Having lived in downtown Halifax for four years, voting for the incumbent councillor in the district last election, Craig Roy says he hasn’t seen the changes he expected. So this time around, he’s running for council himself. “Instead of sitting around and bellyaching about the fact that nothing is getting done, I’m gonna step in and […]
Seyitan Moritiwon
On the phone with actor Bill Carr, District 9
Bill Carr is running for the District 9 (Halifax West Armdale) council seat in hopes of restoring humanity to Halifax. He aims “to truly lift up representative—but more importantly participatory—democracy,” he says. “So that we can have a safe and equitable community.” Carr says the systemic racism in Halifax is real and deeper than many […]
On the phone with scientist Stephen Foster, District 9
After Stephen Foster rounded off his PhD in physics in Toronto, he moved back home to Halifax. “I love this city,” he says, “and if I could do anything to make it a better place to live, then that would be something that would mean a lot to me.” Foster got a job as a […]
On the phone with stay-at-home dad Shaun Clark, District 9
Shaun Clark is vying to be councillor for District 9 (Halifax West Armdale) because he wants a better life for his children. “I want them to have places that they can live in, in the city, when they’re old enough,” he says. Clark, who quit his job as a staffing clerk at the IWK Health […]
On the phone with morally grounded Nicole Johnson, District 2
Nicole Johnson is running for District 2 (Preston–Chezzetcook–Eastern Shore) because she has a heart for community and family. “I am someone who has been raised on some great spiritual principles and grounded in morals that seek to do good.” A graduate of the Centre for Arts and Technology in Halifax, with a background in fashion, […]
On the phone with former bartender Dylan Kennedy, District 8
Dylan Kennedy is running for the District 8 (Halifax Peninsula North) council seat because he wants to fight for his district. “I find there’s not very many fighters on council, let alone representing District 8,” he says. “If no one else is going to challenge the status quo, I guess it’s got to be me.” […]
On the phone with 20-year-old candidate Kyle Morton, District 10
Kyle Morton has a full course load. In his third year at Saint Mary’s University, Morton is studying finance, economics and computing information systems, with a minor in German. Outside of school, he’s getting a practical education in political science by running for the District 10 (Halifax–Bedford Basin West) seat on council. “I want to […]
On the phone with environment advocate Kathryn Morse, District 10
When Kathryn Morse worked as an assistant to Maureen MacDonald, the former provincial NDP minister of both health and finance, and as a reporter with the CBC for about 12 years, she learned a lot about communities and politics. “That was a really good education, I think, and a preparation to be a councillor,” Morse […]
On the phone with social justice consultant Sherry Hassanali, District 10
“I am a story. I am the only woman of colour running in my district,” says Sherry Hassanali, a second-generation Canadian. “The fact that there’s never been a woman of colour on council in the 271 years is a story.” Hassanali’s parents moved to Canada from Trinidad and Tobago. And over the last 24 years of […]
On the phone with community advocate Mohammad Ehsan, District 10
Bangladesh-born community volunteer Mohammad Ehsan is running for councillor for District 10 (Halifax–Bedford Basin West) because he wants to do more for his district. “There is limitations on you on how much you can do from the sidelines.” He’s passionate about senior citizens in the district: He spearheaded a project called the Stronger Together Initiative […]
On the phone with community advocate Andrew Curran, District 10
Five years ago, Andrew Curran was taking his dog for a walk when he met a senior whose husband had died just a few months earlier. Because she did not have many friends, she spent her time talking to dog walkers and watering her lawn. “After I spoke with her, she had moved away because […]
On the phone with volunteer Renee Field, District 10
After Renee Field started working as a volunteer in District 10 (Halifax–Bedford Basin West), she formed a neighbourhood watch program in Rockingham that handled the car theft issue, and she chairs a residents’ association where they raised $140,000 in less than two years to redesign DJ Butler Park. Now she wants to take this love […]

