Fewer than 5% of LGBTQ candidates won seats in federal election, data suggests

Fewer than five per cent of LGBTQ candidates were elected federally Monday night and none were from the Prairies.

Of 87 candidates running across six parties this federal election, four were elected — New Democrat Randall Garrison (Esquimalt-Saanich-Sooke), Conservative Eric Duncan (Stormont-Dundas-South Glengarry ) and Liberals Seamus O'Regan (St. John's South-Mount Pearl) and Rob Oliphant (Don Valley West).

The NDP fielded the most LGBTQ candidates at 40, followed by the Greens (28), Liberals (10), Conservatives (four), Bloc Québécois (three) and People's Party of Canada (two).

Parties provided information about LGBTQ candidates to CBC News in the lead-up to the election. The PPC said they don't track that information, but CBC News confirmed at least two LGBTQ candidates ran for Maxime Bernier's party.

In Manitoba, three LGBTQ candidates ran in two rural ridings, including in Brandon-Souris, where PPC candidate Robin Lussier, a gay Métis man and retired Armed Forces veteran, and the NDP's Ashley Duguay, a transgender woman, ran and lost to Conservative candidate Larry Maguire.

Christopher Adams, a political scientist with St. Paul's College at the University of Manitoba, said the fact LGBTQ candidates are winning in some ridings means parties are becoming more open to running people from those communities.

"But I would say that to have four out of some 90 candidates winning, I would say there's still a lot of room for progress," Adams said.

Adams also said it's clear that parties often still run candidates who belong to more than one marginalized community, including people of colour who are also LGBTQ, in "unwinnable ridings."

Canadians elected a minority Liberal government with four seats in Manitoba, but the party was completely skunked in Saskatchewan and Alberta.

Liberal Trevor Kirczenow, a transgender man, ran and lost in the rural riding of Provencher against incumbent Conservative candidate Ted Falk.

Locally elected Conservative politicians have opted against attending the Steinbach Pride Parade in the past, including in its inaugural year in 2016, when Falk cited "values of family, faith and community" among his reasons for not going.

Kirczenow, a husband, father of two and farmer who lives in the riding, said that snub was one reason he chose to run this year.

Kirczenow said he received a lot of positive feedback from constituents for running in the first place.

"The messages that I have received from people telling me how important this is to them that I've been willing to be open about what I am doing, that it's made such a huge difference to individuals who are struggling, it's just really important for me to have done it for those reasons," said Kirczenow, 34.

"In some ways it even feels like life-saving work to be doing, to be making connections in these communities."

Kirczenow said he plans to run for the Liberals again in the next federal election.