Significant number of women, people of colour elected in Alberta municipal elections

CALGARY — The next mayor of Calgary says the diversity of the city's incoming council will bring "strength to decision-making" at a time when a significant number of women and people of colour were elected to municipal offices across Alberta.

© Provided by The Canadian Press

Jyoti Gondek, the first woman to hold the city's top job in its history, will lead a council filled with rookies after only three incumbents held on to their seats during Monday's municipal elections.

The unofficial results show one-third of the city's 15 seats will be held by women and up to six will be held by people of colour.

"We have finally demonstrated that women and people of colour can be in leadership positions. I hope we have normalized this now," said Gondek. "I hope people will see that Calgary truly is a city that is inclusive and that, if you prepare yourself well, you can take on leadership roles."

Calgary wasn't the only Alberta city to make history Monday. Grande Prairie and Medicine Hat will also swear in their first female mayors after Jackie Clayton and Linnsie Clark won their respective seats.

Edmonton is also celebrating its first person of colour to become mayor.

Former federal cabinet minister Amarjeet Sohi, a Sikh immigrant from India, will lead the capital's most diverse council with eight of 13 seats to be held by women and four by people of colour.

"For too long, diverse voices have not been on the table," Sohi said during a Tuesday interview on the Real Talk online show with host Ryan Jespersen.

"Diversity means people bringing their real, lived experience … and that perspective — and then clashing of those ideas in a constructive way — allows us to be more innovative and more creative."

He said Edmontonians are facing "daunting" challenges, such as economic recovery and the COVID-19 pandemic, and having varied perspectives on city council will help to address those in worthwhile ways.

D.A. Dirks, a professor at Calgary's Mount Royal University who specializes in gender and sexuality studies, said more visibly diverse city councils are a hopeful sign but only if they result in meaningful change for the communities they represent.

"Visibility is important but it’s not the end (in terms of) encouraging folks who are not the usual suspects in politics to think of themselves as being potentially able to run," said Dirks.

"You have to change the structures that have been in place to impede more diverse representation in politics."

There are still far too few Indigenous, Black and sexually-diverse people in elected city roles, Dirks added, and that can inhibit meaningful work toward decolonization and inclusivity.

Voting results will be official on Friday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 19, 2021.

Alanna Smith, The Canadian Press

Jyoti Gondek

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

Jyoti Gondek
Mayor-elect of Calgary
Assuming office October 25, 2021
Succeeding	Naheed Nenshi
City of Calgary Councillor
In office 2017–2021
Preceded by	Jim Stevenson
Succeeded by	Jasmine Mian
Constituency	Ward 3
Personal details
Born	1969 (age 51–52)[1][2] London, England, United Kingdom
Nationality	Canadian
Spouse(s)	Todd Gondek   ​ (m. 1996)​ [3]
Residence	Calgary, Alberta
Alma mater	University of Calgary
Website	www.jyotigondek.ca/meet-jyoti.html

The Mayor-elect of Calgary Jyoti Gondek delivering a victory speech at her campaign headquarters

Prabjhote Kaur "Jyoti" Gondek^[4][5] (born 1969) is a Canadian politician, currently the mayor-elect of Calgary, Alberta.^[6][7] She was elected Calgary's 37th, and first female mayor on October 18, 2021.^[8] She was previously councillor for Ward 3, which includes the communities of Country Hills, Country Hills Village, Coventry Hills, Harvest Hills and Panorama Hills,^[9] since 2017.^[6] She will be sworn in along with the incoming city council on October 25, 2021.^[10]

Born in London, England,^[11] Gondek is the daughter of Punjabi parents Jasdev Singh Grewal, a lawyer, and Surjit Kaur Grewal.^[12] She immigrated to Canada with her parents in the early 1970s, initially settling in Manitoba.^[3] She was awarded a Ph.D. in urban sociology from the University of Calgary ^[13]. Gondek also holds a bachelor's degree in criminology/sociology from the University of British Columbia, and a master's degree in organizational sociology from the University of Manitoba.^[11][1]

References[edit]

1. ^ Jump up to:^a b White, Ryan (October 1, 2021). "Meet Calgary's mayoral candidates". CTV News Calgary. Retrieved October 18, 2021.
2. ^ "Theses Canada". Library and Archives Canada. OCLC 56963849. Retrieved October 19, 2021. Gondek, Prabhjote Kaur,1969-
3. ^ Jump up to:^a b "Meet Calgary's new mayor-elect, Jyoti Gondek". CBC News. October 9, 2021. Retrieved October 9, 2021.
4. ^ Dippel, Scott (March 25, 2018). "Five Calgary city councillors talk about their real names". CBC News. Retrieved October 15, 2021.
5. ^ "Outstanding Graduating Sociology Student Award - Canadian Sociological Association". www.csa-scs.ca.
6. ^ Jump up to:^a b About Councillor Jyoti Gondek. City of Calgary. Retrieved October 7, 2021.
7. ^ "Jyoti Gondek elected as Calgary's first female mayor". CTV News Calgary. Retrieved October 19, 2021.
8. ^ Meet Calgary's Mayoral Candidates. CTV News October 7, 2021. Retrieved October 7, 2021.
9. ^ "Ward 3 communities". Retrieved October 8, 2021.
10. ^ Toy, Adam (October 18, 2021). "Jyoti Gondek becomes 1st woman to serve as Calgary mayor". Global News. Retrieved October 19, 2021.
11. ^ Jump up to:^a b Hagenaars, Stephanie (June 18, 2021). "Jyoti Gondek weighs in on why she moved from volunteering to becoming a city councillor". Calgary Journal. Retrieved October 18, 2021.
12. ^ "GREWAL JASDEV - Obituaries - Winnipeg Free Press Passages". passages.winnipegfreepress.com.
13. ^ Gondek, Jyoti. Twitterhttps://twitter.com/jyotigondek/status/1011454383526047744. Missing or empty |title= (help)