Jean’s campaign sent an email Friday morning to supporters that questioned letting transgender and non-binary athletes compete in sports using their preferred identities. “There should be two classes in sports,” the email read. “One for biological men and one for biological women. Puberty as a male makes changes to your body that are permanent and you can’t deny them. “That shouldn’t be a controversial thing for a common sense person to say,” he added. The email was aimed at Danielle Smith’s comments made at an Aug. 25 leadership discussion hosted by the Alberta Prosperity Project and Rebel News. Smith, a fellow candidate for the UCP top job, said biological men should be allowed to compete in women’s sports in some cases if they have transitioned, suggesting testing those athletes’ testosterone levels. At the bottom of Jean’s email, he asked supporters to “consider” donating to his campaign if they thought he was “on the right track.” Anna Murphy, community advocate for 2SLGBTQ+ and women’s issues, said his transphobic comments were not only “unacceptable” in themselves, but also disappointing to be used as a way to raise money. “We’re not just going to talk about it, we’re going to raise money to revoke your protection,” Murphy said. “What Mr. Jean is doing is dehumanizing and it comes entirely from a base of complete intolerance and ignorance. It’s hurtful.” “You have to imagine that you get an email that your identity, that your existence is invalid,” Murphy added. April Friesen, president of the Trans Equality Society of Alberta, told CTV News Edmonton that the email showed a lack of concern for vulnerable trans youth and adults who already face barriers to acceptance. “He has no real empathy here for the people who are affected by this, and he shows that he doesn’t understand the science because the science is not with him in what he’s saying,” Friesen said. “He’s dealing with all this misinformation and arming all these people with all these things that aren’t true, and now they’re going out into the world and acting on it.” Kristopher Wells, Canada Research Chair for Public Understanding of Youth Sexuality and Gender, said Jean of all people should know that gender identity and expression have been protected under provincial human rights law for nearly a decade. “(It makes) an issue where there isn’t a problem,” Wells added. “Transgender youth have been able to participate in sports in this province and this country for many years without the kinds of incidents or hysteria that Brian Jean’s email alleges. “Brain Jean really opens up an issue that has long been resolved in Canada through the politics and governing bodies of sport.” Wells, also an associate professor at MacEwan University, says Jean’s remarks can help legitimize harmful rhetoric and reintroduce stereotypes. “This is about trying to score cheap political points at the expense of vulnerable people,” Wells said. “It has real consequences because it legitimizes discrimination and, in some cases, violence.” “It’s blatantly false. It’s disingenuous,” the professor added. “These types of comments are harmful and have no place in Alberta politics.” For Murphy, who identifies as a transgender woman, the real consequences are for children who grow up learning or questioning their gender identity. “I remember what it’s like to be them,” Murphy said. “I have the scars to prove it.” “It is important to challenge this ignorance,” he added. “So, ultimately, we can be better neighbors to each other in the community we all must inhabit.” CTV News Edmonton has reached out to Brian Jean for comment.
