Halifax Regional Council

Darryl Johnson was first inspired to run for city council four years ago, but it didn’t pan out. This year, he says it’s “perfect timing” to vie for District 4 (Cole Harbour–Westphal). “Being an African Nova Scotian male, what with the George Floyd movement and social justice movements and Black Lives Matter, I figured I […]

Even before she got involved in politics by working for a provincial MLA, Marisa DeMarco knew she wanted to help people. “I’ve always been very passionate about community development and bringing people together to make change,” says the candidate for Halifax council’s District 4 (Cole Harbour–Westphal) seat. She’s worked with women facing domestic violence and […]

Jamie MacNeil says running for the District 4 (Cole Harbour–Westphal) seat on council was an easy choice: after all, he says he’s been training for this role for 25 years. Before starting a career in the renewable energy sector, taking a country-wide management job with a company called Big Moon Power in 2017, he worked […]

“I firmly believe that a lot of our problems come from the fact that we don’t really have a representative government,” says Caroline Williston. But she also believes in social advocacy, and is determined to be a strong representative for the people if she’s elected councillor in District 4 (Cole Harbour–Westphal). “I’ve volunteered on political […]

During the 22 years she’s lived in Timberlea, Iona Stoddard has worn many hats. She’s been a legal assistant, had management positions in banking with CIBC Bank, worked as an administrative clerk for the province. And now, for the second time, she’s a council candidate for District 12 (Timberlea–Beechville–Clayton Park–Wedgewood). Stoddard ran in the last […]

Living in Sackville for 25 years, Paul Russell has spent time on the school board, volunteering in the community and running for a conservative MP seat in the last federal election. Then in 2019, Russell ran in the October by-election in Lower Sackville, after Steve Craig made the move to provincial politics. “I am able […]

With two terms under his belt, downtown Halifax councillor Waye Mason has become well-known for his city planning knowledge, protecting historic buildings and going to bat with the province on some major issues. “One of the ones that I’m delighted about was fighting the province over the poorly planned-out parking garage, and stopping that in […]

Jen Powley decided to challenge for the District 7 (Halifax South Downtown) council seat because she cannot abide by the unfairness going on in the city. “The situation with the police in HRM is a great example of inequity,” she says. “We need to ask the communities what they want the job of the police […]

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 […]

S hawn  Cleary was elected in 2016 with the goals of making Halifax more environmentally and financially stable and making roads safer for pedestrians. Four years later, he’s still working on those same things, although he says he’s made a lot of progress. “With the integrated mobility plan, when that was unanimously passed in December […]

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 […]

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 […]