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Blake Desjarlais

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Blake Desjarlais
MP
Member of Parliament
for Edmonton Griesbach
Incumbent
Assumed office
September 20, 2021
Preceded byKerry Diotte
Personal details
Born1993 or 1994 (age 30–31)[1]
NationalityCanadian
Political partyNew Democratic Party
Education

Blake Desjarlais (born 1993/1994) is a Canadian politician who was elected to the Canadian House of Commons in the 2021 Canadian federal election. He represents the electoral district of Edmonton Griesbach as a member of the New Democratic Party.[2]

Desjarlais is the first openly two-spirit individual to have been elected as a Member of Parliament in Canada.[3][4] Of Cree and Métis descent, Desjarlais is currently the only Indigenous MP from Alberta.[3]

Early life and education

Desjarlais, who is of Cree and Métis descent, is originally from the Fishing Lake Métis Settlement in northern Alberta. Desjarlais' biological mother Brenda was a victim of the Sixties Scoop and spent her childhood in foster care. When Brenda became pregnant with Blake, she sought help from her sister Grace Desjarlais, who took Blake and raised him herself.[5] Desjarlais' father was a carpenter who died when Desjarlais was twelve.[1]

Desjarlais attended secondary school in the "predominantly white town" of Elk Point, Alberta.[6] Desjarlais went on to attend MacEwan University and the University of Victoria,[1] where they studied political science and indigenous studies. As a university student, Desjarlais was involved in student politics, and served as firekeeper of the Native Student Union (NSU).[7]

Member of Parliament

2021 election

During the 2021 election campaign, Desjarlais received support from Alberta MLAs Janis Irwin, Chris Nielsen, former Premier Rachel Notley and former Minister of Education of Alberta David Eggen.[8] According to Desjarlais, during an evening canvassing shift, they had a racist interaction with five men who mistook him for being Chinese and blamed him for the Coronavirus.[9]

On election day, Desjarlais defeated Kerry Diotte, a two-term Conservative MP, by 1,468 votes. The riding was previously considered a conservative stronghold.[5]

After being elected, Desjarlais was selected to be the New Democratic Party's deputy caucus chair for the 44th Canadian Parliament.[10]

Electoral history

2021 Canadian federal election
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
New Democratic Blake Desjarlais 17,437 40.47
Conservative Kerry Diotte 15,969 37.07
Liberal Habiba Mohamud 5,988 13.90
People's Thomas Matty 2,632 6.11
Green Heather Lau 540 1.25
Libertarian Morgan Watson 274 1.0
Communist Alex Boykowich 140 0.0
Marxist–Leninist Mary Joyce 102 0.0
Total valid votes
Total rejected ballots
Turnout
Eligible voters
Source: Elections Canada[11]

References

  1. ^ a b c Keith Gerein, "Young Métis candidate carries NDP hopes for a second federal seat in Edmonton". Edmonton Journal, August 27, 2021.
  2. ^ Janet French, "Conservative support sags as Albertans add Liberal, NDP MPs". CBC News Edmonton, September 21, 2021.
  3. ^ a b Bourne, Kirby. "Blake Desjarlais is Canada's first Two Spirit Canadian MP: 'We're starting to see ourselves more' | Globalnews.ca". globalnews.ca. Global News. Retrieved 24 September 2021.
  4. ^ Mel Woods, "LGBTQ2S+ candidates on the issues that matters most this federal election". Xtra!, September 15, 2021.
  5. ^ a b Michelle Bellefontaine, "Meet Blake Desjarlais, the Métis NDP candidate who just ended a Conservative stronghold in Edmonton Griesbach". CBC News, September 24, 2021.
  6. ^ "TEDxUAlberta | TED". www.ted.com. Retrieved 2021-10-08.
  7. ^ Sauer, Myles (2016-03-17). "Carrying the torch: A chat with NSU Firekeeper Blake Desjarlais". Retrieved 2021-10-08.
  8. ^ Jeremy Appel, "NDP Candidate Blake Desjarlais wants to uplift Indigenous voices". Toronto Star, September 15, 2021.
  9. ^ Shari Narine, "Despite a difficult campaign, NDP Indigenous MP feels ‘lifted up’". Toronto Star, October 5, 2021.
  10. ^ Kirkup, Kristy (2021-10-07). "Jagmeet Singh says NDP prepared to withhold votes in Parliament". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 2021-10-12.
  11. ^ "List of confirmed candidates – September 20, 2021 Federal Election". Elections Canada. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
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