Significant number of women, people of colour elected in Alberta municipal elections
The next mayor of Calgary says the diversity of the city's incoming council will bring “strength to decision-making” at a time when a significant number of women and people of colour were elected to municipal offices across Alberta.
Jyoti Gondek, the first woman to hold the city's top job in its history, will lead a council filled with rookies after only three incumbents held on to their seats during Monday's municipal elections.
The unofficial results show one-third of the city's 15 seats will be held by women and up to six will be held by people of colour.
"We have finally demonstrated that women and people of colour can be in leadership positions. I hope we have normalized this now," said Gondek. "I hope people will see that Calgary truly is a city that is inclusive and that, if you prepare yourself well, you can take on leadership roles."
Calgary wasn't the only Alberta city to make history Monday. Grande Prairie and Medicine Hat will also swear in their first female mayors after Jackie Clayton and Linnsie Clark won their respective seats.
Edmonton is also celebrating its first person of colour to become mayor.
Former federal cabinet minister Amarjeet Sohi, a Sikh immigrant from India, will lead the capital's most diverse council with eight of 13 seats to be held by women and four by people of colour.
"For too long, diverse voices have not been on the table," Sohi said during a Tuesday interview on the Real Talk online show with host Ryan Jespersen.
"Diversity means people bringing their real, lived experience and that perspective - and then clashing of those ideas in a constructive way - allows us to be more innovative and more creative."
He said Edmontonians are facing "daunting" challenges, such as economic recovery and the COVID-19 pandemic, and having varied perspectives on city council will help to address those in worthwhile ways.
D.A. Dirks, a professor at Calgary's Mount Royal University who specializes in gender and sexuality studies, said more visibly diverse city councils are a hopeful sign but only if they result in meaningful change for the communities they represent.
"Visibility is important but it's not the end (in terms of) encouraging folks who are not the usual suspects in politics to think of themselves as being potentially able to run," said Dirks.
"You have to change the structures that have been in place to impede more diverse representation in politics."
There are still far too few Indigenous, Black and sexually-diverse people in elected city roles, Dirks added, and that can inhibit meaningful work toward decolonization and inclusivity.
Voting results will be official on Friday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 19, 2021.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Orca calf that was trapped in B.C. lagoon for weeks swims free
An orca whale calf that has been stranded in a B.C. lagoon for weeks after her pregnant mother died swam out on her own early Friday morning.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
'I was scared': Ontario man's car repossessed after missing two repair loan payments
An Ontario man who took out a loan to pay for auto repairs said his car was repossessed after he missed two payments.
Powerful tornado tears across Nebraska, weather service warns of 'catastrophic' damage
Devastating tornadoes tore across parts of eastern Nebraska and northeast Texas Friday as a multi-day severe thunderstorm event ramped up in the central United States, injuring at least three people.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Trump's lawyers try to discredit testimony of prosecution's first witness in hush money trial
Donald Trump's defence team attacked the credibility Friday of the prosecution's first witness in his hush money case, seeking to discredit testimony detailing a scheme between Trump and a tabloid to bury negative stories to protect the Republican's 2016 presidential campaign.