Manitoba breaks record with number of women as heads of council

A new record has been broken in Manitoba's number of women in municipal councils.  

Portage la Prairie Mayor Sharilyn Knox is at this week's Association of Manitoba Municipalities 2022 Fall Convention in representation of our city with City Manager Nathan Peto and Councillor Terrie Porter. Knox is part of 22 heads of council in the province who are women out of 137. 

"I'm the second Portage female Mayor," says Knox. "Karen Devine was our female mayor in 1978, so it has been a long time. I think it's just taking time for women to realize that they have a place in all levels of government. It's something that's a priority for me -- to encourage people to understand that they have a place at the table and they have a voice -- often, a very good voice."

She says she'd love to see more women involved in municipal politics and her door is definitely open to talk about it, learn, and even mentor people along the way who want to do that.

"Also I'm happy we have a female councillor, Terrie Porter," continues Knox. "We would eventually love to see some gender parity around the table."

Knox notes many of the women who are now on council in the province are in first-time situations and have moved from council positions to the head of council positions.