ELECTION EDUCATION # 8
Dear Colleagues,
The 2022 Municipal Elections are over! We now prepare to welcome returning and new municipal representatives to Council. We seek to renew our efforts to address poverty related issues and to welcome new representatives to contribute to the work.
The goals remain the same as during the election debates! People of all economic levels want: a steady and sufficient income, a home that is safe and affordable; good health care and representatives in government that work together to improve our well-being.
- During the election period, we sent out 7 weekly Election Education Community Updates via email and as blog posts on our website. Number 8 will be our last one. We shall continue to send out bi-weekly Community Updates. You can subscribe to our Community Updates via our website or email. Anyone is welcome to receive them!
- We have updated the information on our Poverty, Voting and Elections page to reflect the election results. The issues that are still front and centre for the work we do remain on the page.
ELECTION ANALYSIS
electHERnow.ca Grey Bruce is a non-partisan volunteer group committed to gender balance in the municipal government. They have provided a breakdown of women municipal representatives for each municipality.
- In Grey Bruce, 27% of municipal positions were held by women prior to this municipal election. As of October 24, 2022, 29% of municipal positions in Grey Bruce are held by women, whereas 51% of the Grey Bruce region’s population are women. (Source: 2021 Census Release of Population/Gender and electHERnow.ca).
- At the County level, 0% of Bruce County Council positions are held by women and 28% of Grey County Council positions are held by women.
- Per Municipality Council level, positions held by women ranged from 14% (6), 20% (3), 29% (1) 43% (4), 44% (2) to 57% (1). Not all councils have the same number of members so the ratios of men:women vary. See the breakdown of representation per municipality prepared by electHERnow.ca
AMO‘s 2022 Ontario Municipal Election website provides a running analysis of previous election results compared to 2022 election results. We have included the links to each municipalities’ election results and statistics on our Poverty, Voting and Elections page.
- How votes are cast continues to move to technology-based methods. In 2022, 15 out of 17 municipal governments in Grey Bruce used an internet/phone combined method. The use of mail-in ballots was used in 2 municipalities (Meaford and Chatsworth) and 1 municipality used an internet/paper combined method (Grey Highlands).
- Voter turnout ranged from 27.19% to 43.60% against Ontario’s average of 36%.
DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION
We don’t have any statistics yet on diversity and representation per council. We hope to have more analysis soon.
We encourage new Councilors to read our Community Voices’ Diversity and Inclusion of People on Low Income in municipal government. We All Live Here (infographic) speaks to the need for more diversity and inclusion in municipal decision-making.
MUNICIPAL REPRESENTATION AT POVERTY TASK FORCE
We have benefited from strong leadership from Bruce County and Grey County Councils, Wardens and Human Services representatives. All municipal, provincial and federal representatives are welcome to attend Poverty Task Force and Action Group meetings. Please contact Jill Umbach @ povertytaskforce@unitedwaybg.com to join.
Recently, the City of Owen Sound passed a motion to have formal representation to the Poverty Task Force. We look forward to this formal representation and will be extending an invitation to all lower-tier municipalities to join us!
Stay well, Jill