Women Win Big in Municipal Elections: What’s Next?

The official results of the recently concluded municipal elections are still being tabulated. However, preliminary reports indicate that women are making significant strides in Ontario’s municipal politics, as Tracey Raney, a professor in Toronto Metropolitan University’s Department of Politics and Public Administration (TMU), noted.

Several cities have elected their first female mayors, and a village southwest of Ottawa has formed an all-female council, showcasing this encouraging trend.

“It’s fantastic to see more women breaking through various glass ceilings in local governments across the province,” Raney commented in a recent interview with local media.

Niagara Falls has made history by electing its first female mayor, Coun—Lori Lococo, who unseated an incumbent considered unbeatable. Port Colborne similarly celebrated its first female mayor, Bea Kenny, who expressed her humility following her victory. Pembroke also joined the ranks with its first female mayor, Stephanie LeMay, who defeated the incumbent, Ron Gervais.

North Bay has elected its first female mayor and has a female deputy mayor, marking the first time since its establishment in 1891 that women hold both top leadership positions in the city.

In a notable shift, Ottawa’s city council now has more women than men for the first time in history. Meanwhile, voters in the eastern Ontario municipality of Merrickville-Wolford elected an all-female council.

Several jurisdictions also welcomed newly elected female mayors, including Kingston, Cornwall, and Thunder Bay. In Toronto, Olivia Chow was re-elected decisively, garnering about 54 percent of the vote.

In Merrickville-Wolford, Anne Barr, a long-serving councilor, was elected mayor, receiving nearly twice as many votes as incumbent Michael Cameron.

These successes are particularly noteworthy, given that women made up only 32 percent of candidates across the province, according to the Association of Municipalities of Ontario. This figure has risen by only one percentage point since 2022, when 31 percent of candidates were female, up from 27 percent in 2018.

This situation highlights a bottleneck in growth in women’s representation on councils and in mayoral races, according to Queen’s University’s Goodyear-Grant.

“If women aren’t running in equal proportions to men, it’s challenging to expect rapid or substantial growth in their seat share,” she explained.

It also underscores the barriers that women encounter in politics, including limited access to donors and fundraising, gendered stereotypes regarding their qualifications, and harassment during campaigns. For instance, in Brampton, Councilor Rowena Santos reported facing severe threats to her safety while in office, including individuals who claimed she deserved to be raped and killed.

Thus, getting women elected is only “half the battle,” Raney emphasized. “We also need to consider what happens once they take office,” she noted, referring to the challenges women face in getting their voices heard and having their strategies taken seriously by their male colleagues in government.

“Representation matters, but so does the ability to remain free from harassment and violence once you are at the decision-making table,” Raney concluded.