Kaj Hasselriis (born January 4, 1974) is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

journalist, community activist and politician. Hasselriis was born in

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...

Manitoba Manitoba ( ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population o ...

, and is a lifelong Winnipegger. He earned a sociology degree from the

University of Manitoba The University of Manitoba (U of M, UManitoba, or UM) is a Canadian public research university in the province of Manitoba.Ryerson Polytechnic University Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU or Toronto Met) is a public research university located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The university's core campus is situated within the Garden District, although it also operates facilities elsewhere in Toro ...

in 1997. From 1997 to 2002, Hasselriis worked as a reporter and producer for

CBC Television CBC Television (also known as CBC TV) is a Canadian English-language broadcast television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster. The network began operations on September 6, 1952. Its French-l ...

. Most recently, Hasselriis created an English-language monthly in

Lima Lima ( ; ), originally founded as Ciudad de Los Reyes (City of The Kings) is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rivers, in the desert zone of t ...

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

called '' Limazine''. As a political organizer, Hasselriis served as the Manitoba campaign manager for Jack Layton's leadership bid in 2002. He also played a key role as a member of Toronto mayor David Miller's 2003 campaign team. In 2004, Hasselriis gained prominence in Winnipeg by leading the fight to keep Winnipeg's

bus rapid transit Bus rapid transit (BRT), also called a busway or transitway, is a bus-based public transport system designed to have much more capacity, reliability and other quality features than a conventional bus system. Typically, a BRT system includes ...

system. The city eventually cancelled the program, to the dismay of public transit activists. On July 17, 2006 Hasselriis declared his candidacy in the October 2006 municipal elections against Winnipeg mayor Sam Katz. His campaign was endorsed by several prominent figures in the city, including musician

John K. Samson John Kristjan Samson (born 1973) is a Canadian musician from Winnipeg, Manitoba. He is a singer-songwriter and best known as the frontman of the Canadian indie folk/rock band The Weakerthans. He also played bass in the punk band Propagandhi duri ...

and activist

James Beddome James Robert Beddome (born October 2, 1983) is a Canadians, Canadian lawyer and politician who was the former leader of the Green Party of Manitoba from November 2014 to March 2023. He has run in several elections for the provincial party, and w ...

. On election day, October 25, 2006, Hasselriis received 22,401 votes, or 13.22 of the total count. He placed third to Katz, who was re-elected, and

Marianne Cerilli Marianne Cerilli (born 1961) is a politician in Manitoba, Canada. She served as a New Democratic member of the Manitoba legislature from 1990 until 2003, though she was not called to cabinet when the party formed government in 1999. Cerilli ...

, a former NDP MLA in the Manitoba Legislature. Hasselriis, who is openly gay, was the national spokesperson for Canadians for Equal Marriage in 2006. He was appointed interim executive director of Egale Canada in January 2007, following the resignation of

Gilles Marchildon Gilles Marchildon (born May 6, 1965) is a Canadian francophone activist and LGBT activist currently living in Toronto. He is currently Toronto campus director for Collège Boréal. Prior to that, he worked in the field of health as executive direc ...

, and served in that capacity until he was succeeded by

Helen Kennedy Helen Kennedy (born 1958) is a Canadian politician and social activist. She is the executive director of Egale Canada. Background Born in Ireland, she came to Canada in 1979 at age 21. Kennedy began her career as an activist and change agent wi ...

in the fall. He currently contributes to the ''

Xtra! ''Xtra Magazine'' (formerly ''DailyXtra'' and ''Xtra!'') is an LGBTQ-focused digital publication and former print newspaper published by Pink Triangle Press in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The publication is a continuation of the company's former pr ...

'' chain of LGBT newspapers as a Winnipeg-area reporter. He also wrote a series of travel essays on gay life in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

while travelling in that country over the winter of 2008-2009 for both ''Xtra!'' and its gay travel magazine ''The Guide''.Author: Kaj Hasselriis
''

''. As well, he was an occasional contributor to

CBC Radio CBC Radio is the English-language radio operations of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. The CBC operates a number of radio networks serving different audiences and programming niches, all of which (regardless of language) are outlined below ...

, including ''

Definitely Not the Opera ''Definitely Not the Opera'' (or simply ''DNTO'') was a magazine-style radio program focusing on aspects of pop culture and storytelling, that aired on CBC Radio One on Saturday afternoons from 1994 until 2016. The show's running time varied ove ...

''.

Electoral record

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hasselriis, Kaj 1974 births Living people Canadian LGBT people in municipal politics Canadian male journalists Gay politicians Journalists from Manitoba Canadian LGBT journalists Canadian LGBT rights activists People from Winnipeg