Kathleen Wynne and George Smitherman

George Smitherman: Can a gay person get elected mayor? George Smitherman lost in 2010 but not because of his sexual orientation, though that did cost him some votes. Kathleen Wynne, openly gay for years, is premier, according to The Star. We ve come a long way since. Canada has proportionately more elected members of federal and provincial parliaments who are foreign-born than any democracy. Naheed Nenshi, a Muslim, is mayor of Calgary, of all cities and If you dye your hair bright yellow but are full of bright ideas, can you get elected mayor? Perhaps but you d definitely lose some votes because of all that glow. Other prejudices can be a stumbling block. It was not until 1977 that Canada got its first francophone finance minister, Jean Chretien. In 1992, when Greg Sorbara already a former provincial cabinet minister was running for the Ontario Liberal leadership, he wondered if he could be premier with his Italian name. Ontario was changing. But as I campaigned for the leadership, I got frequent reminders of how much of Ontario still hadnt changed, he writes in his just-released book, The Battlefield of Ontario Politics. In Metro Toronto my Italian heritage was not an issue. But on the Bruce Peninsula, or in eastern Ontario, I felt a coolness that I attributed to my background. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.