Stewiacke elects more women than men to council

AnotherNova Scotia town hasbucked the status quo that seesmany jurisdictionselect fewer women than men to political office.

On Saturday, the Town of Wolfvillefor the first timeelected women tofive of its six council seats. But inthe Town of Stewiacke, councils made up mostly of women have been the norm for years.

"I think it's great, absolutely great," said newly elected Stewiacke councillor Rebecca Rogers-Laing. She was among five women elected to Stewiacke'sseven seats in Saturday's municipal vote.

Wendy Robinson was elected to her second term as mayor on Saturday.

"I'm proud to say that this is our third council that has such a high percentage of women. The last two times we had the highest percentage of women versus men in the province," she said.

Stewiacke's town council is now comprised of incumbentsSusan Creelman, Mary Commo, Chad Ramseyand Russell Stoddart, as well as newcomersRogers-Laingand Roseanne Chapman.

Long history of strong women in Stewiacke

The high percentage of women elected was not a surprise toRobinson, who said Stewiacke has a long history of strong women in the community.

"No only do we have more females running, we elect more females," she said.

Robinson said she thinks part of the reason her community has such a strong female presence goes back to the Second World War when many Stewiacke men went off to fight.

"That means to me that more women in town had to, one, do the work while the men were away and not all the men came back so there were a lot of strong women left in the community. So it is our culture to have women in higher places," she said.

Number of female mayors doubles in 2016

Robinson said she believes there is a larger trend in terms of women holding positions of power.

She said when she won her first council seat in 2008, there was just one female mayor in the province.When Robinson ran for mayor during the last municipal election in 2012 she was among five or so female mayors elected.

In this latest election, of 50 mayors elected, 11 were women.

"Although on the surface we seem like any other town, I believe that we have set a bar higher for women participating in politics," she said.

As real estate prices continue to rise in the Halifax Regional Municipality, Robinson said more people are moving to communities like Stewiacke.

"We are poised for growth," but Robinson said that growth has to be managed in such a way as to maintain Stewiacke's character.

"How do we manage keeping the small-town charm and feel of the town while incorporating this growth?"