Waterloo Region’s fifth Women’s Municipal Campaign School is hosting a two-day event starting tomorrow, Sunday, March 6, in preparation for this year’s election.
The campaign school is only offered during election years, and with municipal elections coming up in October, the campaign school wants to support more women, of all backgrounds, to run.
“There absolutely needs to be further supports for people of colour, specifically women of colour, to enter politics,” said Cambridge mayor, Kathryn McGarry.
“Our government at every level should reflect the community it serves, and right now voices of colour are missing from that.”
The goal of the two-day event is to bring more women and diversity to elected municipal councils and boards throughout Waterloo Region and to help prepare women for this year’s upcoming election.
The first virtual event takes place on March 6th, from 9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. The second day of the event will be held on April 30th, from 9:00 a.m. to 4p.m.
Over two days, participants will take part in workshops on how to engage with media and debate, as well as how to plan, run, and win a campaign.
The virtual event will focus on why women want to run for local office and will examine today's 'hot' municipal topics. This includes the roles and responsibilities of school board trustees, city councillors, and regional councillors, and explore the challenges of balancing political life with work and family.
The second day will take place on April 30, in person, at the Region of Waterloo council chambers, and will focus on how to run a campaign.
“I attended the campaign school myself and I was on the organizing team in 2018. I ran for public office twice. First, for the City of Kitchener in 2014, and then later in 2018 for a regional council seat,” said Fauzia Mazhar, executive director of the Coalition of Muslim Women of Kitchener Waterloo.
“I worked a lot on my campaign and thanks to resources and programs like the campaign school, I think I ran two strong campaigns. I haven’t won yet, but I did have two strong campaigns.”
Waterloo Region Women’s Municipal Campaign School, a volunteer-led committee, provides the knowledge, tools, skills, and resources required for a successful election campaign, welcoming all women and diverse communities to run for municipal office in the region.
During the event, women will hear from past and present political leaders who will share their stories and experiences in politics. Participants will take part in a variety of workshops and will be given the knowledge, tools and resources needed to run for office.
Speakers will include past and present female leaders throughout Waterloo Region.
The last Waterloo Region Women’s Municipal Campaign School in 2018 was a huge success with the result of 48 per cent of elected municipal officials in Waterloo Region identifying as women. For the upcoming election, the campaign school is eager to keep the momentum going with a goal of reaching well over 50 per cent.
“We did have a lot of challenges around gender diversity around our council tables, but I think in 2018, that changed with a record number of women who actually did get elected to our local councils. So, there are more women but what we lack is the racial diversity of people who are new to Canada or even if not new, just racialized in general. This is where we are definitely lacking,” Mazhar said.
Mazhar said when looking at women in the municipal and federal governments, the contrast is huge.
“Why is there such a big gap between municipal and federal politicians? I think that is why the campaign school is important. As we know, some women might doubt themselves in being able to run for public office, and not just for being a woman, but also being from a racial minority,” Mazhar said.
“The campaign school can provide an opportunity for women to come together and learn from other’s experiences and hopefully we will have a bigger slate of diverse women participating in the upcoming municipal elections.”
For more information or to register for this year’s event, visit here.
