Silver Lining In 2011 Canadian Elections

While my Canadian homegirl is still along with other progressive Canadians not happy that the Sweater Vest will be around for the next five years with a Conservative majority government to torment them, TransGriot reader Lareyne Leveult sent me an interesting e-mail which pointed out this factoid emanating from Monday's election . 

I know you like to follow the political successes of black people in Canada (e.g. your excellent articles tracking the career of the Rt. Hon. Michaëlle Jean) so I thought I'd mention that, in addition to Dr. Fry in Vancouver Centre, two new black MPs have been elected: Tyrone Benskin for the NDP in the Montreal riding of Jeanne-Le Ber (a film and stage actor, and artistic director of Montreal's Black Theatre Workshop); and Sadia Groguhé, also for the NDP, in Saint-Lambert on Montreal's south shore (a therapist and unemployment counsellor).

Many other candidates of colour were elected, including a number of new South Asian MPs (including Canada's first Tamil MP, the NDP's Rathika Sitsabaiesan in Scarborough--Rouge River in suburban Toronto); several East Asian, Arab, and Hispanic MPs, especially among the candidates caught up in the NDP's surge in Quebec; and a record seven Aboriginal MPs, including renowned Cree negotiator Roméo Saganash for the NDP in the northern Quebec riding of Abitibi--Baie-James--Nunavik--Eeyou.

That's wonderful news despite the fact that Marlene Jennings, who was one of the few Black MP's in the last Parliament, was unfortunately one of the Liberals who lost her seat in Quebec's Notre-Dame-de-Grâce-Lachine riding to an NDP challenger in the Montreal area.. 

Some of those new MP's of color are also Conservatives.

When the new Parliament kicks off in a month,  there will be a little more diversity at Parliament House even if it doesn't affect the policies expected to come from the Harper led Conservative majority.