Kyle Rae
| Kyle Rae | |
|---|---|
Kyle Rae at the Pride Week celebrations in 2006
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| Toronto City Councillor for Ward 27 - Toronto Centre—Rosedale | |
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In office 1997–2010 |
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| Preceded by | Ward established |
| Succeeded by | Kristyn Wong-Tam |
| Toronto City Councillor for Ward 6 - Downtown East | |
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In office 1991–1997 |
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| Preceded by | Jack Layton |
| Succeeded by | Ward abolished |
| Personal details | |
| Born | January 23, 1954 |
| Spouse(s) | Mark Reid (m. 2003) |
| Residence | Toronto, Ontario |
| Alma mater | Brock University |
| Occupation | Consultant |
Kyle Rae (born January 23, 1954) is a Canadian consultant and former politician. Rae was a member of Toronto City Council from 1991 to 2010, representing Ward 6 in the old city from 1991 to 1997 and Ward 27 Toronto Centre-Rosedale following the municipal amalgamation of Toronto in 1997.
Rae was first elected to Toronto city council in 1991 as a left-leaning councillor filling the seat vacated by Jack Layton (who was running for mayor at the time). He campaigned as an openly gay candidate and beat his closest rival by 1,003 votes, becoming the city's first openly gay councillor. During his first term, as Chair of the City's Personnel Committee he attempted, with Mayor June Rowlands support, to introduce affirmative action in the city's fire department. The motion was defeated.
A longtime member of the Ontario New Democratic Party, he left the party because of the failure of NDP Premier Bob Rae's government (who is no relation to Kyle Rae) to pass long-promised reforms on gay rights issues. Rae led a local boycott of the NDP in the 1993 by-election in the riding of St. George—St. David (now Toronto Centre—Rosedale) to highlight his position. In recent years, Rae supported John Sewell's independent candidacy in the 1999 provincial election and federal Liberal Bill Graham. He supported Barbara Hall against David Miller in the 2003 mayoralty election. Because of his long running and historic criticism of the NDP's legislative failure on gay rights issues, Rae surprised many when he endorsed former Premier Rae when the latter successfully contested the Toronto Centre federal by-election on March 17, 2008 as the Liberal Party candidate. Kyle said of Bob, "He has a unique set of skills and experience, and I hope he wins .... His candidacy has my full support."
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