Manitoba will be holding a province-wide municipal election on Wednesday, October 26. In Niverville, Mayor Myron Dyck and the four current town councillors ran uncontested in the previous election and were consequently all elected by acclamation.

So far this year no new candidates have made their intentions known, leaving some residents to wonder if the next four years will be, politically, more of the same.

While change can feel unsettling, there are those who are asking whether it would be beneficial to see fresh faces on Niverville’s council—and beyond that, some representation from people of more diverse backgrounds.

While not all demographic information has been released yet from the 2021 census, we know a few things about Niverville’s population. It’s fastest growing municipality in Manitoba, the average age comes in at just under 32 years old (making our town especially young), and women outnumber men.

Four years ago, the 2016 census reported that most adults in Niverville were married and that the average household income was $90,675. That year, many diverse cultures existed within the community. The largest visible minority population in Niverville was Filipino, followed by Black and then Chinese persons.

There was also an Indigenous population that largely identified as Metis.

Niverville is a unique community experiencing dynamic change and politicians here, as well as all across Canada, find themselves representing communities with a growing range of diverse needs. Historically underrepresented groups—such as women, visible minorities, Indigenous people, members of the LGBTQ community, and people with disabilities—all to struggle to see themselves in government.

What Does Niverville Want?

Several community members came forward to The Citizen to talk about what they would like to see in terms of representation in local politics. None of them touted a specific demographic as being needed above any others, but they all said that they’d prefer to see change on council.

Chelsea Alderson is a relatively new Niverville resident and a busy mom of three who works for a company in Winnipeg. For her, diversity in thought and perspective is important.

“I want a council made of people who represent the demographic of the area,” Alderson says. “I don’t care about diversity of sex or race as much as what phase of life someone may be in. I want to see someone who can represent the growing families in Niverville. Families with young children add so much to a community and council should make decisions that attract more families to grow the tax base, which maybe means businesses and jobs. I think smaller communities tend to elect people from legacy families, which can cause a perceived conflict of interest when they’re related to or are business owners.”

Steven Cope is a long-time resident who has personally witnessed the Niverville’s population boom. Cope says that it’s problematic for council to go for such a long period without meaningful change. For him, it’s an even bigger concern that there haven’t been any new candidates willing to throw their hats in the ring.

“Niverville has pretty much exploded in population over the last few years, with the [current] new developments having been almost completed,” says Cope. “With that, we’ve seen many new families move here, more and more of them visible minorities. Our council has been pretty stagnant up till now… there has been limited competition for sure for most of the elected positions.”

Cope feels some concern about the homogeneity of the religious and cultural background of the individuals who currently make up Niverville’s council.

“I don’t know how politically correct it is to say, but the positions have traditionally been white, Christian male-dominant, and I think with our ever-growing community more diversity is needed to reflect these new faces.”

But while he would like to see a more diverse council, he doesn’t feel the point of diversity is diversity itself.

“The difficulty is getting people not only to run, which in itself is an issue it seems, but to find people who are ethnically diverse who are also qualified and willing to run for the positions available,” he says. “I like diversity, but I also think it’s important to elect the most qualified person, not necessarily just because they are of a different ethnicity. I don’t think that does anyone any favours either. It’s a tough situation here. I’m sure there must be some folks who would be willing to throw their hats in the ring to vie for an elected position on council.”

As to who he would like to see on council, Cope says he would like to see some new business leaders nominated, but at this point he just hopes someone, anyone, will run so that the current councillors don’t win by acclamation again.

“I don’t feel it does the town any good to have no one but the incumbent bothering to run,” he adds.

Barry Piasta is a local community leader who has a long history of volunteerism with organizations including Friends of the Dog Park, and previously with Niverville’s Citizens on Patrol Program.

Piasta has a brain injury that left him with challenges that affect his speech, memory, and balance. He says that people with diverse levels of ability should have political representation, because it brings an important perspective to development, planning, and community programming.

“For instance, our sidewalks, some of them are at such an angle that you’re almost falling off of it,” Piasta says. “Someone with a physical disability will see things that someone without one will not. They have to see it every day, so it’s in their thinking every day.”

Though Piasta has considered running for council, he says there are barriers for people like him when working for the public.

“I have good days and bad days, and as the day gets longer, the harder time I have,” he says. “That’s physical, in a way, but it’s more actually in the head. It’s difficulty with speech, or focusing on one topic, those kind of issues. So if I would run, I would need assistance, like a teammate or an assistant. And I’m already getting up there, at the age of 57, so I think it would need a younger mind.”

Youth would be a benefit to council, according to Piasta, who suggested that Niverville could consider opening up a youth representative position to specific invite younger people to get involved in community leadership.

Piasta would like to see a more equal ratio of women to men—and, in general, a better representation of what makes up the town’s current demographics.

“Saying no to the old way of doing things is hard,” says Piasta. “You need someone who is going to take the risk to say, ‘Let’s do it a new way.’”

Piasta says that a younger representative would be more likely to raise issues such as climate change, public health, isolation, and transportation, ensuring that these are taken into account when policies are debated and decisions made.

“Why can’t we become known for that?” he wonders. “We need someone who is thinking like this now and is willing to take that jump now. What are we waiting for? Let’s be the town that creates innovative initiatives now. Don’t wait for tomorrow.”

Another perspective he would like to see represented on council is a greater understanding of low-income families and the challenges faced by those whose basic needs are most affected by today’s economic hardships, such as the cost of housing, gas, and groceries.

Piasta points to the “affordable housing” being advertised in The Highlands, with houses that start at $300,000.

“How is $300,000 affordable? If you’re a young family starting off, that’s hard to come up with at a young age still,” says Piasta. “If you want to have affordable home, you have to look at things differently.”

Overall, Piasta is just hungry for change and a willingness to do new things.

“With a council that’s been around this long, you get used to doing things with the same people all the time. A maximum term would be nice. That’ll keep things moving forward.”

A Diverse Perspective

The Town of Morris is one of Niverville’s closest neighbours to the south. The two towns have many similarities, including a council made up of people who have served multiple terms in a row. One notable difference is that Morris currently has an equal number of women and men.

Chris Hamblin is Morris’s deputy mayor, and she is currently serving her first term. For Hamblin, diversity is important. She says that it’s important to have diversity in thought and perspective at the local government level.

“Diversity, not just gender diversity, is important,” says Hamblin. “Diversity of opinions. If you have that difference of opinion, you have a much broader input on issues, and that’s where healthy decisions are made.”

Hamblin has been involved in community leadership in various capacities for much of her life. She gravitated to serving in the agriculture field, participating in 4H at first, then in student council in university, and then in provincial organizations.

Agriculture is typically a male-dominated environment where women are outnumbered, similar to the situation many women face entering politics. She says this may be why she didn’t feel intimidated to run for council. The fact that there were already women serving on the council may have made it easier, since she knew she wouldn’t be the only woman there.

“Even if there weren’t females, I would’ve been comfortable because I felt my values or experiences were understood by the men there,” Hamblin sys. “But if you are coming to the council with a different background, that could feel intimidating.”

Hamblin says that having women on council benefits a community because women bring a different view of how things are.

“Women sometimes take a different view of things, but not always,” she acknowledges. “To me, it’s not just a gender issue. It’s having a multitude of opinions on a subject so you know you’ve seen a variety of areas of insight to an issue. Different cultures and different religions will bring different approaches. There are so many aspects. And it’s not any one group versus another. It’s just diversity of opinion. And lots of councils don’t have that.”

In her experience on Morris’s council, Hamblin says she’s been in a lot of situations as the lone female voice. She also points out that the most dominant group in any community usually sees themselves best represented.

“If you’ve got a population that’s predominantly Mennonite, you typically get more Mennonites elected. That’s just a reflection of the population and human psychology. If I’m voting for someone, I’m going to vote for someone who has the same background I do. They think they’ll think the same as you and decisions will fall in line with what you want.”

Ultimately, Hamblin says that although diversity is important, it’s also important to elect a group of good decision-makers.

“We recognize the need for diversity, but sometimes the need for diversity is overshadowed by the need for leadership,” she says. “That’s not saying you can’t have both. We have some excellent women in politics as reeves and mayors and strong leaders. Yes, you can have both, but it depends on getting the right people on the ballot.”

To anyone from a minority demographic thinking of running for politics, Hamblin would give the same advice to all.

“You need to decide why you’re running. What are the issues that are important to you? I don’t think you should just run for council because you think you want to be involved in council. You need to have a little bit more of a platform. What are the issues you would work on and fight for? When you’d be on council, what will you want to put your time toward? If you come to council with some things that are important to you, you will bring better discussions to the decision table. You will also be more welcome and productive at the council table if you know what your priorities are.”