The first openly transgender mayor has been elected in Canada
(CBC)
An openly transgender woman has just become the first mayor to be elected in Canada.
Julie Lemieux is also the first female mayor in Montreal town Très-Saint-Rédempteur’s 136-year history.
Many supporters of the new mayor have said they did not think about the fact that Lemieux was transgender when voting for her.
(CBC)
According to a report by CBC, the residents of Très-Saint-Rédempteur, which is home to 900 people, said they “wanted change”.
One of Lemieux’s supporters said she believed the town’s decision was a “sign of openness”.
She added: “I think this opens up the door to anyone who feels different in society”.
“It doesn’t matter who you are – if you want to do something then you should do it.”
Lemiuex said her win “wasn’t the start of a movement, but the result of years of work by many to build tolerance in communities across the country.”
Lemiuex said she was proud to be the first openly trans person elected, but even more proud to be the first woman.
The town of Très-Saint-Rédempteur, a small community with deep Catholic roots, has seemingly changed a great deal since its beginnings.
The new mayor said her victory showed that “people from rural areas are open-minded and shouldn’t be seen as out-of-touch just because they don’t live in cities.”
A town inhabitant who didn’t support Lemieux explained that his choice wasn’t made because she was transgender, adding that it was “the least of the issues in the campaign”.
(Getty)
As of 2017, Canada has had LGBT holders of political office in every province apart from Nunavut.
Jamie Lee Hamilton was the first openly transgender person ever to run for political office in Canada, seeking a place on the Vancouver City Council in 1996.
Jennifer McCreath was the first transgender candidate in a federal election in the country.
And Lemieux is the first transgender person to be elected as a mayor.
