Daurene Lewis

Daurene Elaine Lewis was born on 9 September 1943 in Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia. She was a seventh-generation descendant of Black Loyalists who settled in the town in 1783, and of Rose Fortune, the Black Loyalist baggage carrier often called Canada's first policewoman. She trained as a registered nurse at Dalhousie University, earned an MBA at Saint Mary's University, and had more than 30 years of experience in health care.

Lewis also fell in love with the family tradition of weaving, and for many years owned a weaving and design business with her own shop in Annapolis Royal. She became involved in local politics in 1979, when she ran for town council, and in 1982 she was appointed deputy mayor.

In 1984 Lewis was elected mayor of Annapolis Royal, becoming the first Black mayor in Nova Scotia and the first Black woman to be elected mayor in Canada. She served until 1988. In that year she ran as a Liberal candidate for the provincial seat of Annapolis West, and although she did not win, she was the first Black woman in Nova Scotia to run in a provincial election.

Lewis went on to a distinguished career in education and community service. She was executive director of the Centre for Women in Business at Mount Saint Vincent University and later principal of campuses of the Nova Scotia Community College. She served on many national and provincial boards, including the Black Business Initiative and the Canadian Race Relations Foundation's research advisory board, and chaired the Africville Heritage Trust as it established the rebuilt Seaview United Baptist Church.

Her honours included the United Nations Global Citizenship Award in 1995, an honorary doctorate from Mount Saint Vincent University and appointment to the Order of Canada in 2002 to 2003. She died on 26 January 2013, at 69. In 2018 the town of Annapolis Royal unveiled a bronze portrait bust of her by the sculptor Ruth Abernethy.