Ann MacLean: Local Leadership Shared with the World

The following is a feature story written by Teri Sproul for the Women in Local Government project.

Talking to New Glasgow Mayor Ann MacLean on her cell phone, you realize how busy she really is. From her rural Nova Scotia town, she has created a political career that touches lives locally, nationally and across the world.

Retired two years from her position as vice-president of community health, Ms. MacLean has been mayor for 15 years. Her position in council gave her the opportunity to be elected president of the Canadian Federation of Municipalities in 2004-a year long volunteer position speaking for Canada's municipal governments.

While with the federation, Ms. MacLean joined a group of women councillors who occasionally met to talk about the under-representation of women in municipal government and what needed to be done to improve the situation. Using her influence as president, Ms. MacLean worked with the group to formally organize them into the Canadian Federation of Municipalities Standing Committee for Increasing Women's Participation in Municipal Government. This gave them the funding, staffing and resources they needed to encourage women across the country to run for council.

"It's really the whole issue of community. Women have needs that they may not be getting to the table," she says. "It's important to have a mix of men and women on council, with different ideas, perspectives, and networks. It's just good government."

Bringing women's concerns to the table was one of her first experiences in leadership before she was elected to municipal council. As a social worker, she got to know community members by getting involved locally. She counselled women with addictions who were not improving because the conditions they lived in didn't support their recovery.

She began to work at developing shelter and services for abused women-a tasked that called for political savvy. At the time, talking about woman abuse was still taboo, and many communities didn't appreciate the value of transition houses.

"Unless there was help for them in the community the women wouldn't have the support they needed to change circumstances for themselves and their children," Ms. MacLean says about the abused women living in her town. "However, generally, people don't want that kind of house in their neighbourhood."

She and others convinced residents of the benefits of transition houses and that spousal abuse is a community issue.

Her work attracted the attention of the Canadian Federation of University Women, which was looking for more women to get involved in municipal politics. They encouraged Ms. MacLean to run in the next municipal election. Thinking it would be another way to give back to her community, she decided to run in 1985.

"I said I would run for one term, but it took a few years to learn the job, so I ran for two and said that would be it," she said. But after her second term was up, the mayor announced his retirement. Seeing no other candidates that shared the same vision for her community, she decided to put her name forward.

Since becoming mayor, Ms. MacLean has taken steps to improve her community, especially concerning the environment. In the past two years, New Glasgow has received the highest possible rating from the Communities in Bloom Program -- a nationally recognized group that acknowledges community excellence in maintaining and improving the environment.

New Glasgow has also received the Green Streets Canada Award and the Nova Scotia Environmental Assessment Award for their contribution and dedication to the environment.

Ms. MacLean not only devotes her time to making the environment a priority in her town, but also gives time to organizations that promote women's equality and human rights. Recently she travelled with the federation to China to volunteer her expertise as mayor for the Technical Cooperation in Migrant Labour Rights Project.

"In rural China many people migrate to the city in search of work," she explains. "When they get there, they face discrimination based on things like gender and ethnicity. Migrant workers need to know their rights and be protected."

The Canada-China project aims to increase the ability of China's government to meet international labour rights commitments. Ms. MacLean and others advise on successful Canadian practices for governing communities.

Over the past two decades Ann MacLean has balanced her family, volunteer efforts and a career in social work with a thriving political life. Her gumption has brought success to local and international projects and driven numerous Canada-wide initiatives. The depth and meaning of her work is felt by millions of people -- but most importantly by people at home in Nova Scotia.