Annapolis Royal elects all-women council, mayor

Annapolis Royal, N.S., has elected an all-women council and mayor for the first time in its history.

Founded in 1605, Annapolis Royal is no stranger to ‘firsts’ in municipal elections. For example, it elected Daurene Lewis as Canada’s first Black woman mayor in 1984.

Newly elected councillor Adele MacDonald says she is happy to be part of another historic first. 

“I think it’s just going to be another kind of historic moment for a very historic community,” said MacDonald, who moved there with her husband in 2012. 

Lynn Myers, Heather Sadkowski and Sybil Skinner Robertson were also elected councillors. Mayor Amery Boyer was re-elected. The town has just over 500 voters. 

Gender disparity in local politics

Historically, women have been underrepresented in municipal politics compared to men. 

According to a 2023 report by the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, women represented 31 per cent of all municipal elected representatives in the country. 

In Nova Scotia, fewer than a third of candidates running for a contested district were women during the last elections, which was a slight two per cent increase from the 2016 municipal elections. 

Boyer said the women in this new council were elected for more than their gender. 

“I honestly believe that people voted according to how they felt people would perform,” Boyer said. “And it’s not a surprise to me that certain of them got noticed because they were very active in the community.”

‘Fresh ideas’

In the past, the town has had all-men councils. When Boyer began in 2002 it was a 50/50 split.

She said “it’s lovely” to get to work with the new councillors.

“It’ll be interesting as we’re bringing fresh eyes,” she said. “It’s nice to see the next generation step up. They’ll have fresh ideas, a new way to look at things.”