I'm a member of the LGBTQ+ community. Upholding our rights is my election issue

This First Person article is written by Corbin Clark, who lives in P.E.I. For more information about CBC's First Person stories, please see the FAQ.

When I was in the fifth grade, a girl in my class spread rumours that I was gay. It was my first experience with someone using being 2SLGBTQ+ as an attack, and it would not be the last. This same girl did it again twice in the sixth grade, and in junior high, several boys made homophobic jokes at my expense. In high school, I found relief since my past tormentors were in different classes. Still, I heard stories of other students being mocked or threatened because they were out of the closet. This helped keep me in the closet publicly until I graduated. 

I left high school almost five years ago, but I still hear remarks similar to the mockery or homophobia I was subjected to in school. But now I am hearing these remarks from politicians — people who have an impact on my life and the world around me. 

In September, a Conservative MP was accused of making "casual homophobic comments" in the House during a debate. Garnett Genuis, the MP for the Alberta riding of Sherwood Park-Fort Saskatchewan, later denied his comment was homophobic or sexual in nature.

A few months before that, Alberta MP Arnold Viersen said on a podcast that he would vote against gay marriage if given the opportunity. In the past, the Conservative MP also voted against a bill that would have outlawed forced LGBTQ conversion therapy.

Then there's the repeated instances of Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre bashing "radical gender ideology"; saying "biological males" should be banned from women's sports, change rooms and bathrooms; and in the past voting against the legalization of gay marriage.

All of this, quite frankly, makes me scared. We only have to look south of the border to see how the Trump government has attacked LGBTQ+ rights in recent months to see that my fear is not unfounded. This is what will be weighing on my mind as I head to the ballot box.

I voted for the NDP in 2021, even though they have little chance in my riding, since they were most aligned with my personal beliefs. But I live in a district that has only ever elected Liberals or Conservatives, so I don't feel like I can risk a vote for the NDP now.

I don't expect a Conservative government will overturn gay marriage (because I don't think it would clear the Senate), but I do worry about a Conservative government overturning legislation banning conversion therapy or weakening anti-hate speech laws under the guise of freedom of speech. I worry about a Conservative government making it harder to change names or gender on legal documents and IDs. I worry about a Conservative government legitimizing anti-2SLGBTQ+ rhetoric and rubbing shoulders with those who'd label me a sex offender simply because of my sexuality. I worry about a thousand other little things that could make life for me and the 2SLGBTQ+ community more difficult and miserable. 

I have concerns about the Liberal Party, too, but at a bare minimum, I don't believe a Liberal government would strip away my fundamental rights solely because of my sexuality. 

I'm not a single-issue voter, and other factors have led to my vote shifting toward the Liberal Party, but my fears over maintaining 2SLGBTQ+ rights are at the top of the list. I feel that in this political climate, voting NDP in my riding has more potential for harm than good because I'm afraid of splitting the left-wing vote. 

This is not a decision I make lightly, but one I feel is necessary. It's taken years for the LGBTQ+ community to obtain the rights we have now, and I won't watch while those rights are stripped away.

CBC News is publishing a range of perspectives from voters who share the personal experience shaping their choice at the ballot box. Read more First Person columns related to the election here.

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