T'other guys

More Canadian election results: As for the Liberal opposition, the straight turncoat Belinda Stronach was generously and unexpectedly re-elected by Newmarket-Aurora (Ontari-ari-o) constituents. Other Grits of import to the gay community (more winking! more nudging!) who still have jobs: Toronto's Bill Graham, soon to be former minister of defence; and British Columbia ex-Tory Keith Martin. But Foreign Affairs Minister Pierre Pettigrew was beaten by his Bloquiste oppponent in Montreal.

Out re-elected Liberals include ex-Tory Scott Brison, voted back in in Nova Scotia, and the vewy, vewy quietly out Toronto Grit Mario Silva. The out (and out of touch) Réal Ménard retained his seat for the Bloc Quebecois (I once asked about raids on gay bathhouses following a series of police busts in Alberta and Ontario, and Ménard told me no one was arrested for that sort of thing anymore -- he truly seems to pay zero attention to anything outside Quebec....)

For the New Democrats, prodigal gay Parliamentary pioneer Svend Robinson went down in flames in British Columbia, losing to Liberal Hedy Fry (a queer supporter, if straight and a lunatic). The out West Coasters Libby Davies and Bill Siksay are both back in. And of course, married-to-each-other queer rights folk, party leader Jack Layton and just-squeaked-in spouse Olivia Chow, will get to see a bit more of each other now that they're both in the House of Commons.

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ADDENDUM Jan. 25: Out Liberal Milton Chan's site has been mentioned positively here at Oples before, and Tory blogger Andrew Coyne chimes in: "Before we go any further, due acknowledgment should be paid to the big winners in this election: The Election Prediction Project, overseen by Milton Chan, which once again came closer than any other forecaster to nailing the result... I'm guessing the sneers about Chan's Liberal ties may now subside."

ALSO: Alberta losing Liberal Anne McLellan announces the next Grit leader should be a woman.