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Death threats, sexual harassment, sexism — female politicians in Peel, Halton speak out
Harassment affects 63 per cent of surveyed local politicians, with women facing identity-based abuse.
Brampton city councillor Rowena Santos said she has faced sexist treatment and serious threats to her physical safety during her time in office.
And according to several female politicians contacted in Peel and Halton regions — many seeking re-election in the Oct. 26 municipal election — her experience is neither unique nor an aberration.
“A couple of people threatened me and said that I deserve to be raped and killed,” said Santos, one of two female councillors on Brampton council.
The first Filipino person elected to Brampton council, she said her identity has also been a target of criticism. In one instance, a woman baselessly claimed that Santos’ Filipino background meant she was submissive to men and that her electoral success was the result of “sleeping her way to the top.”
2026 numbers from the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) show that women account for 32 per cent of municipal candidates (2,103 of 6,663), up from 31 per cent (1,931 of 6,306) in 2022. This represents an increase of 172 female candidates, continuing an incremental rise in women’s representation on the ballot.
However, that increase has not necessarily translated into a more welcoming environment for all women.
Harassment widespread but different for women
While data from the 2025 Canadian Municipal Barometer shows that harassment is a widespread issue among elected officials, affecting 63 per cent of the 1,633 local politicians surveyed, the ways in which it manifests for women can be different in nature.
“When you look at the harassment and violence that’s directed to women and racialized candidates, violence tends to focus, not on who they are as politicians, but who they are as people,” said Dr. Erin Tolley, the Canada Research Chair in Gender, Race, and Inclusive Politics and associate professor in the department of political science at Carleton University, in an interview.
“It’s more likely to pinpoint their identities either as women or racialized or both.”
‘People show up at my house’: Caledon Mayor Annette Groves
Annette Groves, the mayor of Caledon who is not seeking re-election, said “some of the terms that people use on social media, the names they call us, they’re certainly not going to use the same description … or term for a male politician.
“I find people show up at my house. I don’t think you’d be showing up at a male person’s house. That is my private space where my family lives.”
Mississauga Coun. Natalie Hart on scrutiny of appearance
Natalie Hart, Mississauga’s Ward 5 councillor who is seeking re-election, has said that while running for office and serving as a councillor she was subject to sexist remarks as well.
“Shortly after I was elected there was a lot of commentary about the fact that the pictures that I’ve used on my signs didn’t accurately look enough like me. You still experience that at the doors where people will hold your flyer up to your face to see if it looks like you,” said Hart.
“You face a lot of scrutiny on your physical presentation. What you wear, how often you wear it, your weight, your age, your marital status, all of those things that are not necessarily a part of what it looks like as a male in these spaces.”
Burlington Mayor Marianne Meed Ward and the Elect Respect campaign
Marianne Meed Ward has been mayor of Burlington since 2018 and is also running for re-election. She too has been subject to gender-based discrimination and harassment, listing several unsettling incidents, including people:
- calling her office at city hall and making sexual references toward her
- threatening to set her on fire
- telling her she should be “strung up at city hall”
As well, she said she’s been threatened by people using profane and derogatory language specific toward women.
As soon as she went public with this story, she said the first comment she received was someone saying “weak women shouldn’t be in politics.”
Against the backdrop of this increasingly hostile political environment, Meed Ward began convening female elected representatives from across Halton Region, from school board trustees to members of parliament, to share their experiences as women in politics.
Twice a year this group of 25 women would get together, privately, for coffee to exchange stories and figure out ways to offer one another support.
At one of the meetings, she said someone asked, “if you had a daughter would you advise her to seek elected office?”
“All of us hesitated. And there was a time where I would have never hesitated,” she said.
“And then story after story came out … and every single person had a story of being threatened with bodily harm, and none of us had really talked about it with anyone. We had kept it private.”
The meeting of women in Halton led to the creation of the “Elect Respect” campaign, which brings together politicians from diverse backgrounds to call for more respectful and civil political discourse across the country, while recognizing that female elected officials may face heightened levels of intimidation.
Does harassment deter women from running?
Some female politicians believe that the unique treatment and threats women are subject to can deter them from entering the political arena altogether.
“I think part of the reason why women choose not to run is because they don’t want to put themselves into that situation,” Santos said. “You really have to have thicker skin if you’re a woman … Women always have to think twice or three times as to whether or not they want to put themselves and their family through that level of risk.
“It is sometimes mentally and emotionally taxing on you and so I think that’s part of the reason why a lot of women don’t do it.”
Added Hart: “It can really be tough to convince people that this is a career that they want.”
Women who run are more likely to win — so why aren’t more running?
Despite women in Ontario making up slightly more than half of the province’s population, they make up only 32.2 per cent of all municipal council seats, according to data from AMO.
However, Tolley said that when women do make the decision to run, research demonstrates they are more likely to win their elections.
Data from AMO shows in the 2022 municipal elections across Ontario, the success rate of women slightly exceeded that of men. Women candidates had a 47 per cent success rate while male candidates had a 44 per cent success rate.
Tolley said she believes the reason for this is because “the women … who tend to come forward, typically are more qualified than other candidates and the reason I think they’re more qualified is that they understand that in order to participate in this hostile climate, they need to be better than their competition.”
Elaine Moore, a former Brampton city and Peel regional councillor, said she did not experience sexism to the same extent while serving as a regional councillor, but noted that she felt the men around her viewed their opinions as more credible, leaving women feeling they had to be especially well prepared to have their voices heard.
Tolley believes that while the number of women seeking municipal office is still low, it is increasing because more and more women are either choosing to overlook the hostility or are empowered to change it through their presence in politics.
A parting message from Caledon’s outgoing mayor
Groves said as her mayoral term comes to an end her parting message to young women is not to be deterred or intimidated by such behaviour.
“This is a message I have for young women. Never be intimidated. You need to believe in yourself, you need to believe in who you are, and you need to stand up for what is right. And even if you are the only one standing, you must stand up for what you believe is right, and never be intimidated by any of this,” said Groves.
Copyright 2026, Mississauga.com. All rights reserved.
Bridget Potasky, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Mississauga.com.
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Mounties investigate after man flashes knife at youth in Tumbler Ridge, B.C.
Man flashes knife at youth in Tumbler Ridge, B.C.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Christinne Muschi
Mounties in Tumbler Ridge, B.C., say a man is in custody after flashing a knife at youth over the weekend.
They say the incident happened late Saturday evening in the small town, which gained international attention earlier this year after a mass shooter killed eight victims, including six children, before turning the weapon on herself.
Police say officers responded to the knife report at the 100-block of Kinuseo Avenue and apprehended the man under the Mental Health Act.
They say he was brought to a hospital by officers but was released Monday and brought back to Tumbler Ridge, where he will remain in custody until he attends court.
Cpl. Jennifer Cooper says the Mounties want to assure the public that they are taking the situation very seriously and there is no further risk to the public, though the investigation is ongoing.
She says the detachment appreciates all the information received from the public and commends the youth involved for quickly reporting it to police.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 19, 2026.
Copyright 2026, The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
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What’s next for Surrey now that McCallum is mayor again?
McCallum’s plans include a tax freeze, new pools and a possible exit from Metro Vancouver.
On Saturday night, Doug McCallum won his fifth term as Surrey’s mayor. Not only did he win, but his Safe Surrey Coalition swept up seven of the eight councillor seats — meaning that McCallum will likely have almost no opposition when trying to pass things in city hall.
So, what happens next?
While Surrey residents made it clear they preferred McCallum’s platform over the other six mayoral candidates running, it’s worth returning to the party’s platform and seeing how likely some of their promises actually are.
The coalition vowed to bring a SkyTrain to Newton and build a new general hospital along King George Boulevavd. However, both of these projects would be the final decision of the province. While city hall could advocate for it, there is no guarantee the province will allocate the funds for it — the province is also facing an unprecedented deficit.
But other commitments are within McCallum’s jurisdiction to implement, like his promise to freeze property taxes for the next four years and waive business license fees for the first two years of every new business.
Property taxes go to several authorities like the provincial government, Metro Vancouver Regional District, TransLink and police services. The city uses their cut of the taxes to fund services like the fire department, road safety, parks and recreational centres, libraries, garbage pick-up and more.
According to the city’s website, Surrey already has one of the lowest property rates in Metro Vancouver. With inflation increasing the cost of labour and goods, it’s unclear how McCallum plans to fund all the city’s current operations without cutting anything.
Many of McCallum’s other commitments also hinge on the question of funding. The party has promised an expansion of policing services and securing a helicopter and drone fleet within 90 days for the SPS.
Going forward, McCallum has also committed to having all residential building permits approved within 60 days. If city hall misses this deadline, all permit fees will be waived. Surrey currently has a glut of unsold condos and some have questioned whether more housing is even the answer to lowering prices.
When it comes to recreation services, McCallum wants to build new pools in Clayton Heights, City Centre and add a pool into the Newton Community Centre being built. Again, it’s unknown how city hall would fund such large capital projects with a freeze on property taxes.
The party also wants to conduct a forensic audit of city hall’s land deals and “root out waste.” Locke faced backlash during her June announcement of a new $360 million arena — many questioned how much tax payers would be funding. Locke had previously said there was no way to cancel the project, even if a new party was elected.
Another pressing issue in city hall has been Surrey’s fraught relationship with Metro Vancouver Regional District. The regional district oversees core services in the Lower Mainland like delivering clean drinking water, treating waste and monitoring air quality, among other things.
But, the district has also faced criticism for the rising cost of the North Shore Wastewater Treatment Plant, with the top administrator exiting the organisation in early September.
While McCallum wants Surrey to withdraw from the regional district — remaining connected for utilities like water, sewer and waste — it’s unknown if he has the jurisdiction to do so. Or if McCallum does remove Surrey, if the district will allow the city to leave while still benefiting from their services.
McCallum will be sworn in on Nov. 2, with the first council meeting being on the same day.
Copyright 2026, Surrey Citizen. All rights reserved.
Aisha Chaudhry, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Surrey Citizen.
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