Toronto Tibetan ran for Municipal Election
Kalsang Dolma was one of the candidates for the Toronto City Council elections held in Oct, 2018. Although she lost the election, she became the first Tibetan ever to contest City Council elections in Toronto.
The Toronto City Council is the governing body of the City of Toronto in Ontario. Members represent wards throughout the city, and are known as councillors. 25 councillors gets elected from 25 wards.
She contested and won 14 percent votes from the Ward-4 Parkdale-High Park, which was won by her rival Gord Perks with 44 percent votes.
Raised in India, Kalsang moved to Canada fifteen years ago, and has been involved as a Community organizer in Parkdale-High Park.
In this interview with Radio Free Asia, Kalsang Dolma gives the sense of this election, her journey and the significance of this election for her.