Kaj Hasselriis (born January 4, 1974) is a Canadian journalist, community activist and politician. Hasselriis was born in

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...

, Manitoba, and is a lifelong Winnipegger. He earned a sociology degree from the

University of Manitoba The University of Manitoba (U of M, UManitoba, or UM) is a public research university in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Founded in 1877, it is the first university of Western Canada. Both by total student enrolment and campus area, the University of ...

in 1995 as well as a journalism degree from Toronto's

Ryerson Polytechnic University Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU, or Toronto Met), formerly Ryerson University, is a Public university, public research university located in Toronto, Canada. The university's core campus is situated within the Garden District, Toronto, Gar ...

in 1997. From 1997 to 2002, Hasselriis worked as a reporter and producer for

CBC Television CBC Television (also known as CBC TV, or simply CBC) is a Television in Canada, Canadian English-language terrestrial television, broadcast television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcasting, p ...

. Most recently, Hasselriis created an English-language monthly in

Lima Lima ( ; ), founded in 1535 as the Ciudad de los Reyes (, Spanish for "City of Biblical Magi, Kings"), is the capital and largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rive ...

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

called '' Limazine''. As a political organizer, Hasselriis served as the Manitoba campaign manager for

Jack Layton John Gilbert Layton (July 18, 1950 – August 22, 2011) was a Canadian politician and academic who served as the leader of the New Democratic Party (NDP) from 2003 to 2011 and leader of the Official Opposition in 2011. He previously sat on T ...

's leadership bid in 2002. He also played a key role as a member of Toronto mayor David Miller's 2003 campaign team. In 2004, Hasselriis gained prominence in Winnipeg by leading the fight to keep Winnipeg's bus rapid transit system. The city eventually cancelled the program, to the dismay of public transit activists. On July 17, 2006, Hasselriis declared his candidacy in the October 2006 municipal elections against Winnipeg mayor

Sam Katz Samuel Michael Katz (born August 20, 1951) is a Canadian businessman and former politician who was the 42nd mayor of Winnipeg, Manitoba from 2004 to 2014. He is the owner of the Winnipeg Goldeyes of the American Association, as well as the ...

. His campaign was endorsed by several prominent figures in the city, including musician

John K. Samson John Kristjan Samson (born 1973) is a Canadian musician from Winnipeg, Manitoba. He is a singer-songwriter and best known as the frontman of the Canadian indie folk/rock band The Weakerthans. He also played bass in the punk band Propagandhi dur ...

and activist

James Beddome James Robert Beddome (born October 2, 1983) is a Canadian lawyer and politician who was the former leader of the Green Party of Manitoba from November 2014 to March 2023. He has run in several elections for the provincial party, and was also the ...

. On election day, October 25, 2006, Hasselriis received 22,401 votes, or 13.22 of the total count. He placed third to Katz, who was re-elected, and Marianne Cerilli, a former NDP MLA in the Manitoba Legislature. Hasselriis, who is openly gay, was the national spokesperson for

Canadians for Equal Marriage Canadians for Equal Marriage is a Canadian public interest group founded in 2002. It represents Egale Canada, PFLAG Canada, the Canadian Federation of Students, the Canadian Labour Congress, the Canadian Psychological Association, the Canadian Asso ...

in 2006. He was appointed interim executive director of

Egale Canada Egale Canada is a Canadian charity founded in 1986 by Les McAfee to advance equality for Canadian lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBTQ) people and their families, across Canada. The organization's current executive director is former To ...

in January 2007, following the resignation of Gilles Marchildon, and served in that capacity until he was succeeded by

Helen Kennedy Helen Kennedy (born 1958) is a Canadian human rights advocate and former city councillor. She has been the executive director of Egale Canada (Canada's leading 2SLGBTQI organization) since 2007. Background Helen was born in Ireland. She went to ...

in the fall. He currently contributed to the ''

Xtra! ''Xtra Magazine'' (formerly ''DailyXtra'' and ''Xtra!'') is an LGBTQ-focused digital publication and former print newspaper published by Pink Triangle Press in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The publication is a continuation of the company's former p ...

'' chain of LGBT newspapers as a Winnipeg-area reporter. He also wrote a series of travel essays on gay life in India while travelling in that country over the winter of 2008-2009 for both ''Xtra!'' and its gay travel magazine ''The Guide''.Author: Kaj Hasselriis
''

''. As well, he was an occasional contributor to

CBC Radio CBC Radio is the English-language radio operations of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. The CBC operates a number of radio networks serving different audiences and programming niches, all of which (regardless of language) are outlined below ...

, including ''

Definitely Not the Opera ''Definitely Not the Opera'' (or simply ''DNTO'') was a magazine-style radio program focusing on aspects of pop culture and storytelling, that aired on CBC Radio One on Saturday afternoons from 1994 until 2016. The show's running time varied ove ...

''.

Electoral record

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hasselriis, Kaj 1974 births Living people Canadian LGBTQ people in municipal politics Canadian male journalists Canadian gay politicians Canadian LGBTQ journalists Canadian LGBTQ rights activists Politicians from Winnipeg Journalists from Winnipeg 21st-century Canadian journalists 21st-century Canadian politicians 21st-century Canadian LGBTQ people