Blake Desjarlais

Blake Desjarlais (born December 29, 1993) is a Canadian politician who has represented Edmonton Griesbach in the House of Commons since 2021. A member of the New Democratic Party (NDP), Desjarlais is of Cree and Métis descent, making him Alberta's only Indigenous member of Parliament (MP). He is also the first openly two-spirit individual to serve as an MP.

Blake Desjarlais
MP
Member of Parliament
for Edmonton Griesbach
Assumed office
September 20, 2021
Preceded byKerry Diotte
Personal details
Born (1993-12-29) December 29, 1993
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Political partyNew Democratic
Education

Early life and education

Desjarlais was born on December 29, 1993[1][2] in Edmonton and grew up in the Fishing Lake Métis Settlement in northern Alberta. He is of Cree and Métis descent. His biological mother Brenda was a victim of the Sixties Scoop and spent her childhood in foster care, before working as a sex worker to support herself.[3] When Brenda became pregnant with Blake, she sought help from her sister Grace Desjarlais, who took Blake and raised him herself.[4] On his adoption by his aunt, Desjarlais stated that "she saved [his] life."[3] Desjarlais's father was a carpenter who had died when Desjarlais was twelve.[1]

Desjarlais attended secondary school in the "predominantly white town" of Elk Point, Alberta.[5] He went on to study political science and indigenous studies at MacEwan University, however, he received racially motivated death threats and transferred to the University of Victoria.[3][1] As a university student, Desjarlais was involved in student politics, and served as firekeeper of the Native Student Union (NSU).[6] When Desjarlais completed his studies, he was appointed the national director of the Métis Settlements General Council in 2016.[3]

Political career

2021 campaign

Desjarlais had previously mulled running for an elected Indigenous leadership role. He was skeptical of running in partisan politics, seeing the various parties as only having interest in him to fulfill mandates regarding Indigenous and queer representation.[3] Upon meeting representatives from the NDP, his impression was different, stating that "[The NDP] recognized me as a whole person with expertise in a vast variety of sectors."[3]

During the 2021 election campaign, Desjarlais received support from several members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs) – Janis Irwin, Chris Nielsen, former premier Rachel Notley and former education minister David Eggen.[7] 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 COVID-19 pandemic.[8]

Member of Parliament

On election day, Desjarlais defeated Kerry Diotte, a two-term Conservative MP.[9] The riding was previously considered a Conservative stronghold.[4] MLA Janis Irwin likened Desjarlais's win to a disinterest in the Liberal Party and anger directed towards the Conservative Party due to their actions federally – such as MP Diotte's vote against the conversion therapy ban – and their association with the unpopular United Conservative Party (UCP) government provincially. As well, growing support of the People's Party voters siphoned off support from the Conservatives.[3]

Desjarlais is the first openly two-spirit individual to have been elected to Parliament.[10][11]

After being elected, Desjarlais was selected to be the New Democratic Party's deputy caucus chair for the 44th Parliament.[3][12]

Electoral history
2021 Canadian federal election: Edmonton Griesbach
Party Candidate Votes%±%
New DemocraticBlake Desjarlais17,45740.5+15.4$97,072
ConservativeKerry Diotte15,95737.1-14.3$81,596
LiberalHabiba Mohamud5,97913.9+3.4$67,387
People'sThomas Matty2,6176.1+3.8none listed
GreenHeather Lau5381.2-1.3$0
LibertarianMorgan Watson2680.6-none listed
CommunistAlex Boykowich1400.3-0.1$0
Marxist–LeninistMary Joyce1030.2-0.0$0
Total valid votes 43,05999.9
Total rejected ballots 495
Turnout 43,55453.2%
Eligible voters 81,057
New Democratic gain from Conservative Swing -3.6
Source: Elections Canada[13][14]

References
  1. "Keith Gerein: Young Métis candidate carries NDP hopes for a second federal seat in Edmonton". edmontonjournal. Retrieved March 31, 2022.
  2. @davidakin (December 29, 2021). "Happy 28th birthday to Edmonton—Griesbach MP @DesjarlaisBlake !" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  3. Aiello, Rachel (October 23, 2021). "'I want to leave a mark': Meet NDP Blake Desjarlais, Canada's first openly two-spirit MP". ctvnews.ca. Bell Media. CTV News. Retrieved October 25, 2021.
  4. Michelle Bellefontaine, "Meet Blake Desjarlais, the Métis NDP candidate who just ended a Conservative stronghold in Edmonton Griesbach". CBC News, September 24, 2021.
  5. "TEDxUAlberta | TED". www.ted.com. Retrieved October 8, 2021.
  6. Sauer, Myles (March 17, 2016). "Carrying the torch: A chat with NSU Firekeeper Blake Desjarlais". Retrieved October 8, 2021.
  7. Jeremy Appel (September 15, 2021). "NDP Candidate Blake Desjarlais wants to uplift Indigenous voices". thestar.com. Retrieved January 2, 2023.
  8. Shari Narine (October 5, 2021). "Despite a difficult campaign, NDP Indigenous MP feels 'lifted up'". thestar.com. Retrieved January 2, 2023.
  9. Janet French, "Conservative support sags as Albertans add Liberal, NDP MPs". CBC News Edmonton, September 21, 2021.
  10. 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 September 24, 2021.
  11. Mel Woods (September 15, 2021). "LGBTQ2S+ candidates on the issues that matters most this federal election". xtramagazine.com. Archived from the original on September 16, 2021. Retrieved January 2, 2023.
  12. Kirkup, Kristy (October 7, 2021). "Jagmeet Singh says NDP prepared to withhold votes in Parliament". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved October 12, 2021.
  13. "September 20, 2021 Election Results — Edmonton Manning (Validated results)". Elections Canada. September 26, 2021. Retrieved October 21, 2021.
  14. "List of confirmed candidates – September 20, 2021 Federal Election". Elections Canada. Retrieved September 2, 2021.
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