Not until 1934 was the first woman elected to municipal government in the Halifax region, and until 2020 for there to be as many women as men on Council. The following is a chronological list of women elected to office in the City of Halifax (1841-1996), County of Halifax (1880-1996), Town/City of Dartmouth (1873-1996), Town of Bedford (1979-1996), and the amalgamated Halifax Regional Municipality (1996-present). This chronology is based on the Municipal Archives' list of elected officials for the Halifax region.
Catherine Sullivan plaque, Westwood Park
1930s and 1940s
Halifax County Council with Mary King front-centre, 1940s. Photo by Allen Fraser. HMA 312-1F-010
Catherine MacLean Sullivan - First female Alderman, City of Halifax, Ward 3, 1934-1940
Mary Theresa King (later King‐Myers) - First female Councillor, County of Halifax, District 27; Canada's first female councillor in a rural municipality, 1938-1950
Portrait of Abbie Lane from photographic collage of Halifax City Council & staff, 1955, 102-1P.002
1950s
Abbie Lane - Alderman, Ward 2, City of Halifax, 1951-1965; first female Deputy Mayor, 1954-1955
Gladys W. Guptill - First female Councillor, Town of Dartmouth, Ward 3, 1952-1960; Deputy Mayor, 1957-1958
Mary Theresa King‐Myers - Councillor, District 27, County of Halifax, 1956-1958
Eileen Stubbs - Councillor, District 14, County of Halifax, 1958-1960
1960s
Eileen Stubbs - Councillor, Ward 6, Town of Dartmouth, 1960-1960; Alderman, Ward 6, City of Dartmouth, 1961‐1971; Deputy Mayor, 1967-1968
Mary Theresa King-Myers - Councillor, District 6, County of Halifax, 1961-1967
Norma Mosher - Councillor, District 23, County of Halifax, 1964-1967
Silvia F. Hudson - Councillor, District 6, County of Halifax, 1967-1973
Margaret B. Snair - Councillor, District 7, County of Halifax, 1969-1973
1970s
Dartmouth Mayor Eileen Stubbs, [197-?]. Dartmouth Heritage Museum Collection, 1983.058.025
Margaret Stanbury - Alderman, Ward 6, City of Halifax, 1971-1977; Deputy Mayor, 1974-1975
Silvia F. Hudson - Councillor, District 14, County of Halifax, 1973-1976
Eileen Stubbs - First female Mayor, City of Dartmouth, 1973-1977
Brenda M. Shannon - Alderman, Ward 2, City of Halifax, 1974-1980; Deputy Mayor, 1977-1978
Elizabeth A. Lawrence - Councillor, District 3, County of Halifax, 1975-1981
Francene J. Cosman - Councillor, District 17, County of Halifax, 1976-1979
County Warden Elizabeth Lawrence, [197?]. Posted with permission of Sherman Hines. HMA 312-1F-28.
Barbara Hart - Alderman, Ward 5, City of Dartmouth, 1976-1983; Deputy Mayor, 1982-1983
Helena D. Poirier - Councillor, District 2 (Timberlea), County of Halifax, 1976-1991
Nancy Wooden - Alderman, Ward 7, City of Halifax, 1977-1982
Doris Crawford Maley - Alderman, Ward 1, City of Halifax, 1977-1982; Deputy Mayor, 1981-1982
Francene J. Cosman - First Mayor, Town of Bedford, 1979-1982
Elizabeth A. Lawrence Salton - First female Warden, County of Halifax, 1979-1982
Lois Wiseman - Councillor, District 20, County of Halifax, 1979-1988; Deputy Warden, 1985-1988
1980s
Phyllis Doyle - First female Councillor, Town of Bedford, 1982-1985
Jean Beeler - Alderman, Ward 2, City of Dartmouth, 1983-1986
Eileen Stubbs - Alderman, Ward 5, City of Dartmouth, 1983-1986
Deborah Grant - Alderman, Ward 1, City of Halifax, 1985-1989
Moira Leiper Ducharme - Alderman, Ward 10, City of Halifax, 1985-1991; Deputy Mayor, 1989-1990
Bedford's First Mayor Francene Cosman, [1979] (103-15.008)
Gloria McCluskey - Alderman, Ward 4, City of Dartmouth, 1986-1992; Deputy Mayor, 1991-1992
Peggy Draper - Councillor, Town of Bedford, 1988-1991
Marie O'Malley - Alderman, Ward 5, City of Halifax, 1988-1994; Deputy Mayor, 1990-1991
Anne Cosgrove - Councillor, Town of Bedford, 1988-1996
Judy Smiley - Councillor, District 11, County of Halifax, 1988-1996
County Councillor Helena D. Poirier, being sworn in on November 2, 1982. HMA 312-92A-001-008.5
1990s
Anne Cosgrove - Councillor, Town of Bedford, 1990-1991; Deputy Mayor, 1991-1992
Moira Leiper Ducharme - First female Mayor, City of Halifax, 1991-1994
Mary Ann Crowley - Alderman, Ward 11, City of Halifax, 1991-1996
Gloria McCluskey - Second female Mayor, City of Dartmouth, 1992-1996
Barbara Joan Pryde - Councillor, Town of Bedford, 1994-1996
Kate Carmichael - Alderman, Ward 2, City of Halifax, 1994-1996
Halifax Mayor Moira Ducharme, 1992. Posted with permission of Jarvis of Halifax. HMA 102-5-1-87.1
Sue Edmonds - Alderman, Ward 6, City of Dartmouth, 1994-1994
Colleen Hache - Councillor, District 19, County of Halifax, 1994-1996
Theresa Scratch - Councillor, District 20, County of Halifax, 1994-1996
Lynn Turner - Councillor, District 23, County of Halifax, 1994-1996
Sheila Fougere - Councillor, HRM District 14 Connaught-Quinpool, 1998-2008
Sue M. Uteck - Councillor, HRM District 13 Northwest Arm-South End, 1999-2012; Deputy Mayor, 2006-2007
Dartmouth Mayor Gloria McCluskey, [199-]. Dartmouth Heritage Museum collection, 1996.013.001.011
HRM Council, including Sue Uteck (red blazer) and Sheila Fougere (pink top),1999. HMA 400-5-1-11C
2000s
Diana Whalen - Councillor, HRM District 16 Rockingham-Wentworth, 2000-2003
Dawn Marie Sloane - Councillor, HRM District 12 Halifax Downtown, 2000-2012
Linda Diane Mosher - Councillor, HRM District 17 Purcell's Cove-Armdale, 2000-2012
Krista Snow - Councillor, HRM District 2 Waverly-Fall River-Beaver Bank, 2003-2008
Debbie Hum - Councillor, HRM District 16 Rockingham-Wentworth, 2003-2012
Becky Kent - Councillor, HRM District 8 Woodside-Eastern Passage, 2004-2008
Mary Wile - Councillor, HRM District 10 Clayton Park West, 2004-2012
Gloria McCluskey - Councillor, HRM District 5 Dartmouth Centre, 2004-2012
Jackie Barkhouse - Councillor, HRM District 8 Woodside-Eastern Passage, 2007-2012
Jennifer Watts - Councillor, HRM District 14 Connaught-Quinpool, 2008-2012
Lorelei Nicoll - Councillor, HRM District 4 Cole Harbour, 2008-2012
2010s
Lorelei Nicoll - Councillor, HRM District 4 Cole Harbour-Westphal, 2012-2020; Deputy Mayor, 2014-2015
Gloria McCluskey - Councillor, HRM District 5 Dartmouth Centre, 2012-2016
Jennifer Watts - Councillor HRM District 8 Peninsula North, 2012-2016
Linda Mosher - Councillor HRM District 9 Peninsula West-Armdale, 2012-2016
Lisa Blackburn - Councillor, HRM District 14 Upper/Middle Sackville-Beaver Bank, 2016-present; Deputy Mayor, 2019-2020
2020s
Women achieved gender parity on the Halifax Regional Council elected in October 2020:
2020:T. Purdy, P. Lovelace, P. Cuttell, L. Blackburn. FR: K.Morse, C.D. Gammon, I. Stoddard, B. Kent
Cathy Deagle Gammon - Councillor, HRM District 1 Waverley, Fall River and Musquodoboit Valley, 2020-present; Deputy Mayor, 2023-2024
Becky Kent - Councillor, HRM District 3 Dartmouth South-Eastern Passage, 2020-present
Trish Purdy - Councillor, HRM District 4 Cole Harbour Westphal Cherry Brook, 2020-present
Kathryn Morse - Councillor, HRM District 10 Halifax-Bedford Basin, 2020-present
Patty Cuttell - Councillor, HRM District 11 Spryfield-Sambro Loop-Prospect Road, 2020-present
Iona Stoddard - Councillor, HRM District 12 Timberlea - Beechville - Clayton Park - Wedgewood, 2020-2024
Pam Lovelace - Councillor, HRM District 13 Hammonds Plains-St. Margaret's, 2020-2024; Deputy Mayor, 2021-2022
Lisa Blackburn - Councillor, HRM District 14 Upper/Middle Sackville-Beaver Bank, 2020-2024; Deputy Mayor, 2019-2020
In 2024 a predominantly female Council was elected:
J.Steele, V.Hinch, L.White, K.Morse, C.DeagleGammon, T.Purdy, P.Cuttell, CAO C.O'Toole, N.Hartling
(B. Kent is missing in above photo)
Laura White - Councillor, HRM District 7 Peninsula South-Downtown, 2024-present
Virginia Hinch - Councillor, HRM District 8 Halifax Peninsula North, 2024-present
Janet Steele - Councillor, HRM District 12 Timberlea-Beechville-Clayton Park-Wedgewood, 2024-present
Nancy Hartling- Councillor, HRM District 13 Prospect Road-St. Margarets, 2024-present