Bill Siksay

Bill Siksay ( born March 11, 1955 in Oshawa, Ontario ) is a Canadian politician and a deputy in the Parliament of Canada. Siksay is a member of the social democratic New Democratic Party.

His parents were William and Patricia Siksay. After his education, he attended the McLaughlin Collegiate and Vocational Institute in Oshawa. He then went to the Victoria College, University of Toronto, where he attained his Bachelor 1978. He graduated from the M.Div. Program at the Vancouver School of Theology at the University of British Columbia, where he prepared for the duties of a pastor in the United Church of Canada. During this time Siksay was one of the first theologians coming out. He took part in the debate in his church for ordination of homosexual pastors. The M.Div. Program did not finish Siksay on its own and was therefore not ordained.

Siksay employment with the politician Svend Robinson for over 18 years. 1997 Siksay lost the elections to the Vancouver Centre against Hedy Fry. As Robinson resigned his seat in parliament in the Canadian Parliament due to the theft of a piece of jewelry, Siksay won the partisan nomination within the New Democratic Party of Canada. On 28 June 2004 he won the election and became a member of the Canadian House of Representatives. Siksay was the first openly gay Member of Parliament in Canada who won the elections. All other homosexual Canadian MPs like Robinson, Libby Davies, Réal Ménard, Scott Brison outed himself only even after they had won the general elections for the first time each. Mario Silva was outed by the Toronto Star newspaper shortly after the election. Within the New Democratic Party of Canada Siksay is engaged in the issues of immigration and citizenship, as well as LGBT issues. In January 2006 Siksay was re-elected by a large majority for the seat in parliament Burnaby - Douglas.

Siksay lives in Burnaby with his partner Reverend Brian Burke. Both are actively engaged as members of the church in the United Church of Canada.