Poilievre Scored Political Points on Trans Rights. At What Cost?

When Lisa Salazar watched a CTV interview where Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said, “I’m not aware of any other genders than man and woman,” she was angry.

But then she watched the interview again, paying attention to his facial expressions — and was even more angry and alarmed.

“I knew what he was going to say just by the facial expressions he was making as the reporter introduced the topic and asked the question,” said Salazar, a trans woman who works as a hospital chaplain in Vancouver.

“His whole look is kind of like, ‘This is really a waste of my time. This is really stupid. This is so unnecessary.’”

Both Canada and the United States currently allow non-binary people — those who don’t identify as either male or female — to use the gender identifier “X” on their passports.

But on Jan. 20, the day Donald Trump was sworn in as president, he signed an executive order that requires the U.S. government to use the word “sex” instead of “gender” and requires “that government-issued identification documents, including passports, visas, and Global Entry cards, accurately reflect the holder’s sex.”

CTV interviewer Phil Perkins asked Poilievre if Canada would follow Trump’s lead if the Conservatives form government.

Poilievre said he was only aware of two genders, challenged Perkins to name more, then refused to answer the specific question, saying that Canadians are more concerned with issues like homelessness and the cost of housing.

His response has been celebrated by Fox News and alternative right-wing media in Canada as a masterful handling of the news media.

But for trans people and their allies, it’s one more example of Conservative politicians scapegoating a marginalized group that represents less than one per cent of Canada’s population. They say politicians’ words have real-life consequences for trans and non-binary people who are facing an increase in hostility, intolerance and threats of violence.

In Alberta, the provincial government has proposed legislation to limit certain types of gender-affirming care for youth. Alberta and Saskatchewan now require that parents be notified when their child wants to use a different name or pronoun in school, which advocates say could put youth at risk if their parents don’t accept their sexual or gender identity. Trans rights, inclusion and health care have been election issues in B.C. and New Brunswick.

Corinne Mason is a professor of women’s and gender studies at Mount Royal University in Calgary who has been studying the impact of Alberta’s policies on families, along with co-researcher Leah Hamilton.

“There's been a shift dramatically in the climate for 2SLGBTQ+ people, where we have folks in our community who face not only just targeting on social media, but are also being targeted in public space,” Mason said. “There's been increased harassment kind of across the board for folks.”

That includes in school, where kids who don’t conform to gender norms or are openly trans or non-binary are facing more bullying and intolerance, Mason said.

“Bullying and homophobic, transphobic rhetoric... have increased at schools, based on families' reporting of what their children are experiencing.”

Mason said they had been harassed for having a rainbow sticker on their car.

“The person who harassed us said that we were supporting bestiality and other forms of perverse sexuality, that we shouldn't be around children, we shouldn't be parents,” Mason said. “Since then we've removed the stickers on both of our cars.”

Salazar, who was open about her transition with a wide circle of colleagues and friends, said she noticed a change in people’s attitudes around the time Trump first got elected in 2016.

Suddenly, she said, formerly accepting acquaintances would say things like “It's gone too far” or “They’re pushing it down our throats” when talking about trans rights or acceptance.

Mason also pushed back against Poilievre’s technique to avoid answering the interviewer’s question by saying that Canadians have more important things to talk about.

“What he did is he defined gender as binary,” Mason said. “He said, ‘I don't know anything about any other gender than male or female.’ He did in fact comment on it, so it is important enough for him to take the time to let his [supporters] know that he's with them on this transphobic kind of rhetoric.”

Mason pointed out that Trump too campaigned on affordability issues, but one of his first acts as president was a reversal of rights for transgender people.

Salazar said she was also disappointed with the way Perkins handled the exchange, allowing Poilievre to challenge him to define gender and “create a spectacle” that could then be repackaged as a social media clip.

“If I could ask Pierre Poilievre a question, I would say, ‘OK, you keep talking about these greater issues. You don't want to waste time answering questions about trans issues and gender identity. If that is the case, if you form government will you then direct your caucus to not waste any time with any laws pertaining to trans exclusion, reduction of health care?’” Salazar said.

“Because after all, there are bigger issues to discuss. ‘Will you instruct your government to just leave trans people alone? They're insignificant. They're less than one per cent of the population. Let's focus on what really affects Canadians and leave them alone.’”