Cape Breton mayor looks back at 'four difficult years' as she prepares to leave office
Amanda McDougall-Merrill says she’s walking away from the mayor’s chair in Cape Breton after four difficult and challenging years, seeking to find a better balance with her family life.
McDougall-Merrill, the first woman elected mayor of the Cape Breton Regional Municipality, recently announced she won’t be running for re-election in the fall. As she told CTV News Atlantic’s Todd Battis in a candid interview Monday, social media and the major storms and struggles that crashed into the island influenced her decision to step down.
“It’s been four difficult years. We’ve had a number of states of local emergency, gone through negotiations with our unions, still working on coming out of COVID, a lot of challenges that definitely weren’t in my campaign brochure,” she said. “I really thought I was coming in more for policy leadership and the more nuts and bolts of what’s happening every day, but really the bulk of our time was spent just surviving.
“I came in from more of an academic perspective but it was very much being a nurturer and making sure when we weren’t being heard, yell louder.”
McDougall Merrill, who was first elected as a councillor in 2016 before winning the race to be mayor in 2020, said she’s proud of the work she and her team accomplished, noting how storms like Fiona and other natural disasters forced her to find her voice as a leader.
“I’m proud of the way we were able to move through and recover,” she said. “I’m definitely stronger than I thought I was. Going through those events brings out the best and worst of us, and during Fiona I was terrified that my windows were going to blow in and I didn’t know I had it in me to put that aside.
“I’m so much more confident in my leadership because of those roles but that’s only because I’ve had my staff supporting me. We did it together and it’s pretty remarkable.”
McDougall-Merrill said the general uncivility seen on social media regarding politics contributed to her decision to not run in the upcoming election.
“(The campaign) is not something I want to go through again,” she said. “I don’t want to be focused on solely because of my gender. I remember there was a hashtag on social media called KnockedUpMandy during my mayoral campaign. You can’t unhear, you can’t unsee, you can’t unknow what you do know.
“Unfortunately social media has given people a platform where they don’t have to be held accountable. Four years in this chair has been pretty heavy.”
McDougall-Merrill said she hopes people continue to get into politics and she plans to remain vocal even as she enters a stage of her life.
“We need leaders to bring people together,” she said. “It doesn’t matter what role you’re in, you always have a voice and you deserve to be heard.”
For more Nova Scotia news visit our dedicated provincial page.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Walmart, Costco refusing to sign grocery code of conduct 'untenable': industry minister
Industry Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne says it's 'untenable' for 'smaller players' like Walmart and Costco to delay signing on to the government- and industry-led grocery code of conduct, now that industry giant Loblaw has agreed to do so.
Robbers made off with 'several million euros' of jewels in armed heist at Harry Winston store in Paris
Armed robbers who used a motorbike as a battering ram made off with 'several million euros' worth of valuables in a heist of the luxury Paris boutique of self-declared 'Jeweler to the Stars' Harry Winston, the French prosecutor’s office overseeing the police probe said.
Serious boat crash kills 3, injures 5 on the Buck Bay area of Bobs Lake: OPP
Three people were killed and five others were injured Saturday night following a boat crash on the Buck Bay area of Bobs Lake, north of Kingston, Ont., the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) said.
The secret Italian lakes that most tourists don't know about
Italy has dozens of secret smaller lakes that boast superb scenery, unknown to mass tourism, where locals get together on day trips and enjoy picnics.
Helicopter carrying Iran's president suffers a 'hard landing,' state TV says without further details
A helicopter carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi suffered a 'hard landing' on Sunday, Iranian state television reported, without immediately elaborating.
Signs of Alzheimer’s were everywhere. Then his brain improved
Blood biomarkers of telltale signs of early Alzheimer’s disease in the brain of his patient, 55-year-old entrepreneur Simon Nicholls, had all but disappeared in a mere 14 months.
Woman killed in Montreal's Saint-Michel district: ex-husband arrested
Less than 24 hours after Montreal's 12th homicide investigation began, Montreal police confirmed that a 55-year-old woman's death in St. Michel is the island's 13th homicide.
Canadian immigration asks medical worker fleeing Gaza if he treated Hamas fighters
Lawyers are questioning Canada’s approach to screening visa applications for people in Gaza with extended family in Canada after one applicant, a medical worker, was asked whether he had treated members of Hamas.
Ottawa driver who appeared to be racing another vehicle on Highway 416 facing charges
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) says an Ottawa driver is facing charges after being caught going 187 km/h on Highway 416.