Dalton McGuinty’s Liberals won a second majority government in Oct 10’s Ontario election, and the referendum on electoral reform failed by a large margin.
What were the queer issues in the campaign? How did the key ridings play out?
Check out Xtra.ca’s entire coverage of the 2007 Ontario election and referendum here!
VOTING DAY COVERAGE:
ONTARIO VOTES: Live blogging coverage of the election
Oct 10, 2007
Xtra.ca’s Julia Garro and Marcus McCann provided up to the minute commentary on the election and referendum results.
VIDEO: Liberal Yasir Naqvi takes riding of Ottawa Centre
Oct 10, 2007
The heated race for Ottawa Centre ended in a win for Liberal Party candidate Yasir Naqvi, edging out Will Murray of the NDP.
Ontario referendum on MMP fails, early results suggest
Oct 10, 2007
What’s next for MMP? Will Ontarians (and Canadians) soon get another chance to vote on electoral reform? Find out what the pundits have to say.
MAP: Key Ontario ridings to watch
Oct 10, 2007
Check out this interactive map of the key ridings to watch. There might be some close calls, and there are a few ridings of particular interest to gays and lesbians.
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INTERVIEW WITH THE LEADERS:
Ontario’s political leaders speak about queer issues
Sep 6, 2007
Xtra spoke to the province’s political party leaders to see where they stand on queer issues.
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RELATED STORIES:
How MMP could give a louder voice to queers
Sep 27, 2007
When Ontarians go to the polls on Wed, Oct 10 they will be asked whether or not government should change the province’s electoral system from the current first-past-the-post system to a new mixed-member proportional (MMP) system. What effect could MMP have on the political influence of Ontario’s queer citizens?
Ontario referendum has deck stacked against it
Sep 26, 2007
You won’t just be voting Oct 10 for a new government, but also on a new way to elect the government. It’s a landmark referendum, the first one in this province in almost 80 years, but most voters have no idea it’s happening, or what it’s about.
Openly HIV-positive candidate running for office in Ontario
Sep 18, 2007
Paul Pighin, NDP candidate in London West, is making history in this election as the first openly HIV-positive candidate to run for office in Ontario and he makes no bones about what got him into running.
Parties weigh in on teachers, schools and students
Sep 13, 2007
With the Wed, Oct 10 provincial election looming ever closer, advocacy groups are working to ensure queer education issues are on the minds of voters as they head to the polls.
Egale cancels Ontario leaders’ debate
Sep 5, 2007
The Ontario leaders’ debate on queer issues, originally scheduled for Sep 9, was cancelled on Sep 5 because three of the four invited provincial party leaders decided not to attend.
Trans activists demand political action
Aug 31, 2007
With a provincial election rapidly approaching, trans activists are working to raise the profile of their issues with both the queer community and Ontario’s political parties.
How will higher minimum wage affect queer workers and businesses?
Aug 30, 2007
The Ontario Liberals outlined a plan in the March budget to gradually raise the minimum hourly wage from $8 to $10.25 over the next three years, but with an election looming on Oct 10, the NDP says the working poor need a $2-per-hour raise immediately.
Tory plans to fund faith-based schools
Aug 16, 2007
Critics of a provincial Progressive Conservative party promise to publicly fund religious schools say the plan will only further entrench homophobia.
Final electoral reform report delivered
Jun 7, 2007
The Ontario Citizens’ Assembly On Electoral Reform tabled its final report May 15, detailing the electoral system that will be put toward Ontario voters in a referendum Oct 10.
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OPINION PIECES:
Five reasons to vote for MMP
Oct 6, 2007
Xtra.ca gives you five reasons to ditch the current electoral system.
Plan to fund religious schools raises endless questions
Oct 4, 2007
It’s the issue that just won’t go away. Every time the debate over the funding of faith-based schools in Ontario shows signs of dying down, John Tory says something stupid to reveal just how poorly thought-out his scheme is.
Cut off bigot schools
Sep 27, 2007
So much for the vehement argument made by the NDP in the 1980s that by extending funding to cover the last grades of the Catholic system, it could be brought into line with modern values, knowledge and laws guaranteeing things like, oh, like human rights and evolution.
No to funding religious schools
Sep 6, 2007
Gays and lesbians haven’t supported Ontario’s Progressive Conservative party for years. And now John Tory, the party’s leader, is prepared to sacrifice queers to the religious rightwingers who might.
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LOCAL RIDING COVERAGE:
Toronto Centre candidates on the stump
Sep 27, 2007
If there’s one riding in Ontario where queer issues carry a huge amount of weight it’s Toronto Centre. We asked them about trans issues, education, HIV, seniors and public sex in Queen’s Park.
Ottawa Centre candidates on queer issues
Sep 27, 2007
Capital Xtra sat down with four candidates aiming to win the provincial riding of Ottawa Centre in next month’s election. Check out what they had to say about queer issues.
VIDEO: Ottawa Centre queer candidates debate
Sep 16, 2007
Ottawa Centre provincial election candidates debated queer issues at a forum on Sep 14 organized by Capital Xtra, Egale and Capital Pride. Audience members and event organizers questioned the candidates on a variety of queer issues, including trans rights, harm reduction and funding of religious schools.
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