Following Sunday’s municipal elections in Montreal, many are lauding what could be the most diverse municipal council elected in the city’s history.
Côte -des- Neiges –Notre -Dame-de-Grâce mayor-elect Gracia Kasoki Katahwa, the first Black person to hold the office, doesn’t take it lightly, saying that this new milestone in the city’s history is significant.
“Because a lot of us were not able to grow up having people in leadership positions that looked like us,” she told Global News.
Fo Niemi, head of the Center for Research-Action on Race Relations, a group that fights for racial equality, said people like Kasoki Katahwa are setting a new standard.
“I think there are 11 members of the new city council,” he said.
Based on self-identification, he added, that amounts to 15 per cent of the 65-member body, pointing out that there were just four councilors from racialized backgrounds following the 2017 municipal election.
Dominique Ollivier, former head of the city’s public consultation office who won her seat in Vieux Rosemont, believes the new face of Montreal city hall is a turning point.
“For me, it’s the best thing that could have ever happened,” she laughed.
Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante has appointed Ollivier to lead the city’s executive committee — another first for a Black person in the city.
“I think that what happened in 2017 was a wake-up call for a lot of political parties,” said Olivier.
During this latest campaign, the three main parties had several candidates from racialized backgrounds.
But Kasoki Katahwa warns that the work for diversity is far from over.
“We should make sure that we continue to work to have a more diverse city hall,” she stressed.
Niemi agrees more is needed.
Still, Ollivier is hopeful about what the city has achieved so far.
“The new generation can recognize themselves,” she said. “They can have role models and they can start thinking and dreaming that yes, this is possible.”
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