A Regina councillor is speaking out about comments she receives both in and out of city hall, taking to social media to say she is “done pretending it’s okay.”
“Being called a ‘hot councillor’ isn’t the compliment you think it is; in fact, it’s outright degrading,” Sarah Turnbull, Regina Ward 5 councillor, said in a post on Facebook.
Turnbull says she notices comments on her social media posts that her male counterparts do not receive, mentioning her appearance or her children.
“The most feedback I receive most often has nothing to do with my policy, has nothing to do with parking meters or playgrounds or accessibility. What I hear more is who does she think she is and what does she think she’s wearing?” Turnbull said.
For Turnbull, these comments are not new — she says they have been commonplace for her ever since stepping into the role as a councillor around a year and a half ago, and even during her professional time before entering city hall.
But over the past year, she says it has accumulated.
“Now it’s just over the top, and now that it’s more out in the public, people can see it better, but it hasn’t actually changed anything for me.”
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Turnbull is not alone, especially as more women step into municipal roles.
Saskatoon Mayor Cynthia Block is the first woman to serve as the city’s mayor and says she remembers the comments she received during her campaign in the fall of 2024.
“They were basically saying that I shouldn’t be mayor because I’m not married,” Block told Global News.
“There was a lot of dunking by other people after that, not the least of which was the explanation that my husband passed away.”
Advocates say harassment against women in local government continues to rise post-COVID-19 and is deterring them from entering and staying in those spaces.
“Without creating safe spaces for women who are bringing great perspective, lived experiences, a unique outlook and perspective in policy development, we risk not having that voice at all,” said Rebecca Bligh, president of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities.
Bligh adds that retention of women in municipal roles is increasingly a concern across the country, especially due to online harassment.
“The online world has really created a different dimension, and we’ve really seen more reported cases of vitriol and harassment,” Bligh said.
Across Canada, women make up around 31 per cent of all elected officials in municipalities, while only 22 per cent of mayors are women, according to a 2023 report published by the Federation of Canadian Municipalities.
“That’s pretty bad compared to most countries in the world,” said Susan Franceschet, political science professor at the University of Calgary.
Saskatchewan has the lowest rate of women in municipal roles in the country, Franceschet said, adding that rural municipalities tend to have fewer women in councillor roles than urban ones.
“There are several aspects of having a political career that can be more challenging, particularly for women who have other caregiving responsibilities,” Franceschet said.
For North Battleford Mayor Kelli Hawtin, who is also the first woman to serve as mayor in her city, adjustments like parental leave can help advance women’s inclusion.
“Some of those adaptations just help to make more space for women at these tables by understanding our life circumstances might change,” she said, adding that her city has now adopted a parental leave policy.
“Who thinks that they’re going to be the mayor if you’ve never seen a girl mayor?” Block said, adding that she never thought she would be in the position she is in today, as she had not seen it done before.
Women play an important role in municipalities, Franceschet said, adding that local politics often matter significantly for women.
“It’s been shown to make a difference in the kinds of services that are provided, what public transportation looks like, all of those sorts of things, safety in their communities,” she said.
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