With just two weeks to go before the November 2 municipal elections, preliminary data suggests there are more women and more candidates in general running for office across the province. At least 12,610 individuals have been registered as candidates, including 632 people in the Montérégie, and 129 in the Haut-Saint-Laurent.
A statement issued by Geneviève Guilbault, the minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, suggests these numbers represent an “encouraging development for the vitality of municipal democracy,” as province-wide around 444 more people have added their names to ballots than during the last municipal elections in 2021.
Of the 129 candidates in the Haut-Saint-Laurent, 77 are new candidates while 52 outgoing councillors or mayors decided to run again. The overall number of candidates has dropped slightly, down from 141 people in 2021.
Guilbault noted that the number of women candidates continues to rise throughout the province as well. A total of 4,555 women have chosen to run, representing 36.1 per cent of overall candidates compared to 35.5 per cent in 2021. The minister indicated that ongoing efforts to reach parity, which is defined as having between 40 and 60 percent women candidates, will continue in the coming years.
In the Haut-Saint-Laurent, there are currently 48 female candidates, which hovers slightly above the provincial average at just over 37 per cent. Six of the 17 candidates for mayor in the thirteen municipalities in the Haut-Saint-Laurent are women, including four that have been acclaimed in Havelock, Très-Saint-Sacrement, Saint-Anicet, and Elgin. Women candidates are also on the ballot for mayor in Godmanchester and in Ormstown. The provincial average for women mayoral candidates is around 25 per cent, which is ten per cent lower than in the region.
Vanessa Rafter is running for seat number four on the Huntingdon municipal council against outgoing councillor Florent Ricard and Éric Charbonneau. As a young mother of two, she says her primary motivation is to improve the town for young families. As one of the youngest candidates running, and the only woman up for election in the town (outgoing councillor Andrea Geary was elected without opposition), she challenges the notion that women are less interested in politics.
A former welder, Rafter says she has a non-traditional background and is unfazed by the prospect of public critique or negativity that may come with a seat on council. She hopes more people will come out to vote, and that she might inspire some younger individuals to cast their ballot.
Across the province, a total of 4,560 people were elected unopposed, including 564 individuals to mayoral positions while 3,996 were acclaimed as councillors. Provincially, just under 58 per cent of available positions were filled by acclamation, which is down from just under 63 per cent in 2021. The number is even lower in the Haut-Saint-Laurent, where 49 per cent of the registered candidates were elected without opposition.
Elections will not take place in Elgin, Hinchinbrooke, Havelock, Très-Saint-Sacrement, or Dundee, after the entire slate of candidates were acclaimed following the nomination period. In other municipalities, such as Godmanchester, there are races between two and sometimes three candidates for all six council seats and the position of mayor.
Godmanchester resident Mackenzie Stirling is running against incumbent councillor Marie Galipeau for seat one. She says younger voices on council would be a positive result of this election, where several of the 15 candidates are well below the median age of 55 for council members in Quebec.
Stirling suggests the high level of participation in the election by candidates indicates there is a desire for change among residents. She says that like Rafter, she is hopeful that younger candidates on the ballot may encourage residents who may not have voted before to consider casting a ballot.
Advance voting will take place on Sunday, October 26, in all municipalities where an election is taking place. Election day is Sunday, November 2, across Quebec.