FIRST FEMALE MAYOR A BLACK LOYALIST DESCENDANT

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In 1984, the town of Annapolis Royal in Nova Scotia elected the first female Black Mayor of Canada. Her name was Daurene Elaine Lewis, and she was a seventh generation descendant of Black Loyalist Rose Fortune .  She first became involved in politics in 1979 when she ran for Town Council in Annapolis Royal and in 1982 was appointed Deputy Mayor.

A bronze busk of Lewis by sculptor Ruth Abernethy was unveiled in 2018 when the town of Annapolis Royal renamed a downtown plaza after her. She was active in development of the Farmers' Market, the boardwalk,  and the Historic Gardens. 

Bronze busk of Daurene Lewis

Lewis was born on 9 September 1943 in Annapolis Royal and trained as a registered nurse. She earned a diploma in teaching in Schools of Nursing from Dalhousie University and a Master of Business Administration from St. Mary's University. She was awarded an honorary doctorate in Humane Letters from Mount Saint Vincent University in 1993. 

Daurene E. Lewis Plaza in Annapolis Royal 

She was the first Black woman to run in a provincial election in Nova Scotia when, in 1988, she was unsuccessful as a candidate for the Liberal Party in the Annapolis West riding which included Annapolis Royal.

Lewis, after politics,  earned her MBA and was then executive director of the Center for Women in Business at Mount Saint Vincent University. She also became Principal of both the Institute of Technology and Akerley Campuses of the Nova Scotia Community College.  In 2001, she was the first African Canadian senior administrator in the history of the college.  

In 1994, Lewis was added to the Wall of Honour at the Black Cultural Centre in Cherry Brook, Nova Scotia and in 1995, she received the United Nations Global Citizenship Award .  In 2002 she was made a member of the Order of Canada, among other recognitions for her service to others.

She died in Halifax on 26 January 2013 and was buried in Woodlawn Cemetery at Lequille near Annapolis Royal. On her headstone it states in part "Our Prime Purpose In This Life is to Help Others".

Headstone at Grave 

Further Reference:

Finding Fortune - Documenting and Imagining the Life of Rose Fortune (1774 - 1864) by Brenda J. Thompson (Some of my research is cited in the notes).  Book includes quote by Daurene Lewis. Published 2019.

Historian & Author; Member of United Empire Loyalists ' Association of Canada, Genealogical Association of Nova Scotia, Ulster Historical & Genealogical Guild (Life)

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