The faces of power: examining the political diversity landscape

By Cynthia Mulligan

As a political reporter I have sat in council countless times and thought to myself that it was mostly represented by middle-aged white men.

Yes, I know this very statement is going to set off a firestorm and I’m bracing for it but here’s the thing, this wonderful diverse city is not reflected by the faces on city council.

We have not one but two big elections coming up, municipally and provincially, and it made me wonder if it will lead to more political diversity – particularly in Toronto where we could see up to nine new councillors elected.

CityNews crunched the numbers to look at diversity in different cities, provincially and federally using Statistics Canada’s definition of visible minority:

Visible minorities are defined based on the Employment Equity Act definition as persons, other than Aboriginal peoples, who are non-Caucasian in race or non-white in colour and include Chinese, South Asian, Black, Filipino, Latin American, Southeast Asian, Arab, West Asian, Japanese, Korean, other visible minorities and multiple visible minorities.

Here’s what we found:

  • Toronto: 51.5 per cent of the population belong to a visible minority group yet 90 per cent of councillors are white.
  • Vancouver: 54 per cent are visible minority and 80 per cent of council is white.
  • Montreal: 31 per cent are visible minority and 94 per cent of council is white.
  • Across Ontario 28 per cent of the population belongs to a visible minority and 82 per cent of MPP’s are white.

Now if we compare to U.S. cities the representation of visible minorities is significantly higher.

  • L.A: 50 per cent visible minority with 53 per cent visible minority on council
  • Chicago: 55 per cent visible minority with 50 per cent visible minority on council.
  • New York City: 55 per cent visible minority with 50 per cent visible minority on council.

In Canada, the overall visible minority population is 19 per cent, with 12 per cent visible minority in the House. The majority of visible minority MPs are Liberal, 33, versus three in the Conservative party and four in the NDP.

Am I implying voters in Toronto are racist?  No.

In talking with writer Andray Domise, who ran and lost against Rob Ford in the 2014 election, it appears it is the very system that makes it difficult for a political newcomer – of any background – to get elected.

“You have be a very rich, very likely a white male human being to win an election in this city,” says Domise.  “To me it’s a joke. Every four years we partake in a farce, this is not a democracy unfortunately.”

Strong words but Domise says cost for a potential political candidate is a major barrier.

“I don’t think people understand when they say that they want more diverse candidates to throw their hat in the ring it costs tens of thousand of dollars to run for office in this city when it comes to flyers, lawn signs, billboards, etc, but also a campaign office, hiring a campaign manager, getting staff, volunteers, it costs a lot of money and for the most part people don’t have that.”

Domise also says the system is set up in favour of the incumbent. A ranked balloting system was shot down by council and so were term limits by councillors who maintain constituents can vote them out every four years if they aren’t doing their job.

“We don’t have term limits,” says Domise. “We have city councillors that have been there since the 1980’s.”

Mayor John Tory agrees that there is a lack of diversity on council.

“I will say I agree with those who say our council is not representative, you need only have to look at it to determine that and it’s unfortunate but that is a decision made by the people based on the decisions they have in front of them.”

Tory voted in favour of a ranked ballot, and says he believe it would give more people of diversity a chance in elections but he thinks change is coming.

“I’m optimistic that as demographics continue to change and people from the diverse communities getting older and being in a position to run for public office in the context of their family life, their job security, their financial security that you will see a more representative council.”

As for that firestorm I”m bracing for — the very promo for this story elicited harsh criticism on twitter.

Clearly I’ve hit a nerve, but why is this very discussion a trigger for some?

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