According to a recent poll by the Angus Reid Institute, 85 per cent of Canadians are willing to vote for a party that is led by a gay man; 84 per cent would accept a gay woman. This shouldn’t surprise anyone. Over the past 30 years, we have become one of the most progressive countries in the world on this issue.
Canadians are among the most open-minded about almost everything: race, religion, abortion, drug use, immigration and euthanasia.
This is an indisputable fact that the Conservative party is eventually going to have to acknowledge.
There is actually a very long tradition of conservative politicians getting the “gay flu” just before a pride parade. Just a few weeks earlier, in Alberta, both the leader of the Wildrose Party and the new Progressive Conservative Leader Jason Kenney were unable to attend Edmonton’s pride parade due to “other long-standing commitments.”
Andrew Scheer and his colleagues should set aside the obvious political benefits of doing so and simply ask themselves what it means to be a Conservative. If they still imagine themselves to be the party that supports the rights of the individual and the need for less intrusive government, then a Canadian’s freedom to choose whom they love should be something Conservatives not only support but loudly and energetically champion.
The Conservatives don't show up for Pride, and that's a problem - Macleans.ca
Canadians are among the most open-minded about almost everything: race, religion, abortion, drug use, immigration and euthanasia.
This is an indisputable fact that the Conservative party is eventually going to have to acknowledge.
There is actually a very long tradition of conservative politicians getting the “gay flu” just before a pride parade. Just a few weeks earlier, in Alberta, both the leader of the Wildrose Party and the new Progressive Conservative Leader Jason Kenney were unable to attend Edmonton’s pride parade due to “other long-standing commitments.”
Andrew Scheer and his colleagues should set aside the obvious political benefits of doing so and simply ask themselves what it means to be a Conservative. If they still imagine themselves to be the party that supports the rights of the individual and the need for less intrusive government, then a Canadian’s freedom to choose whom they love should be something Conservatives not only support but loudly and energetically champion.
The Conservatives don't show up for Pride, and that's a problem - Macleans.ca
