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Halifax Pride 2022
Sam grew up in Three Fathom Harbour, Eastern Shore, and Dartmouth was a big part of life: it’s where we came to shop, and where his father's business, ABL Environmental Consultants, was.
Sam has a masters degree in urban planning from DalhousieUniversity and a masters in political science from the University of Calgary, with an undergraduate is from King’s College.
Before being elected he worked on a variety of community projects as a volunteer including Tulips on Tulip Street, Jane’s Walk, Switch Dartmouth, the Planning and Design Centre, and the Dartmouth Heritage Museum Society.
Sam and his wife have two daughters.
Before becoming a councillor, he worked for nine years for Public Works Canada as an urban planner.
Austin was first elected to Halifax City Council in 2016. Highlights include daylighting the Sawmill River, opening the renovated Sportsplex, design changes to several streets to make them safer, improvements to active transportation and transit, bringing participatory budget to District 5, and completing major planning initiatives including the Centre Plan, Green Network Plan, and the Integrated Mobility Plan. On Council he served in a variety of roles including the: Active Transportation Advisory Committee Heritage Advisory Committee, Appeals Committee, Community Planning and Economic Development Standing Committee, Transportation Standing Committee, Library Board, Sportsplex Board, Alderney Landing Board, North Woodside Community Centre Board and the Downtown Dartmouth Business Commission.
From Sam's July, 2024 councillor's newsletter1
Pride
July is Pride month here in HRM and there are a number of events over the month, including the Pride Parade on July 20 and an outdoor concert in Ferry Terminal Park on July 26. While Pride is a celebration it also continues to be a movement and rallying call to build a more equitable and free society.
As a bi man, I understand on a deeply personal level some of the challenges that many 2SLGBTQ+ folks face. I’m fortunate to have the most supportive family anyone could ever ask for, but I still came of age in 1980s/1990s Nova Scotia, a world awash in homophobia. I know what it’s like to fear that friends would turn their back on me if I ever revealed my true self. I know what it’s like to be threatened by a complete stranger for no other reason than who I was with. I know what it’s like to try and wish away a core part of your being. I know how hard it can be to come to terms with who you truly are.
I know all of that, but I also have had the luxury of being able to blend into the background. Blending in though hasn’t changed this core part of my being. I have a very public job and, in writing this, I’m forever giving up blending in. I’m sharing this now because I’m finally at a point in life where I’m ready to. I’m not the first openly 2SLGBTQ+ Councillor in HRM’s history. KristaSnow? and Peter Lund walked this route first and I’m privileged to join them. Even with all the progress that has been made, there is still a point to make about being in politics as an openly 2SLGBTQ+ person.
What really gives me hope is my kid’s generation. For most of them, intolerance based on attraction and love is utterly foreign. The younger generation is a reminder to me of the progress that’s been made, progress that we need to defend, celebrate, and continue to advance. Happy Pride.
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