There are more women and harassment in Quebec municipal politics, report shows

More women are entering municipal politics, but elected officials are facing more psychological harassment and even intimidation, according to a new report from the Quebec Federation of Municipalities (FQM).

This report, which surveyed 615 elected representatives, follows a similar survey done by the FQM back in 2017. Since then, the number of women elected as municipal councillors went up by about 7 per cent. Today, almost 40 per cent of councillors in Quebec are women.

There has also been a notable increase in the number of women elected as mayors. Nearly a quarter of Quebec municipalities are headed by women. In their last municipal elections, five major cities elected a woman mayor: Montreal, Longueuil, Gatineau, Sherbrooke and Saguenay.

"It's a big wind of change," said Line Frchette, mayor of Saint-Majorique-de-Grantham, where four of the six councillors are women.

She says when she started in politics more than 10 years ago, there were only two women on council and priorities have shifted as more women got a seat at the table.

"We used to talk more about asphalt!" she said.

"Now we're talking about the well-being of our population, about healthy lifestyles."

Marylin Nadeau, the mayor of Saint-Jean-Baptiste, where there is parity between the six municipal councillors, agrees. She says both men and women's priorities increasingly align.

Increased harassment

Psychological harassment is not only more present than ever before in the lives of elected representatives, but it also remains the issue most often highlighted by respondents, according to the report.

Almost 40 per cent of respondents said they had experienced harassment at least once in their political career. This compares with 28 per cent in the FQM's previous reportin 2017.

According to the document, young elected officials and mayors are more likely to be targeted

"The population is less patient than it used to be; it wants answers immediately. They're asking for change, but they're afraid of change," says Frchette.

Pleasing all residents is a difficult task, she says.

Nadeau believes citizens sometimes misunderstand the role of elected representatives. She would like to see more public education in this area.

"I think that in the past, the ball hasn't been jumped on," she said.

Elected representatives in small municipalities are also having more and more face-to-face altercations with citizens and fellow elected representatives due to proximity.

The recent decision by Pierre Tremblay, the mayor of Les boulements, Que., a municipality of 1,300 people in Charlevoix to step down echoes this reality.

"You have to be psychologically and mentally able to face the music with my council, with my population. [...] I reached my saturation and tolerance level," he said earlier this week.

Another factor at work is the legal framework for elected representatives, which is different from that for municipal employees. Elected officials are not subject to the regulations on harassment in the workplace established by municipalities to protect their employees from citizens and maintain a respectful work environment, the report states.

Work-life balance

The report shows there's a growing dissatisfaction with work-life balance, regardless of gender. Some 40 per cent of male respondents said they were experiencing difficulties adjusting both work and family life.

The report suggests that this growing concern among male elected representatives is contributing to the upward trend in the number of women being elected.

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"It would seem that the situation in 2023 is the result of a deterioration in the situation of men with regard to reconciling family and work, which has led, in a way, to a catching-up process," the report says.

The report also says this trend is possibly due to more awareness on the part of men.

"There are more young people in politics. [...] Most of them have young children to look after," said Frchette.