Voters in the eastern Ontario municipality of Merrickville-Wolford have elected an all-female council for the new four-year term. Anne Barr was elected mayor of Merrickville-Wolford, receiving 66 per cent of the vote to defeat incumbent mayor Michael Cameron. Speaking on Newstalk 580 CFRA’s Ottawa at Work with Patricia Boal, Barr said it was significant to have five women serve on council. “Mostly because the council members that have been elected are well-educated, tons of experience. Some of them have really deep connections to the community,” Barr said Tuesday morning. “We have qualified and committed people that are going to be serving the community for the next four years.” Barr has served on council since 2010. “I’m deeply honoured to have been elected as your mayor,” Barr said in a Facebook post. “Congratulations to our newly elected councillors and I look forward to working together and keeping our community’s best interests at the centre of every decision.” The four councillor positions in Merrickville-Wolford were also won by women. Margaret Gural and Marty-Catherine Fraser were elected councillors in Merrickville Ward, while Cindy Hanna and Gina Jelmini were elected councillors in Wolford Ward. “Five people were elected and I would like to believe it’s the five strongest candidates that were elected,” Gural told CTV News Ottawa. “Having worked in the RCMP, women have not always been in leadership roles,” added Jelmini. “I think it’s very important now to see women taking their place in leadership roles, so I am quite excited about it and seeing us take a seat at the table, rightfully so.” “I do believe that we do have five members of council that are really keen on collaborating, communicating well, working through agendas in a positive way,” Barr said. “Women still are fighting their ways to be recognized through the political system,” Gural said. “It shouldn’t be a big story, but it still is this day and age and I’m hoping that seeing five of us getting elected encourages other women to step forward.” The newly elected council will meet for the first time on Nov. 16 to discuss the short-term and long-term goals for the community. “I think we want to establish what our priorities based on all the work that’s been done to date and sit down as a team and decide what our residents have expressed concerns about and make sure those are priorities,” said Jelmini. Merrickville-Wolford is located 85 kilometres south of downtown Ottawa. 13 women elected to Ottawa city council There will be more women than men on Ottawa city council for the first time since amalgamation. Thirteen women were elected to council on Monday night. In 2022, voters elected 16 men, including Mayor Mark Sutcliffe. Here are the 13 women on Ottawa city council: There were six women on council in 2000 and 2003, seven women on council in 2006 and six in 2010. Four women were elected to council in 2014. With files from CTV News Ottawa’s Kimberley Fowler
