DON'T PANIC. Edmonton Centre bathhouses on Saturday afternoon: Steamworks, Down Under and Steamers.

(Ted Kerr photo)

From the Pisces bathhouse raid in the early 1980s to the intense activism that surrounded the 1998 Vriend Supreme Court decision, Edmonton has long been a hotbed of queer activism and political engagement.

The majority of the activity has occurred in Edmonton Centre — an area that stretches from the bank of the North Saskatchewan River to the parking lots of West Edmonton Mall, from the slowly modernizing 97th Street to the equally changing 118th Avenue. In the riding there are three bathhouses, five gay bars, a queer arts and culture festival and thousands of queer people.

Through the '90s and into the 21st century, Edmonton Centre was represented federally by Liberal Anne "Landslide Annie" McLellan, who earned the nickname due to her very narrow victories.

The queer community of Edmonton Centre found McLellan to be a champion, a friend and in a sweet, mid-sized city way — an icon. Not afraid to be loud or wear a boa, she could be and still is seen at a variety of queer events, showing up long before it was politically savvy or in vogue to do so.

She was loud when we were loud.

Then in the winter of 2006 things changed, and McLellan lost her seat to Conservative candidate Laurie Hawn by less than 10 percent of the vote. Her loss signified that Liberals were no longer guaranteed a seat in downtown Edmonton. For many, the struggles associated with being queer became as much to do with class as they were about sexual orientation.

Both Robert Smith, the interim executive director of OPTIONS (formerly Planned Parenthood), and Debra Jakubec, the executive director of HIV Edmonton, want the next MP for Edmonton Centre to fight for federal funding of queer social services. They say cash is needed to help deal with social issues like poverty, addiction, abuse and sexual health.

"Availability of funding for core services in health and social wellbeing are relatively non-existent in a categorical way," says Smith. "The federal government seems reluctant to be seen promoting the LGBT agenda in fear of alienating its voter base and in Alberta that is the social conservative [voter base]."

Jakubec also thinks that the feds need to step up their support for social services. She argues that we are at a tipping point where queer issues are beginning to be understood by the majority, but funding and support have not yet caught up.

Laurie Hawn, the current MP for Edmonton Centre, is a big supporter of HIV Edmonton's AIDS Walk for Life. But in an interview with Xtra.ca, he says that he doesn't seem to think that queer needs are that different from those of his straight constituents.

"The needs of the LGBT community in Edmonton Centre are like most Canadians — good jobs, good health care, a clean environment and a free society," he says.

In a perfect world Hawn is right, but as he should know, queers are not like most Canadians. Michael Phair understands this more than most. As an out and proud city councillor for 15 years, Phair represented Ward 4 which is in Edmonton Centre. In that time, he learned that "interest in and working with the queer community leads to significant support to the politician."

Still a resident of Edmonton Centre, Phair works with the University of Alberta's external relations. The federal election has Phair considering what is important to him in an MP. "To represent the Centre, I think a federal candidate should be progressive on social, cultural, environment and economic issues." When considering who to vote for, Phair advises Edmonton's queer community to look for what candidates "might have to say about issues faced by trans people, financial support to community AIDS organizations, strengthening anti-hate legislation and high rates of suicide among gay men."

Liberal candidate Jim Wachowich says he wants to continue the strong relationships that McLellan built within the queer community. While this will be his first time running for office, Wachowich has been involved in politics on the sidelines for years. "People have to be politically engaged in issues that are important to them," he says. "They have to ask questions, then stand behind the people whose responses they support."

NDP candidate Donna Martyn has long been supportive of queer issues and she has attended Edmonton's Pride parade for over 10 years, including this year. "My party firmly believes in equality for all people," says Martyn, adding that for the NDP party "this is not new for us."

But what to do about the Conservative's strong base in Alberta? Based on their track record, the current federal government doesn't seem to care about the pink vote. From cuts to the arts and AIDS funding, Harper and his MPs are aggressively assaulting issues of importance to queer Canadians.

In light of this, long-time queer activist Kristy Harcourt says that Edmonton Centre must now support a strong opposition to Harper. "I think people want a minority government," says Harcourt, "they want to make the parties compromise and work together." This desire comes not only from having an ideologically diverse city council but also from the setback that came this spring when Alberta's Progressive Conservatives scored another majority government. Harcourt asks voters in Edmonton Centre to remember "how it felt the morning they woke up after the election and there was no opposition."

Maybe with this fire in their bellies, queer and progressive residents of Edmonton Centre will reclaim their activist past and once again make their home a place of change.