We are about to be, once again, off to the races.

Less than a month ago, Mark Carney had never held elected office. Now, a mere week into his tenure as prime minister, the Liberal Party of Canada leader is set to step away from his brand-new big chair and call a federal election, as expected. Canadians will soon head to the polls and elect a slate of new MPs who will form a brand-new government.

Canadians have known this was coming for some time now, with election rumblings brewing since the start of the year when Conservative Party of Canada leader Pierre Poilievre started talking realistically about toppling former prime minister Justin Trudeau’s government. In reality, the top Tory has been on the campaign trail since last year, and has seemed like he was set to walk straight into a majority government whenever the vote did come.

But, oh, what a difference a few months can make. The polls have flip-flopped, with Poilievre’s party suddenly plateauing and Carney hoping to capitalize on the surge his party is seeing. That surge came in the wake of Justin Trudeau stepping down and his party voting in the former Bank of Canada governor as its leader—making Carney the prime minister. And perhaps that’s the jolt of energy the Liberals needed—Carney may be giving bland banker realness, but his laser focus on the economy in the midst of U.S. president Donald Trump’s trade war certainly has more than a few Liberals a lot more optimistic than they were at the start of 2025.

It’s in this moment of unpredictability that Xtra returns with Rainbow Votes 2025, our pop-up newsletter on all things queer and trans this election cycle. From Poilievre’s public statements around banning puberty blockers and trans women in women’s sports, to Carney’s slashing of the Women and Gender Equality minister from his first cabinet, we’ve already gotten inklings of how LGBTQ2S+ issues might define this election. The coming weeks will certainly unearth many more.

We’ll have everything you need to know here in your inbox every Thursday, with exclusive essays on the discourse of the moment, insights into polling and curation of what you actually need to be paying attention to. We’ll spotlight exciting queer and trans candidates, fact-check questionable statements and keep you abreast of everything you need to know. You’ll hear from me, alongside our roster of fabulous editors and political writers like columnist Dale Smith.

As we recently saw in the United States, where President Donald Trump waged a series of anti-trans attack ads as a centre point of his campaign, LGBTQ2S+ issues can come to define campaigns like this. Conservatives at all levels of government have been stirring up anti-trans panics left and right. It’s key that queer and trans voices are leading the coverage of this campaign, and we’ll be there every step of the way.

So, keep up with all of Xtra’s coverage at xtramagazine.com and on social media platforms like Bluesky and LinkedIn, and our TikTok and YouTube channels. Share this newsletter with a friend, your mom, your barber or whoever else you think could use smart insight into all things election. And I’ll see you right here on Thursdays with all of the queer and trans political news you need to know.

With the 2025 Canadian federal election set to kick off in the coming weeks, Xtra is bringing back our weekly pop-up election newsletter, Rainbow Votes. Subscribe now for free exclusive reporting, analysis and opinion in your inbox every Thursday.