Estefania Cortes-Vargas

Estefania Cortes-Vargas (born 1991) is a Colombian-born Canadian politician and non-profit administrator who was elected in the 2015 Alberta general election to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta, representing the electoral district of Strathcona-Sherwood Park as a member of the Alberta New Democratic Party.[1] Upon election they became one of the first three out LGBT people elected to the Alberta legislature, alongside caucus colleagues Michael Connolly and Ricardo Miranda.[2]

Estefania Cortes-Vargas
Cortes-Vargas in 2015
Member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta for Strathcona-Sherwood Park
In office
May 5, 2015 – March 19, 2019
Preceded byDave Quest
Succeeded byNate Glubish
Personal details
Born1990/1991 (age 29–30)
Colombia
Political partyAlberta New Democratic Party
OccupationEducational assistant

Although Cortes-Vargas was represented in media coverage during the election campaign as female and lesbian,[2] in December 2015 they formally came out as non-binary in the legislature during debate on the inclusion of transgender rights in the provincial human rights code.[3] While the provincial Hansard normally reports members' speeches under the gender honorifics "Mr." or "Ms.", Cortes-Vargas is recorded as "Member Cortes-Vargas".[3] Cortes-Vargas chose not to run in the 2019 Alberta general election.[4]

In 2019 Cortes-Vargas was named executive director of the Pride Centre of Edmonton.[5]

Electoral history

2015 general election
2015 Alberta general election: Strathcona-Sherwood Park
Party Candidate Votes%±%
New DemocraticEstefania Cortes-Vargas9,37642.61+34.10
Progressive ConservativeDave Quest6,62330.10-20.61
WildroseRob Johnson5,28624.02-9.62
Alberta PartyLynne Kaiser7213.28
Total valid votes 22,006
Rejected, spoiled, and declined 110
Registered electors / Turnout 34,34664.39+4.51
New Democratic gain from Progressive Conservative Swing +27.36
Source(s)
Elections Alberta. "Electoral Division Results: Strathcona-Sherwood Park". Retrieved July 10, 2018.

References
  1. "Alberta Election 2015: NDP’s Estefania Cortes-Vargas wins Strathcona-Sherwood Park riding". Global News, May 5, 2015.
  2. "NDP candidate supports education" Archived 2015-05-18 at the Wayback Machine. Sherwood Park News, April 30, 2015.
  3. "An Alberta MLA on battling gender identity". Maclean's, December 1, 2015.
  4. Bellefontaine, Michelle (January 21, 2019). "NDP MLAs Jansen, Cortes-Vargas announce they're not running again". CBC News. Retrieved 2019-07-25.
  5. Konguavi, Thandiwe (July 25, 2019). "Former NDP whip takes lead of embattled Pride Centre of Edmonton". CBC News. Retrieved July 25, 2019.


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