Limoilou Coun. Jackie Smith holds baby Daphnée upon her return to City Hall.

Peter Black

Local Journalism Initiative reporter

Peterblack@qctonline.com

As of last week, there are 21½ seats in the Quebec City council chamber, with Limoilou Coun. and Transition Québec Leader Jackie Smith sharing her place with infant daughter Daphnée.

Smith made her return to council Sept. 19 after taking maternity leave back in May to give birth to Daphnée, now four months old. She is the first city councillor to have a child while serving on council. She and her husband, Hoffman Wolff, also have a son, Adrian, born in 2018.

“Obviously I have a busy and atypical schedule, which complicates things when you have a very young family, but I’m not the only woman experiencing this type of situation,” Smith told the QCT. “Like others before me, I occupy a position that was designed for men of a certain age and we sometimes have to make our way by taking action if we want our institutions to evolve.”

She said, “To sit on the municipal council with my daughter is another step. We’ll see how things go and adjust. I want to help make it easier for those who follow.”

Smith’s council seat-mate, Québec d’abord Coun. Alicia Despins, told the QCT, “Jackie’s a real inspiration for new mothers juggling with the obligations of city council. As her desk neighbour, she has my full support if she ever needs it.”

“Daphnée is so calm,” she joked, “it seems like she’s the only one following the rules in the chamber!”

At one point during council proceedings, Smith handed her daughter to Despins. “I was so happy to cuddle a baby so small,” she said. Coincidentally, Québec d’abord and Opposition Leader Claude Villeneuve recently returned from paternity leave for the birth of his second child.

Despins said, “Claude knows he also has our full support if he ever needs to bring his newborn daughter to the city council. I told him yesterday that I can hold two babies at once if needs be!”

As for the political aspect of Smith’s return to council, she said, “I have had time to take a step back, and I’m back motivated by the progress made since the elections. I may be the only elected councillor from Transition Québec, but it is clear that our ideas are moving forward and often taken up by my colleagues. We work hard, we remain faithful to what we presented in the campaign, and, although partial, we are making gains.”

Smith was first elected to city council in 2021. She ran for mayor under the Transition Québec banner, coming fourth with nearly seven per cent of the vote. She easily won the Limoilou council seat, defeating a member of the former administration’s executive committee.

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Photo by Francis Fontaine