While the outcome of Peterborough’s 2022 municipal election remains to be seen, we now know one thing for certain: the city will have a new mayor.
Speaking on the newest episode of her Cogeco YourTV program Peterborough Matters that premiered Friday (November 12), Peterborough Mayor Diane Therrien confirmed her name won’t be on the ballot when voters go the polls on October 24, 2022.
“I am announcing that I will not be seeking re-election for mayor,” said Therrien.
“This is a decision I thought a lot about. It’s a city that I love but there is a myriad of reasons why and I will be elaborating on those over the remainder of my term.”
“Life it too short to do things that don’t bring you joy. There are many things about the job that I love, but there are also a lot of challenges. It’s been an honour and a privilege but also a significant challenge. I’ll be elaborating on what some of those challenges are, and outlining some of the ways I think council and the municipality can move forward, and needs to move forward, to be a truly progressive city.”
Therrien added a desire “to be out of the public eye for awhile” is the reason that, at this point, she will not seek election to another level of government.
VIDEO: Peterborough Mayor Diane Therrien on YourTV’s Peterborough Matters
“That’s something that’s not on the table,” she said, dismissing outright any rumour or suggestion she will seek the nomination as the local NDP candidate in next spring’s provincial election.
“I’ve met with (Ontario NDP leader) Andrea (Horwath) several times. People kind of know which way I tend to lean. But again, the rigours of governing in a pandemic and also being a young woman in a front-facing position — we’ve seen the stuff that our former MP (Maryam Monsef) went through and some of the other (city) councillors go through. There’s still a lot of rooted misogyny that women in politics, and women in leadership roles in general, deal with — but particularly women who are in the public eye.”
While not the primary reason she’s not returning to politics, Therrien says numerous hateful messages aimed at her on social media and via email sent to her City Hall office are as disturbing as they are disrespectful.
“I’m a pretty tough cookie and you sign up for this job knowing that you’re going to be a lightning rod. I’ve never been one to say you can’t criticize decisions I make, but some of the attacks are really personal. There’s a line.”
“The most disheartening part is I’ve had countless women say ‘I want to run but I’m going to because I don’t want to deal with that.’ We need more men to step up and call it out. We also need our MPP (Dave Smith) and our new MP (Michelle Ferreri) to call it out. It really needs to be a community-wide initiative to stem that.”
In a statement issued exclusively to kawarthaNOW, Therrien noted “real change” moving forward is dependent on “a majority of council and City staff willing to enthusiastically carry out the decisions of that majority.”
“I have seen fantastic work by both council and staff, but I have also seen efforts to stifle much-needed progress in many other areas,” she wrote.
“There is still significant opportunity for continued progress but it will require bold new leaders on council who have the courage to make hard decisions. This means electing a council with a mandate for change. It also means electing representatives who are committed to action, not lip service or populism.”
Born in Mississauga, Therrien attended McMaster University in Hamilton. After receiving her undergrad in history and peace studies, she came to Peterborough to attend Trent University. In 2012, she graduated with her Masters from the Canadian Indigenous Studies program and went on to a contract position as a policy advisor with the Ministry of Aboriginal Affairs in Toronto.
But Peterborough tugged at her heart and she returned, taking a three-year contract with the Peterborough Poverty Reduction Network. In 2014, she set her sights on a city council seat and was elected as a Town Ward representative at age 28.
Four years later, in October 2018, she was elected mayor at age 32, soundly defeating incumbent Daryl Bennett. In doing so, she became just the third woman to hold the city’s top elected position since 1850 — the others being Aileen Holt in 1962, appointed when Mayor Stanley McBride retired to become sheriff, and Sylvia Sutherland, from 1986 to 1991 and again from 1998 to 2006.
During both election campaigns, Therrien was candidly advised by friends and associates that she had two strikes against her: she’s a woman and she wasn’t born in Peterborough. Still, she overcame both suggested challenges to emerge victorious.
“During the (mayoralty) campaign, that was less of an issue, but part of the challenge and the environment I’m dealing with are some very rooted ideologies and perspectives that I would say are quite insular,” she said on Peterborough Matters.
“That’s problematic for a rapidly growing city that’s diversifying and has increasing challenges. Folks like myself and Councillor (Kemi) Akapo and Councillor (Stephen) Wright can get elected, but there’s also very much a lot of the old guard still in some of those other positions of power.”
Asked why make her intentions known now as opposed to waiting until next year, Therrien confirms she “sort of made this decision about a year ago.”
“I was only ever going to do two terms (council) at the max. I’m a firm believer in term limits. I know there are other people probably considering to run, so it’s good to know what I’m doing.”
“I care most about the well-being of the city, not about my own political career. If there are progressive people that want to come forward, it’s good for them to know that there’s a pathway. And just for my own mental health and wellbeing, I wanted to do it (announce her intentions) sooner than later. People keep asking me about it. There’s all this speculation. There’s a lot of political posturing going on.”
“We’re going into budget,” Therrien added. “Making it known that this is the last budget cycle I’ll be here for — and the Official Plan and the Transportation Master Plan, all these big decisions that are coming up — it’s a bit liberating to be able to say I’m going to be making decisions based on the best long-term interests of this community and it doesn’t matter if I lose votes over it or not.”
Asked if making her decision public has lifted a weight off of her shoulders, Therrien had a quick answer: “Totally.”
“This isn’t a decision I took lightly. I’ve had people say ‘I wish you would stick it out and run for another term.’ I appreciate that but you have to do what feels right inside for you. When you know it’s the time, you know it’s the time.”
Her decision made and announced, Therrien is urging her fellow councillors join her “in making the next 11 months as productive as possible.”
“Regardless of whether you plan to run for re-election, this is your opportunity to show the people who elected you that you are here to make real, substantial progress. This is what the people of our great city expect.”
