B.C.'s longest-serving mayor, a champion of women in politics, dead at 91
The longest-serving mayor in B.C.'s history has died at the age of 91.
Alice Maitland was born in the Village of Hazelton and started her career in local politics in 1956 when she helped map out property locations in preparation for the community to be officially recognized as a municipality. She was often a champion for rural issues, living in a community of just a few hundred people, about 1,200 kilometres northwest of Vancouver.
Maitland was first elected to council in 1965, a position she held until 1970. She became mayor in 1976 and held that position until she was defeated in the 2018 municipal election.
Her daughter, Julie Maitland, was elected to her mother's old job in 2022 and continues to serve in that role.
News of Maitland's death was shared by the former MLA for the region, Doug Donaldson.
"She mentored many in leadership roles, especially women in an oftentimes male-dominated field, and was for numerous years a lone voice speaking out for rural communities seeking more control over nearby natural resources that sustained not only local services but provincial programs," he said in a statement.
"She linked that work to the ongoing fight for First Nations' rights and title."
"Alice's kindness, generosity and fierce determination in fighting for justice will be missed. But the spirit of that determination she instilled in many others will carry on her legacy."
In 2020, she received the Federation of Canadian Municipalities' Ann MacLean Award for Outstanding Service by a Woman in Municipal Politics which recognized her as a trailblazer and mentor for other female policians as well as her advocacy work, noting she had joined the Gitxsan First Nation in blockades against development and industry in order to preserve the local environment.
"It's very humbling," she said in an interview with CBC Daybreak North host Carolina de Ryk after receiving the award. "It was a great time. I don't know what else I would have done with my life, and I feel like being awarded for being so happily engaged all those years is kind of strange."
She said she hadn't considered running for politics until she was approached by some locals who wanted her to represent them.
"I was about to have my fourth baby. It was a Sunday night, and I had two or three kids in the bath," she said. "They said, 'We want you to run for council,' and I said, 'Oh, why not?'"
She compared the job to "smoking opium," saying she kept at it because it was intoxicating to be able to make positive change for her community. One of her proudest accomplishments, she said, was getting the village paved. She believed being a woman was an asset as she brought new perspectives to the role, juggling raising four kids with the demands of the job.
"We know how the world goes round," she said, recalling rushing to meetings with groups of men wearing "shirts their wives had ironed."
She said that even in the 2020s, prejudices and challenges remained, but she encouraged people of all backgrounds to get involved in politics. Memorial arrangements will be announced in the days ahead, Donaldson said.
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