Drag the Vote wants Canadians voting like 'rights are on the line'

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Federal election outreach tends to play it straight, but Drag the Vote knows a little camp can move the room.

The national campaign taps Canadian drag stars, including some of Ottawa’s best-known drag kings and queens, to mobilize voter turnout ahead of election day on April 28.

“Drag artists reach across the political spectrum,” said Fae Johnstone, executive director of Momentum, the Ottawa nonprofit behind Drag the Vote. “We see drag artists and trans communities under attack by cynical and power-hungry politicians, so we’re responding with a positive, uplifting campaign.”

More than 200 drag performers across Canada have volunteered to fold civic engagement into their shows at bars, brunches and other places that traditional politics don’t reach.

Organizers say drag uses hope and humour to reach people worn down by a political climate growing more hostile to LGBTQ+ communities.

At a recent karaoke night in Gatineau, drag king Cyril Cinder slipped in a reminder to vote right after a Cher ballad.

“As queer people, we get to choose our family, and we also get to choose our elected representatives in Parliament,” he told the crowd, drawing cheers.

Cinder said one of the campaign’s biggest challenges is reaching voters who no longer trust the system.

“Election turnout in this country is consistently low. Did Not Vote would be the ruling party in every election if that group of folks did and was able to participate.”

But guilt, he said, won’t bring them back.

“Shame is not a useful tactic. Shame just shuts people down and leads to them actually doing less. We want it to be something that is fun.”

Efforts to reconnect voters are taking place as drag becomes a political flashpoint in debates over gender identity and public expression.

“Any attack on drag is just a proxy attack on the trans community,” said Cinder. “The job of the drag artist is to be the biggest, sparkliest, gayest, queerest creature in the room. And, by doing so, make everyone else a little bit safer.”

He has received death threats and faced protests at his shows. Cinder said the risk felt sharper given what is happening in the United States, including state-level bans on gender-affirming care, restrictions on passport gender markers, investigations into trans women in sports and calls to overturn same-sex marriage.

“We cannot allow similar ideas to take root and to bloom here in Canada,” he said. “When personal freedoms are removed from some people, it’s often just a question of who is next.”

In Canada, several provinces have introduced policies related to gender identity. Alberta passed legislation last year defining gender based on biological sex and announced plans to re-examine how gender identity is addressed across provincial policy. That province also introduced restrictions on gender-affirming healthcare for youth under 16, including bans on puberty blockers and hormone therapy, and indicated it may use the notwithstanding clause to enforce the measures. Saskatchewan enacted a law allowing schools to disregard students’ chosen names and pronouns. New Brunswick revised its education policy to limit how teachers addressed gender identity in classrooms, though the policy was later amended following internal review and public criticism.

“A lot of trans voters are disillusioned,” Johnstone said. “It’s hard to maintain hope when your rights are under attack.”

“This is our chance to make our voices heard and to show whoever forms the government next that homophobia and transphobia is politically poisonous and we will organize and fight any regression on the rights, freedoms and equality of our communities.”

Drag the Vote, she said, is meant to encourage civic participation without demanding ideological agreement.

“I don’t need people to understand the whole trans thing,” she said. “I need them to understand that putting politicians in the exam room with a family doctor is dangerous.”

On a national Day of Action in March, drag performers started conversations about what’s at stake in their communities. They handed out voter guides, ID tips, stickers, and a letter from an Ontario parent of a trans child asking others to consider families like theirs at the ballot box.

Billboards are planned in 11 cities across Canada featuring local performers with slogans like “Drag isn’t dangerous. Discriminatory politicians and policies are.”

The effort is nonpartisan. While drag artists are encouraged to speak about issues affecting their communities, Drag the Vote does not endorse any political party.

Johnstone says all candidates are welcome to attend events, including one being planned in Ottawa.

“We’re inviting local candidates from all parties to show up and to build relationships and have conversations,” she said. “That is a critical opportunity for candidates to engage directly with trans people and our families.”

There’s also a practical side to the outreach — getting people the information they need.

“Lots of people don’t even know about how their employer must give them a certain number of uninterrupted hours on election day … or about the opportunities for early voting or voting by mail,” said Cinder.

According to Elections Canada, only 62.6 per cent of registered voters cast ballots in the 2021 federal election. Turnout among voters aged 18 to 24 fell to 46.7 per cent, down more than seven points from 2019. First-time voter participation dropped even further to 44.7 per cent.

Cinder said that could improve if voting felt like something people did together.

“Let’s have an accountability buddy on election day,” he said. “Make plans with your friends about when you’re going to vote and how you’re going to vote.”

Momentum has also launched an open letter signed by more than 200 organizations, calling on party leaders to commit to upholding freedom and trans rights.

“We are hoping to reach absolutely everyone,” Cinder said. “Whether you care about us because you’re part of the community, because you’re an ally, or because you enjoy the art we create … Please, protect us in the voting booth.”

smisenheimer@postmedia.com