(https://www.thestar.com/nd/news/niagara-region/2022/10/07/advocates-say-minority-candidates-face-uphill-battle-to-win-elections.html or https://www.stcatharinesstandard.ca/news/niagara-region/2022/10/07/advocates-say-minority-candidates-face-uphill-battle-to-win-elections.html)
Advocates say minority candidates face uphill battle to win elections
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While there may be greater diversity among Niagara’s municipal candidates than in previous elections, anti-racism advocates say they would have liked to see more.
At least 17 candidates from throughout Niagara are from BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, people of colour) communities, running for political office at all levels of municipal government in the Oct. 24 election hoping to be elected in a region that currently has no apparent visible minorities serving on Niagara Region or local municipal councils.
“It’s certainly more BIPOC candidates than we’ve seen before, but there’s not enough,” said Saleh Waziruddin from Niagara Region Anti-Racism Association. “It still doesn’t represent the community.”
He said there has been a significant change in Niagara’s demographics in the past few years, with a lot of people moving in from the Greater Toronto Area “including a lot of BIPOC people.”
Although Waziruddin said region specific census data on race has yet to be published, data from other sources shows an “increase in visible minorities in Niagara, especially for black, Middle Eastern and Latino people.”
Based on that data, he said anti-racism association members expected to see “an even higher percentage of BIPOC candidates, “and it’s still far short.”
When all political representatives are Caucasian, Waziruddin said they do not represent the full demographics of the communities they serve, and “it get’s even worse because a lot of boards, commissions and other bodies are drawn from those elected officials.”
“Without having any measures to ensure diversity there, you’re stuck with drawing from a non-diverse pool.”
Operation Black Vote Canada chair Velma Morgan said her organization too has seen an increase in candidates from visible minorities in Niagara and across the province.
While it’s a start, she said even fewer of those candidates are Black, and it’s those candidates her organization is most concerned with — and those candidates face an uphill battle to be elected.
“We love fact that Black Canadians and Ontarians are running, but it’s not the running it’s the winning that we want,” Morgan said. “We want to see them have a seat at the table. We want to see them making decisions for their communities.”
Many of the candidates, Morgan added, also have a great deal to offer with impressive lists of accomplishments in their communities.
“That’s because we have to be three or four times better educated with a long list of resume items and work in the community just to be recognized as a contender,” she said. “We have to prove through our experience and credentials that we have a right to be on a ballot. That’s why they’re so well accomplished.”
Waziruddin said the BIPOC candidates are also facing incumbents, adding to the challenges they will face.
Morgan agreed, saying the major barrier candidates face is incumbency, and her organization has been calling for term limits to help address that barrier.
“If we really want to have city councils that are inclusive and representative … there needs to be some type of term limit, where if you have three terms that’s 12 years. Take a break and if you want to come back after four years, … that’s fine,” she said. “Term limits are the only way we’re going to allow for inclusion and diversity at the municipal level.”
Morgan said many Black candidates also face challenges even putting together the resources they need to run an effective campaign.
“I’m hearing just getting people to volunteer on their campaign is an issue for some of them. Fund raising is also an issue. They need funding for brochures and signs and those are the major things,” Morgan said.
“If they don’t have a network with a lot of resources, how do they get their names out there?”
Waziruddin said voters need to take diversity into consideration when casting their ballots.
“Voters need to consider all the different aspects,” he said. “If there is a BIPOC candidate who is good, they should be worthy of support — even if there is a non BIPOC candidate who is also good. The voters should consider the full make up of the council they’re electing.”
Morgan said Operation Black Vote Canada has seen an increase in Black candidates across the province, after working to encourage Black residents to put their names forward through programs to “demystify” the process.
While she said it’s difficult to definitively determine the race of candidates in all 444 Ontario municipalities, her organization is confident there has been an increase in Black candidates — “not enough, but more than before.”
Waziruddin was also concerned about the responses several candidates provided local newspapers, when asked: “How will you embrace and champion diversity in this role?”
“Some of the candidates are outright hostile to diversity,” he said. “Some of them were outright saying that we don’t need diversity, or they’re opposed to diversity.”
He said the association plans to put together a report in the next few weeks, highlighting the responses politicians provided opposing diversity, while also distributing a questionnaire to candidates to further explore how they feel about Niagara’s changing demographics.
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