Canadian Alliance goes gay?

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by Matthew Hays

Who says Canada's new conservative party, the Canadian Alliance, is hopelessly straight and homophobic? Party leader Stockwell Day has been working to change that perception, and today (Sept. 28), the CA will announce its first openly-gay candidate for a riding nomination.

Stéphane Prud'homme, a communications consultant, will announce his bid to win the nomination for Laurier-St-Marie, the central Montreal riding which includes the city's Gay Village. Prud'homme has reportedly met with Day and has the leader's blessing. In attendance at today's meeting will be Rahim Jaffer, a CA MP who is considered one of the most moderate voices within the party.

Many gay and lesbian activists have charged that the CA, like its predecessor Reform, is a staunchly homophobic party, pointing to a dismal voting record on gay-rights initiatives in federal Parliament. But Day, though himself a deeply religious man, has stated that his party will be open to people of many different faiths, beliefs and orientations. "Nobody has to pass a sex test to be on my campaign," Day told the Mirror in June.

Apparently, Prud'homme connects with Day's commitment to smaller government and minimal interference in individual citizens' lives. If he wins the nomination, he will be up against Gilles Duceppe, the leader of the Bloc Québécois, in the next federal election.

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