Muriel Abdurahman

Muriel Ross Abdurahman (April 29, 1938 – December 22, 2013) was a nurse and politician best known for her political career in Alberta, Canada. The first woman to hold the office of Mayor of Fort Saskatchewan, she later served in the Legislative Assembly of Alberta.

Life before Fort Saskatchewan Muriel Ross was born April 29, 1938, in Lochmaben, Scotland, to parents Catherine Wilson and Andrew Ross. Her family owned a dairy farm near Lockerbie, where she grew up.

Aged sixteen, she entered training as a fevers nurse. She then practiced at the City of Glasgow Fever and Smallpox Hospitals (Belvidere) network, where she met her future husband, doctor Abdul Abdurahman.

Muriel and Abdul eloped, and, in 1957, moved to Guyana, where Abdul worked for the British Foreign Office to treat patients with leprosy. The couples' first daughter, Amanda, was born there; the Abdurahmans also celebrated a second wedding.

Municipal politics

Fort Saskatchewan Councillor and Mayoral run: 1977-1980 Abdurahman was elected to Fort Saskatchewan town council in October 1977. and introduced an unsuccessful bylaw to ban snowmobiles from being used within city limits. Abdurahman also devised a civic half-day to mark Queen Elizabeth II's visit to Fort Saskatchewan in 1978. The community hosted a festival and picnic to greet the visiting delegation. Her sole opponent was former councillor Marjorie Middagh, who in 1977 had run against outgoing Mayor Hank Powell.

Abdurahman won the October election by 1,375 votes to Middagh's 1,196. In comments to the Edmonton Journal, Middagh alleged that Abdurahman had mounted a "vicious" campaign against her; however, Middagh "refused" to elaborate when asked. Abdurahman, meanwhile, said that she was "quite happy" with the way her campaign was run. Later, Abdurahman told the Journal that she had faced prejudice from male voters, who told her: "It's useless voting for mayor this time. Both candidates are women." She recalled feeling "insulted," but felt that women had been largely supportive of her bid.

During her terms as Mayor, Fort Saskatchewan debated becoming a city and the future of its school system. Indeed, one of the first acts by Fort Saskatchewan's 1980 council was ordering an investigation into whether the town would enjoy any "financial benefits" by becoming a city. In late January, 1981, Abdurahman relayed the report's conclusion that there would be "no distinct monetary advantage" to becoming a city at that time. However, at that time, cities were required to maintain their own school board; schools in Fort Saskatchewan still fell under the County of Strathcona Board of Education. Soon afterwards, the provincial legislature amended legislation to allow cities to remain part of county school systems, eliminating the concerns voters had expressed via the February 1983 plebiscite. In January 1984, Abdurahman told the Edmonton Journal that she was urging the council to seriously discuss city status, feeling "the time [was] right" for Fort Saskatchewan to become a city. Fort Saskatchewan became a city on July 1, 1985.

Environmental public health advocacy Abdurahman was active in environmental health policy throughout her lifetime, particularly around how Albertan governments practiced waste management. Before entering politics, she contributed to a provincial investigation into improving hazardous waste management.

Provincial politics

Provincial run and health sector work: 1986-1992 Abdurahman resigned from her position as Mayor in April 1986 to run for the legislature in that year's Alberta general election. She ran in the electoral district of Clover Bar as a candidate for the Progressive Conservatives.

After ruling out running for mayor again in Fort Saskatchewan's October 1986 election, Abdurahman returned to working in the health sector.

Member of the Legislative Assembly: 1993-1997 Abdurahman ran as a Liberal candidate in the 1993 general election in the new electoral district of Clover Bar-Fort Saskatchewan, defeating incumbent independent MLA Kurt Gesell. She was one of 16 women in the Alberta Legislature at the time. Consumer Affairs Critic in 1995, and Finance Critic in 1996. She also served as vice-chair of the Public Health Advisory and Appeal Board and Chair of the Public Accounts Committee.

Despite her prior Conservative bid, Abdurahman opted to run for the Liberals due to her strong working relationship with party leader Laurence Decore. Abdurahman had met Decore while they were the respective Mayors of Fort Saskatchewan and Edmonton. When Decore resigned in July, the Herald reported that media coverage of these alleged meetings had been a factor in his decision to leave office. In public remarks, Abdurahman was more favourable to Decore, stating that she believed he had needed time to recover from the "political loss" of the Liberals failing to obtain a majority in 1993. The1994 provincial budget involved broad public spending cuts to health, education, and the public sector, which Abdurahman perceived as likely to result in disproportionate job losses for women. Later that year, a private member's bill put forward by Abdurahman to hold Klein's administration to a promise to review MLA compensation was voted down.

Abdurahman believed racism was "pervasive" in Alberta. Abdurahman sought a public apology from Mirosh, which Mirosh declined to offer.

Provincial re-election bid: 1997 In her bid for re-election during the 1997 Alberta general election, Abdurahman earned a greater share of the popular vote than in 1993, but was defeated by Progressive Conservative candidate Rob Lougheed.

After politics Following her 1997 electoral defeat, Abdurahman retired from politics.

In 2001, Abdurahman was made a member of the Premier's Advisory Council on Health, convened by Ralph Klein to "find ways to reduce the cost of the health care system." She contributed to the final Mazankowski report.

Legacy In 2023, the City of Fort Saskatchewan partnered with the Government of Alberta and Heartland Housing Foundation to open Muriel Ross Abdurahman Court, a housing facility for low-income seniors and families, named in Abdurahman's honour. As of 2024, Strathcona County Library maintains an annual Muriel Abdurahman Volunteer Award to recognize notable volunteers who assist the library.