Efforts to increase number of Black Ontario MPPs ramping up: ‘Representation does matter’

With the 2022 Ontario election set to occur in less than four months, advocates and community organizations are ramping up efforts to boost the number of Black MPPs at Queen’s Park.

“It’s extremely important to have people at the table that look like you making decisions. Not only that, representation does matter. You can’t be what you don’t see,” Velma Morgan, the chair of Operation Black Vote Canada, recently told CityNews.

“We can’t continue to have the same type of people, the same type of lived experiences making public policy for other people and we’ve seen when that happens how it has an adverse effect on certain communities, in particular the Black community.”

Morgan and her team are working to increase the number of Black MPPs in the June Ontario election. Currently, there are only five Black MPPs and all are in opposition.

She said Operation Black Vote Canada, a non-profit and multi-partisan organization, has been preparing for the Ontario election for the past year-and-a-half, including a one-day “boot camp” for interested candidates as well as a seven-month program called “Seat at the table” for Black female candidates.

Although the nomination processes are still fully underway for the four major parties, Morgan said there were only nearly two dozen Black candidates for Ontario’s 124 ridings.

“That’s definitely not enough,” she said.

“It is important that political parties engage our community, political parties nominate Black candidates in winnable ridings and do so way in advance of the election so they’re able to go out and canvass their constituents and have a fighting chance of winning.”

Morgan and Operation Black Vote Canada encouraged the major parties to provide extra financial and administrative resources to help break obstacles for racialized candidates.

‘Get involved in issues’

Dr. Alvin Curling, who served as the MPP for Scarborough North and Scarborough–Rouge River for more than two decades, made history as Ontario’s first Black elected speaker of the legislative assembly.

His story has been one of hard work and one in which he said community support proved to be crucial, noting his election to the legislature in 1985 came after defeating a 22-year Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario MPP, Tom Wells.

“I think what generated very much was the novelty that a Black person and a Liberal was going to run in here. I think all the Blacks to begin with around Ontario I would say came by just to help. They couldn’t even vote,” he recalled in an interview with CityNews.

“Just entering the field it was whether or not win or loss it was a great thing to participate. They felt a part of it regardless of what the boundaries were.”

After his first election, he was appointed by then-premier David Peterson to the provincial cabinet as minister of housing.

Curling said one of his proudest political achievements as minister was challenging rent control and pushing to remove helping remove toxic soil from Malvern.

He went on to become skills development minister before moving to the opposition benches between 1990 and 2003. During that time, he said he was proud of the filibuster he led challenging legislation to amalgamate the City of Toronto — noting he wasn’t for it or against it but just wanted more time to consult the community.

Citing the intense workload ministers face, when the Liberals came to power in 2003 he declined the opportunity to join Dalton McGuinty’s cabinet and instead wanted to become speaker.

After lobbying other MPPs he was unanimously elected to become the speaker.

“It was really a beautiful job. It demands a lot of respect coming from me,” Curling said, reflecting on his love for the position.

Both Curling and Morgan shared words of advice for those thinking about seeking office and for community members.

“I would emphasize to the Black community here if you’re going to get involved in politics, get involved in issues … I would say to the Blacks here today, and the leaders, make sure you treat those individuals you want to recruit as Canadians, not as Black,” Curling said.

“Not only donate money because money is very important to help run a campaign, but also candidates need you to volunteer whether it’s to make phone calls, drop literature or prep signs,” Morgan said.

How are provincial political parties working to recruit diverse candidates?

Morgan said Operation Black Vote Canada heard from the Ontario NDP, the Ontario Liberal Party and the Green Party of Ontario and there were commitments to work to meet the commitments called for by the organization.

She said the Ontario PC Party didn’t respond to the request, but noted the party met with the group to provide information on the party’s nomination process.

CityNews contacted representatives for all four parties on Monday to ask what each party is doing to help racialized residents who want to run provincially.

A brief statement from an Ontario PC Party spokesperson confirmed they met with the organization to discuss their procedures, but declined to say if there were additional funding or staffing resources available or if there were initiatives aimed at increasing the diversity of candidates. Three candidates who identify as Black have been nominated so far.

“We are proud to have a diverse group of very qualified candidates that are running in the next provincial election, including members within the Black community, with more nominations to come,” the statement said.

Lucy Watson, provincial director with the Ontario NDP, told CityNews in a statement that leading up to the 2022 election, the party instructed riding associations with no incumbents to create a search committee made up of diverse individuals with a mission of recruiting “accomplished and diverse” candidates. She said eight candidates who identify as Black have been nominated so far and that 80 per cent of the 63 nominated candidates so far are from equity-seeking communities.

If there are “good-faith efforts to search for equity candidates” and there is more than one candidate from an “equity-seeking background,” then a nomination meeting can go forward.

Watson also said there are dedicated funds to support candidates who are racialized, Indigenous and/or LGBTQ2S+ along with specialized support staff.

“We’re proud of our progress, including recognizing the first official Black Caucus in Ontario, and there’s so much more work to do,” Watson said.

Christine McMillan, the campaign director for the Ontario Liberal Party, said in a statement the party is working with Operation Black Vote Canada to “do [their] part.” She said nine candidates who identify as Black have been nominated so far.

“The Black community is underrepresented in Ontario’s legislature,” she wrote, adding a representative has been appointed to spearhead the efforts.

“We will continue to look for new ways to support Black community leaders in their campaigns so that this June we can finally have a legislature that reflects the people of our province.”

Darren Elias, a spokesperson for the Green Party of Ontario, said the party’s focus is putting forward a slate of candidates “who reflect the rich diversity of the communities they seek to represent.” It wasn’t immediately clear how many of the nominated candidates so far come from diverse backgrounds.

“We have taken a number of steps to ensure that our candidate nomination process is accessible, equitable, and democratic,” he wrote in a statement.

He pointed to the party’s Take the Lead recruitment program is tasked with bringing on diverse candidates as well as a diversity and inclusion fund to help candidates “overcome the administrative, funding, and logistical obstacles” they might face.