Amanda McDougall was successful in her bid to become Councillor for District 8 in the CBRM on her second try in 2016. Like her colleague Kendra Coombes, she left a veteran council member shaken and dumbfounded in their defeat. The incumbents didn’t think it would happen. McDougall and Coombes broke through the false perception that it couldn’t be done.

Since then McDougall has emerged as one of the most well respected young leaders in the CBRM. With Mayor Clarke’s popularity falling fast and his time as Mayor diminishing, a renewed conversation about the next CBRM leader is happening.

The growing demand for McDougall to take on the role is so strong that even suggestions of a return of Mayor John Morgan, the champion of Equalization, have been rejected by some. They say he was the past, and she is the future.

Much of this support germinated from seeing her go head to head in debate with veteran politicians at Council and consistently come out on top. With decades of political experience, Mayor Clarke has rarely appeared as flustered as he does on the occasions when he targets McDougall, and she returns fire.

A closer look at her background reveals why her leadership abilities were predictable all along.

With a mom who was a nurse, her dad a peacekeeper in the Canadian Armed Forces, her uncle a lawyer who would become a judge, and many family members actively involved in the community, the virtue of service was constantly demonstrated around her.

Growing up, McDougall felt an immense and developing sense of wanting to help others.

Young McDougall loved people and had a “soft heart” for those in need early on. She remembers begging her mom to sponsor ten impoverished children in Africa when the Sunday fundraising appeals aired on TV.

Not surprisingly, this same little girl found herself a long way from home, in Guatemala, as a young adult after graduating from CBU. There her role was to research land reforms, post-genocide of the Maya Achi people. Her experience there further reinforced her calling to serve others.

“I knew from that moment on I would focus on social justice and devote my future career paths to the service of others.”

Starting out as a freshman with an English Literature major, Amanda credits an “eccentric” professor in her introductory Political Science course with changing the course of her educational path.

She realized the tools of the democratic process would allow her to “challenge the norm” and “could be a way to give voice to those most in need.”

As a CBRM councillor, she began to do precisely that. She quickly challenged the norm, causing the mayor and some veteran councillors to set their sights on her. If the question was how she would respond, the answer she gave lead to a growing confidence that the people of the CBRM were watching someone with the kind of vision and fighting spirit that we’ll need sitting in the mayor’s chair if we’re going to try to turn things around.

McDougall’s need for exploration also drew her to significant travel early on. She went to Australia after high school and visited several neighbouring European countries during her three years living, studying, and working in Milan, Italy. There she would become trilingual with English, French, and Italian languages. But Cape Breton still had a firm hold on her heart.

“The Island called me back when it came down to thinking about where I wanted to settle down and raise a family I couldn't imagine being so far from my family.”

Amanda is happy with the choice to trade a smog obscured view of the Alps for the fresh air and direct view of the ocean in the small fishing village of Main-a-Dieu. She says the decision was easy in the end, as she now wakes up “in my little fishing village where the air is fresh and people genuinely care about you.”

Ironically, it was a threat to that very ocean ecosystem that further steered her towards a political role. She was heavily involved in fighting for the removal of the MV Miner wreckage, a 223-metre bulk carrier that ran aground off Scatarie Island. Though eventually successful, over four years the countless meetings and frustrations with dealing with government officials left her dissatisfied with the process.

“It was the catalyst for me wanting to become an elected official because I knew change was needed in representation.”

Never one to stay idle or uninvolved, Amanda worked with CBU as the Manager of Immigration Partnerships, and with the Cape Breton Partnership as the Industry Sector Researcher where she tried to match available immigration streams with regional labour needs.

Now that she is Councillor of District 8 in the CBRM, her new role in municipal politics certainly isn’t easy, but she’s more than up to the challenge.

“Some days are really hard, when you can't seem to find a solution to anything and everyone is frustrated,  those days play hard on the head and heart, but the days that you can say ‘I helped someone’ far outweigh any previous frustrations.”

She’s struggled with herself to realize that she “simply cannot be in 10 places at once” and cannot fail to find time for her family and friends, and personal time to ensure she can stay “on top of [her] game.”

A quote from Mother Teresa is one of her favourite guiding mantras:

“Do small things with great love”

Amanda says she accepts that she cannot fix everything in the community immediately or on her own within the limits of her Council role, but she knows she “can do small things for people each day and be genuine in [her] concern and care for people.”

Her first year and a half as a CBRM councillor have been busy. She secured the position as the CBRM delegate to the Solid Waste Resource Management Regional Chairs Committee and joined the Cape Breton Regional Library board and the Fire Services committee. She travelled to Ottawa for the Federation of Canadian Municipalities Conference in the Spring, and again to Ottawa to speak as a regional expert to the Parliament of Canada’s Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration in the Fall. She’s also embraced the fight for Equalization fairness and knows that representing the communities concerns on provincial and federal issues is a part of the duties of CBRM Mayor and Council.

Around the table at the CBRM Council, Amanda has spoken boldly as a progressive, energized new councillor who sometimes finds herself in challenging positions on some issues that are at odds with her colleagues. But she judges herself based on her follow through on her election promises, and not yielding to the status quo. She doesn’t back down.

“It is certainly much easier to say you are going to do things differently and inspire creative change than actually standing up and fighting to do it. I have seen how easy it might be to sit back and just let the same old continue to roll, but the guilt of not doing what I promised would be far too heavy of a burden to carry.”

Amanda says she isn't interested in political photo opportunities. She has her sights set on the legislative tools and the power they have to help people when used effectively. And while she is interested in taking on greater political roles in the future, at this time she is focused on the task at hand, is learning rapidly, and will ensure she is fully prepared for future responsibilities when the time comes.

For now, the shores of Main-a-Dieu are her place to reset and prepare for each day’s new challenges. No matter if it’s a gale force wind or a hot sunny day, Amanda, her loved ones, and her dog Missy stretch their legs on the beach and keep a watchful eye for new sea glass treasure.

She may soon have to give greater contemplation to the calls for her to be Mayor. The support from the community doesn’t come from what she’s promised. The support comes from watching what she has done, and the growing belief in what she is capable of doing for our community of communities.

On Canada Day we’re reminded that great people working together make great things possible. The CBRM just so happens to have a great leadership option in Amanda McDougall that elevates our expectations of what is possible for our future.

NOTE: The views expressed above are my own and do not represent lokol (goCapeBreton.com). Read more