Wood Buffalo's new council a reflection of change and diversity

Wood Buffalo voters have elected what is believed to be the most diverse councilin the region's history.

Four of the 11 council members elected Monday are Mtis, including Loretta Waquan, Kendrick Cardinal, Allan Grandison andmayor-elect Sandy Bowman.

Councillor-electDogar Shafiqimmigrated from Pakistan and has lived in Fort McMurray since 2006. Another councillor-elect, Funky Banjoko,is originally from Nigeria.

Three of the councillors are women.

In an interview, Bowman said he believes this is the most diverse group of councillors the region has ever seen.

"It's exciting," Bowman said. "It's going to show how diverse Fort McMurray is. I think that alone is going to show that we're a welcoming place for everyone."

The Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo includes Fort McMurray and 10 smaller communities.

Banjoko, who has lived in Fort McMurray for 10 years,is the first Black woman elected to Wood Buffalo council.

Shecampaigned hard for the position, and it showed as she received the highest number of votes for council with 4,788.

"I represent a group of people that maybe they didn't feel they were represented before," Banjoko said.

"When we bring our different strengths, experiences, skills if we work together then we will achieve so much."

Banjoko grew up with many political influences in her life, as her father was a mayor in Nigeria, her mother was a councillor and her brother was a commissioner."It's only natural for me."

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The Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo said in an email that councillors are free to self-identify, but information around diversity is not collected.

Waquanis one of the new faces on council, representing Ward 2. She is the is the first memberof Fort McKay Mtis to be on Wood Buffalo council.

"To say we are proud of her is an understatement," Fort McKay Mtis president Ron Quintal said in a newsrelease.

Dango Gogo, president of the Multicultural Association of Wood Buffalo, was excited to see the diversity on the new council.

"We have people from all over the world who come here to work, to live," Gogo said.

That diversity hasn't always been represented in council up to this point, but "to see that happen this election, it's been great," she said.

Gogo also noted that Banjoko and Shafiq received the most votes of all the candidates.

"People were voting for change, and change in a positive way," Gogo said.

Gogoloves that her kids will be able to see themselves reflected on the new regional council.

"I think it is good for the next generation to see the change."

Bill Loutitt, CEO of the McMurray Mtis, said even within the Mtis community, there is a lot of diversity, including families that are Swedish-Mtis, Scottish-Mtis and French-Mtis.

"We're very diverse ourselves and we value diversity," Loutitt said.

Over the last term, the McMurray Mtis and the regional municipality have strengthened their relationship, he said.

Having a diverse representation on council is "only going to strengthen this region," said Loutitt.

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Irfan Bangash,an immigrant from Pakistan, brought his culture with him when he moved to his new home, strengthening the cricket community in Fort McMurray.

Bangash said he's proud to see Shafiq on council.

"It gives me motivation to work harder, to give more to the community."

He said he's not surprisedto see many new faces on council, and the increased diversity.

Councillor-elect Grandison, one of the four Mtis members on the new council, said he hopes the new councillors will collectively bring"new wisdom" to the table.

He hopes to develop a "cohesive group" that works together, he said.

"We have to work collectively to the best interests of all of the citizens," said Grandison.

"The old boys' club doesn't always work," he said."We live in a very diverse region. And we need to be responsive to all of our citizens."

The mayor and councillors will take their oaths of office at a swearing-in ceremony,followed by their annual organizational meeting, on Monday.

For more stories about the experiences of Black Canadians from anti-Black racism to success stories within the Black community check out Being Black in Canada, a CBC project Black Canadians can be proud of. You can read more stories here.