child, Youth and Family Services Act that recognized the gender identity and gender expression rights of kids
- He supported the Liberal government’s decision to remove gender markers from Ontario health cards while allowing trans and non-binary Ontarians to select ‘X’ as a gender marker on their driver’s licenses
As a federal MP (2021-Present):
- He recognized the Trans Day of Visibility in 2022 and 2023
- In 2022, he attended the Parliament Hill Pride flag raising and Capital Pride in Ottawa as usual, however it was noted that he was absent from this event in 2023
- He showed support this April for the flying of the Pride flag in Norwich Township after the local council held a vote to ban it
THE RACE (June 3-Present):
In June, Yasir attended Toronto Pride with the other leadership candidates.
RESPONSE TO LECCE’S COMMENTS
Yasir was the last of the (then five) leadership candidates to respond to Lecce’s comments, doing so three days later in a nine tweet thread beginning with this one:
What the statement got right:
- Questioning the timing of the attack as a politically motivated distraction to the Greenbelt Scandal
- Laying out the Liberal track record in defending the broader LGBTQ2IA+ community
What the statement got wrong:
- Failing to mention the trans community by name, recognize the harm they experience, or show solidarity with the community
- Calling the attack a distraction despite the dangerous and coordinated efforts by Canadian conservatives to introduce similar policies across the country
- Not highlighting the health and safety risks to trans and non-binary kids who are outed against their will
- Failing to commit to expanding on the Liberal record of support in the future
RESPONSE SINCE LECCE’S COMMENTS
When an anti-LGBTQ2IA+ protests took place across the country and on the grounds of Queen’s Park on September 20, Yasir tweeted that no one has the right to discriminate on constitutionally protected grounds. He did not, however, mention trans or non-binary people in his response.
In fact, despite regularly tweeting about his support for the trans community for over a decade, Yasir has never mentioned this community by name since entering the Ontario Liberal Party leadership race as a candidate.
Yasir’s silence stings for two reasons. First, he has always been a champion for the trans and non-binary community, even before it was politically palatable to do so. Second, his campaign has made his consistency in his policy stances and his moral strength in the face of difficult issues the backbone of his campaign messaging.
For example, in a recent email, Naqvi surrogate Linda Jeffrey stated that Yasir “doesn’t shy away from hard conversations. You won’t catch him flipping his views like a weather vane swayed by the political headwinds of the day.” As another example, just two days later, Yasir stated in an another campaign email that “Being a leader means showing up when difficult issues are being discussed and debated.”
These statements — and Yasir’s inability to utter the word ‘trans’ in the 150-plus days he has been running for leader despite an unprecedented wave of anti-trans hate — beg an important question: Where is the Yasir that staunchly defended trans rights now that he’s running for a leadership position?
UPDATE: On the Trans Day of Remembrance on November 20, Yasir finally shared a tweet denouncing transphobia (though some have pointed out the tweet still does not name transgender people directly).
Yasir has not commented on or pushed back against the following:
- Doug Ford accusing educators of ‘indoctrinating students’ on gender (September 8)
- The passage of a policy resolution to ban gender affirming health care for youths at a Conservative Party of Canada policy conference (September 9)
- The passage of a policy resolution to demand single-sex spaces that are only open to “female persons” at a Conservative Party of Canada policy conference (September 9)
- Saskatchewan Premier Moe using the Notwithstanding Clause to implement a forced outing policy in that province’s schools (October 20)
- Trans Awareness Week which takes place November 13–19 this year
Dismantling ‘Strategic’ Political Arguments
Over course of that first week in August/September, I spoke to a lot of Liberals within each of the leadership campaigns about the attacks on trans and non-binary people by politicians around the world and here in Canada as well as the limp response from Ontario Liberals.
In addition to the arguments made in the candidates’ threads, these other ‘strategic’ but flawed arguments were made behind the scenes. As Liberals, we should reject not perpetuate them.
Argument: “There’s no threat to trans and non-binary rights in Ontario”
After Lecce made his comments but before Ford weighed in to remove all doubt about where the current PC Government stands, multiple campaigns made the argument that they were slow to respond for strategic reasons. They argued that Lecce’s comments and legislation in other provinces were not serious threats to trans and non-binary Ontarians because no legislation had been introduced here.
But we know conservatives in Canada and around the world are working closely together and taking notes from each other’s successes when it comes to rolling back minority rights. In fact, conservative US lawmakers are using a Toronto-area psychologist for ‘expert’ testimony when introducing anti-trans laws. So when neighbouring conservative lawmakers threaten these rights — whether in another province or across the border — the threat to those rights in Ontario increases.
Argument: “These are new issues”
One candidate made the argument that these are new issues that require discussion with parents and experts. But anyone familiar with education policy in Ontario knows that these discussions date back at least to the Accepting Schools Act of 2012 and have been tackled at the board level in the years since. The Peel District School Board, where much of the uproar on these issues has come up, released its guidelines on Gender Identity and Gender Expression five years ago.
Argument: “We can’t argue with people claiming religious viewpoints”
Multiple campaigns also brought up the pushback from religious communities across the province. This first appeared during updates to the sex-ed curriculum and has since been weaponized by the far-right and conservative politicians in the debate around forced outing policies.
I think it’s important to challenge this argument as no faith community is a monolith and outbursts from an angry minority within a faith community don’t give us a good sense of that community’s interest in inclusion.
As the Human Rights Campaign in the US points out, “As early as 1988, gender reassignment surgery was declared acceptable under Islamic law by scholars at Egypt’s Al-Azhar, the world’s oldest Islamic university”.
When it comes to the faith tradition I grew up in — Catholicism — the HRC goes on to point out that “There is no official policy regarding transgender individuals in the Catechism of the Catholic Church… the Vatican’s Extraordinary Synod, convened in October 2014, debated several issues related to LGBTQ2IA+ inclusion but did not address questions regarding transgender church members”.
Given these realities, rights arguments based on supposed faith traditions and edicts are too shaky to be used as the reason to curtail the human rights of kids.
Argument: “But parents do have rights over their kids”
Making arguments about ‘parents’ rights’ that put age limits on the legally recognized rights of children is the backdoor way anti-trans activists in the US are trying to bring anti-trans views into the mainstream after failing with bathroom and sports bans.
As Liberals we must be clear that no one has rights over another human being. Full-stop. As the old saying goes: “my rights stop where yours begin”. Parents are legal guardians but not legal owners of children in their care and therefore don’t have any right to overturn a child’s right to self-determination, bodily autonomy, and gender identity and expression.
This reality is reflected in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, an international agreement ratified by Canada over 30 years ago. That agreement also spells out the right a child has to participate in all decisions that impact them regardless of their age. This means that no parent has the right to veto their child when it comes to the child’s basic rights, including gender identity and expression. As such, it would clearly rule out the legality of forced outing policies related to pronoun and name changes being championed in other provinces.
Argument: “Americans who fight for trans rights keep losing”
I was told by one campaign that speaking up would not serve the party or the trans rights movement politically, arguing that loudly pushing back would mean electoral loss and the further curbing of trans rights under an emboldened conservative government. They made the argument that this is what’s happened in the US in recent years. However, that isn’t true.
While I mentioned earlier that 586 anti-trans bills have been brought forward in the US this year alone, just 85 have passed while 125 have failed, putting the legislative math squarely in the ‘more people support trans rights than don’t’ column. Not to mention that the 2022 US midterm elections actually saw a historic number of LGBTQ2IA+ candidates get elected, including openly trans candidates. In fact, the electoral success rate of these LGBTQ2IA+ candidates was an astonishing 58% — prompting some to even call it a ‘rainbow wave’.
Finally, a study from the Pew Research Center from the same year found that “ 64% majority of Americans favor policies that protect transgender individuals from discrimination in jobs, housing and public spaces such as restaurants and stores, including 37% who strongly favor them.” That’s such a large number that it includes both Democratic and Republican voters.
The fight for trans rights in the US has not put trans rights at risk — it’s simply inspired more people to defend these rights. It seems safe to assume that in Canada — a nation that is objectively more progressive — we can expect similar levels of support for the defense of trans and other human rights.
A Chance to Move Forward on Human Rights
This piece isn’t meant to suggest that the candidates don’t care about trans and non-binary people or the broader LGBTQ2IA+ community. It is meant to provide a more complete picture of their advocacy on behalf of this community so far, document where they are falling short, and help shine a light on where they plan to lead the Liberal movement when it comes to trans and non-binary rights in the future.
The job of Leader and Premier is to stand up for all Ontarians. That must include a full-throated and consistent defense of their human rights whenever they are under attack, not just when it’s politically safe or convenient to do so.
This leadership race is a litmus test. If a candidate can’t get these bedrock values right — or won’t commit to defending them in the future — then they don’t deserve our votes. There are still three weeks left until the leadership election votes are cast. I hope each candidate decides to make a clear case for human rights.
Other Content: To learn how the voting process works, watch my four-minute explainer video here. To follow along with policy updates from the race, visit my leadership policy cheat sheet here or get the full picture by visiting my leadership policy commitment tracker here. And to hear the candidates in their own words, check out my leadership comms tracker here.
Theresa has served as the Communications Coordinator for the Ontario Liberal Party, the VP Communications for the Ontario Women’s Liberal Commission, the Director of Communications to Ontario Deputy Premier Deb Matthews, and an election-speechwriter for former Premier Kathleen Wynne. As a member of ‘Team Neutral’, she helped manage the 2013 and 2020 OLP Leadership races.
