Monday’s municipal elections brought some exciting victories for women throughout Ontario – with voters choosing their first female mayors in a few cities, new female mayors in several others, and an all-female council in a village southwest of Ottawa.
Official election results are still being finalized, but these developments are promising signs that women are making strides in Ontario municipal politics, according to Tracey Raney, a professor at the department of politics and public administration at Toronto Metropolitan University.
“It’s wonderful to see more women shattering various glass ceilings in local governments across the province,” Raney told .
Niagara Falls made history by electing its first female mayor, with Coun. Lori Lococo defeating the previous mayor, who was often seen as unbeatable. Port Colborne also celebrated its first female mayor with Bea Kenny, who expressed feeling “humbled” by her win. Pembroke joined the trend by electing its first female mayor, Stephanie Le May, who beat incumbent Ron Gervais.
North Bay also elected its first female mayor and has a female deputy mayor now, marking a historic moment where women lead the city’s top leadership roles for the first time since it elected its inaugural mayor in 1891.
“It’s been a long time coming, but I’m excited to be here and can’t wait to see what happens next,” mayor-elect Maggie Horsfield said to reporters Monday.
WATCH | Ottawa’s next council to have more women than men since amalgamation:
‘I’m pretty excited about this’: Ottawa’s next council to have more women than men
For the first time since amalgamation, Ottawa’s next city council will feature more women than men. Alta Vista Coun. Marty Carr commented that it’s a significant moment for the city.
In addition, Ottawa’s city council will now have more women than men for the very first time. Voters in Merrickville-Wolford recently elected an all-female council.
Several other places have newly elected – though not their first – female mayors as well; this includes Kingston, Cornwall and Thunder Bay. In Toronto, Olivia Chow was re-elected decisively with around 54 percent of the vote based on preliminary results.
However, there were setbacks too; well-known incumbents like Carolyn Parrish from Mississauga and Andrea Horwath from Hamilton faced defeats. Elizabeth Goodyear-Grant, a political studies professor at Queen’s University in Kingston stated this observation.
We’re moving closer towards gender equality in Canadian politics “but progress is very slow and setbacks happen,” Goodyear-Grant told .
“At the municipal level overall numbers seem somewhat stagnant.. despite notable advances in certain areas.”
‘A historic first’
In Merrickville-Wolford, a charming village located about 75 kilometres southwest of Ottawa, Anne Barr spent Tuesday morning gathering election signs after her successful campaign.
Barr is a longtime councillor and now mayor-elect; she received nearly twice as many votes as incumbent Michael Cameron. Voters also chose councillors Margaret Gural, Mary-Catherine Fraser, Cindy Hanna and Gina Jelmini each winning by substantial margins.
As such, this village of just over 3,000 residents became one of only a few municipalities in Ontario to ever elect an all-female council. In 2018 two municipalities-Algonquin Highlands and Spanish-made history with theirs as well. Before them was Tweed which elected the province’s first all-female council back in 1967.
Anne Barr is the newly elected mayor of Merrickville-Wolford alongside an all-female council for her municipality. (Anne Barr)
Barr understands why Merrickville-Wolford’s new all-female slate is getting attention.
“It’s a historic milestone for our municipality,” she shared with while expressing excitement about collaborating with such an “exceptional team.” p >
