Alexandra Parliament is Running for Councillor in Westport
Alexandra Parliament staked out a unique position when she announced her candidacy for councillor in Westport. “I think there needs to be somebody who is younger and is not retired, with a voice at the table,” she said.
“We need to make sure that we're representing everybody and not just the seniors in town, which obviously is a very important demographic, but they're not the only ones, and I feel like everybody else kind of gets forgotten sometimes,” she said, referring to working parents and younger professionals in the village.
She admits the village skews to an older demographic but observes that over the last few years there are more children living here. That’s a change she said n
eeds to be reflected at council.
“When they started talking about the renovations at WTC Centre, for example, they talked about having a senior space. What I want to see is a space for families to be able to take their children.”
When her daughter was born in 2018, she said she would have loved a place in town where moms could get together and get to know each other. Grandparents who have family for a week or two in the summer or over Christmas are always looking for activities for their grandchildren when they’re visiting as well, she added. She acknowledged the “great room for kids at the library,” but would like to see more of those kinds of rooms open up for more activities.
She is also focused on the “unrealized potential of the harbour.” She sat on the harbour committee in 2017 and wants to see how it could be a more “inclusive area” that could include a swimming area, events on the island like concerts or fishing derbies, “just ways to bring people together and get the families out there and enjoying the water.”
She also wants the Westport Harbour sign back. “Tourists standing in front of it and taking pictures … those pictures are going out on socials … It gets people excited, it gets them talking, that's all part of bringing tourism into town.”
She also thinks that residents need a lot more communication so they are “fully aware of what's going on at town hall.” She sees it as “more of a free flow of communication between the residents and council and town hall staff,” and “a collaborative effort.”
“If there's money that can be had from the provincial government, council is maybe at a better advantage of speaking with somebody from the provincial government than a residential volunteer group.”
She lived in Toronto before moving here 11 years ago and said she’s never looked back. “I love the small town charm, and neighbours knowing each other and helping each other out.”
“I don't want us to lose that as we invest in our community, because development needs to happen, but I think you need to make sure that you don't lose who you are when you do that.”
She said her main concern is how growth affects everybody in the town. “One of the things that really got to me when I moved here was the fact that you have a sense of community and belonging here … so I want to safeguard that kind of sense of community.”
She is not against growth or development. “I just want to make sure that we look at it from the lens of a small town and how it will fit in, not so much the type of building that goes in, but just how it's incorporated into the greater town of Westport.”
She is firmly against a move to single-tier governance. In fact, it’s one of the reasons she said she wants a seat at the table.
Parliament has 25 years of experience as a marketing and communications professional in the non-profit and corporate sectors. She founded her own communications company more than 20 years ago. Her career spans journalism, brand strategy, graphic design, event management, government relations and marketing. More recently, she was a member of the planning committee for the 2025 WestPorch Music Festival.
Check out her website at Alexandra4Council.com for more information.
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