Two historic firsts were made in the Alberta election Monday: a Black woman and an Indigenous woman were projected to win their seats and become MLAs.
Rhiannon Hoyle, a Black woman, was projected to win her seat in Edmonton-South for the New Democratic Party, a seat that was held by Independent MLA Thomas Dang since 2019.
Hoyle ran for Edmonton city council in Ward Ipiihkoohkanipiaohtsi in October 2021 and lost by only 39 votes.
She has taken on leadership roles for the Edmonton Federation of Community Leagues, working to enhance recreational facilities for neighbourhoods, according to her website.
Jodi Calahoo-Stonehouse is Cree and Mohawk from Michel First Nation and was projected to win the seat in Edmonton-Rutherford for the NDP, making her the first First Nations woman to serve in the legislature.
Calahoo-Stonehouse was a member of the Edmonton Police Commission starting in 2021 before taking leave to run for provincial office.
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She is the executive director of the Yellowhead Indigenous Education Foundation, an organization that supports programming for Indigenous people of all ages, according to her website.
Pearl Calahasen was the first Indigenous woman to serve as an MLA. She is Métis and served in the Progressive Conservative caucus from 1989 to 2015.
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