Coline Babin

Coline is a worker and working-class fighter, who is also a proud Trans Queer Woman.She has fought on picket lines to support workers across the province and has been a vocal opponent of austerity and fascist politics. She has been a presence at protests and in the gallery at Queen Park.

She believes the true power of the union movement lies with workers not elected leaders and executives. Coline started her union journey as a steward, listening to and defending members in the face of bosses. Coline is proud to be a 79 member, a local that has been transforming and empowering their membership into taking rank-and-file power and building working-class super majorities.

Coline was elected as Recording Secretary of her local, becoming the first openly transgender person elected to the largest CUPE Local in Canada. She also serves on the Ontario Pink Triangle Committee, and is the Transgender Representative on the National Pink Triangle Committee. She is proud of the work these committees have done but hopes to transform them into something more powerful. Pink Triangle needs to change from being an advisory committee, to standing on the front-lines defending our communities right-wing hate and fascist attacks.

Coline believes Queer liberation does not happen in a silo; it is deeply intersectional. The powers that oppress the working-class also oppress Queer people, although Queer and Trans Folx feel them at higher intensity. These structures of injustice, that keep all of us down, push Queer and Trans people into become unhoused, committing suicide, and turning to survival sex work at an alarming rate. These structures must be opposed for our collective benefit.

Trans and Queer people have become a target of the far-right, along with, Disabled, Racialized, Migrant, and Refugee persons. Our defense needs to be multi-faceted and rooted in true solidarity. The attack on Queer and Trans-Folx is just a visceral display of the hate the far-right has for all working-class people. We not only need to fight back but also create spaces and unions where all workers, including Trans and Queer-Folx can thrive.

Coline is sick of seeing Pride organizations being hijacked by corporate interests, to turn Pride away from Queer Liberation into a colourful palatable pageant. She will stand up the rainbow bureaucracy, who ignore rather than combat the challenges we all face. Coline understands that a rainbow painted cop car or Loblaws logo, does not wash away their role in state violence and oppression of our communities.

As chair of the Pink Triangle Committee, Coline promises to fight back against right-wing hate, to work with her siblings across other Committees and build an intersectional approach. She’s committed to working with groups that represent and support sex-workers and the unhoused.

We are not Free until We are All Free, and an Injury to One is an Injury to all!