Janis Irwin (born September 9, 1984) is a Canadian politician who was elected to the

Legislative Assembly of Alberta The Legislative Assembly of Alberta is the deliberative assembly of the province of Alberta, Canada. It sits in the Alberta Legislature Building in Edmonton. The Legislative Assembly currently has 87 members, elected first past the post from sing ...

in the

2019 Alberta general election The 2019 Alberta general election was held on April 16, 2019, to elect 87 members to the 30th Alberta Legislature. In its first general election contest, the Jason Kenney-led United Conservative Party (UCP) won 54.88% of the popular vote and 63 ...

. She represents the electoral district of

Edmonton-Highlands-Norwood Edmonton-Highlands-Norwood is a provincial electoral district for the Legislative Assembly of Alberta, Canada. The district was created in 2004 when it was merged with Edmonton-Highlands and Edmonton-Norwood. This inner-city northeast Edmonton ...

as a member of the

Alberta New Democratic Party The Alberta New Democratic Party (french: Nouveau Parti démocratique de l'Alberta), commonly shortened to Alberta's NDP, is a social-democratic political party in Alberta, Canada. It is the provincial Alberta affiliate of the federal New Democ ...

. She serves as the Official Opposition Critic for Status of Women and LGBTQ2S+ Issues, and is the Official Opposition Deputy Whip. A teacher prior to her election, Irwin is queer, and is the only openly

LGBTQ ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term is ...

MLA in the Alberta legislature. She previously ran as the federal

New Democratic Party The New Democratic Party (NDP; french: Nouveau Parti démocratique, NPD) is a federal political party in Canada. Widely described as social democratic,The party is widely described as social democratic: * * * * * * * * * * * * ...

candidate for Edmonton Griesbach in the

2015 Canadian federal election The 2015 Canadian federal election held on October 19, 2015, saw the Liberal Party, led by Justin Trudeau, win 184 seats, allowing it to form a majority government with Trudeau becoming the next prime minister. The election was held to elect m ...

Personal life

Irwin grew up in

Barrhead, Alberta Barrhead is a town in central Alberta, Canada that is surrounded by the County of Barrhead No. 11. It is located along the Paddle River and at the intersection of Highway 33 (Grizzly Trail) and Highway 18, approximately northwest of the City ...

. Prior to being elected, Irwin was a high school social studies teacher in

Bawlf, Alberta Bawlf is a village in Alberta, Canada located east-southeast of Camrose. Founded in 1905 as a stop on the Canadian Pacific Railway line, it was named after Nicholas Bawlf, who was then president of the Winnipeg Grain Exchange. History The se ...

and served as vice-principal in

Forestburg, Alberta Forestburg is a village located in east-central Alberta, Canada. The rich farmland of the area was first settled in 1905. Soon after the first of many "gopher hole" mines, homesteaders were soon coal mining on the banks of the Battle River in 19 ...

. Irwin came out in her late 20s. In 2010, Irwin moved back to Edmonton to start working with Alberta Education, focusing on curriculum.

Education

Irwin holds a Bachelor of Education from the University of Alberta, a Master of Education from the University of Calgary, and completed PhD-level coursework at the University of Alberta without defending her thesis.

Provincial politics

Since being elected as a member of Legislative Assembly of Alberta, Irwin has been an advocate against

conversion therapy Conversion therapy is the pseudoscientific practice of attempting to change an individual's sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression to align with heterosexual and cisgender norms. In contrast to evidence-based medicine and cli ...

by citing the harmful organization Journey Canada with its ties to this practice. Another issue Irwin has been strongly advocating on is the legal protections of gay-straight alliances (GSAs) in the education system in Alberta. Irwin serves on the Standing Committee on Alberta's Economic Future, as well as the Standing Committee on Private Bills and Private Members' Public Bills. Irwin was previously a member of the Standing Committee on the Alberta Heritage Savings Trust Fund and the Standing Committee on Families and Communities. Irwin is the Official Opposition Deputy Whip and Critic for LGBTQ2S+ and Women's Issues. In the Legislature, Irwin confessed humorously to having a "

gay agenda "Gay agenda" or "homosexual agenda" is a term used by sectors of the Christian religious right as a disparaging way to describe the advocacy of cultural acceptance and normalization of non-heterosexual sexual orientations and relationships. The ...

", which she described as consisting of her drinking coffee, going to work, mowing her lawn, and cleaning her house just like heterosexual people do. Irwin has joked that she is the only openly "ML-gay" in the legislature, which does not mean she needs to speak on all gay-related issues.

Electoral history

2015 federal election

2019 general election

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Irwin, Janis Alberta New Democratic Party MLAs People from Barrhead, Alberta Politicians from Edmonton Lesbian politicians Women MLAs in Alberta 21st-century Canadian politicians Canadian LGBT people in provincial and territorial legislatures New Democratic Party candidates for the Canadian House of Commons 1984 births Living people 21st-century Canadian women politicians