Page 141 – Algonquin Times

Wolves men’s basketball team zaps Surge at home for first victory

The Algonquin Wolves men’s basketball team faced off against the St. Lawrence Surge at home on Oct. 28 and won the season opener 70-59. The Wolves had an intense start […]

Tyler Beauchesne

Photos: Tyler Beauchesne

October 31, 2022
Revised: January 30, 2024 3:36pm

Photo: Tyler Beauchesne

Wolves guard Chris Lachapelle takes a free throw in the Oct. 28 season opener against the St. Lawrence Surge.

The Algonquin Wolves men’s basketball team faced off against the St. Lawrence Surge at home on Oct. 28 and won the season opener 70-59.

The Wolves had an intense start as guard Nathan Garcia drained a three-pointer to set the tone for the game. He put up a strong performance, notching 14 points, four assists and a rebound.

Garcia also shot 66.7 per cent from both the three-point line and in midrange from the field. He was a defensive powerhouse, putting up three steals and a block to lead the brick wall that the Wolves formed as their interior defence.

Forward Ted Braden was a big help with getting the ball in the Wolves possession throughout the game. He made 15 rebounds, in addition to his nine points and four assists. He also contributed heavily to the defence with five steals.

Other standout performances were guard CJ Gallaza, who came off the bench to put up 16 points, and three rebounds, and guard Irvan Yacinthe, who had 13 points, including three rebounds and two assists.

At times, the Wolves struggled to defend the perimeter and sink their shots from the three-point line, but they found a way to secure their first victory of the season.

“Defensively we are trying to be better, but tonight we were good on defence,” coach Trevor Costello said after the game. “On offence, we need to be better. We turned the ball over a lot, we need to work better against the zone as we had some trouble with that, but our identity is that we play tough D and we only gave up 59 points so that was good.”

There were a couple of injuries during the game to Wolves players Garcia and Chris Lachapelle.

“Hopefully, Chris only sprained his ankle but in 24 hours, we will know for sure,” Costello said. “(Garcia) got a charley horse so that usually lasts until the next game but hopefully they will be there.”

Guard Carter Normand spoke about how starting with a win impacted the team.

“On Friday nights, you celebrate for three seconds then you head to the next game and have a quick turnaround,” Normand said. “The team loves getting a win but we have to focus on what’s next after we are done. Starting with a win is a step in the right direction, especially at home because you do not want the other team to come into our camp and take over to start the season.”

Normand went on to talk about what it felt like to start the season off at home.

“It was great because last year, we had COVID restrictions and then fans came in halfway through,” Normand said. “The energy felt great as I think we have one of the best fanbases in the league. When we get rolling, they are loud and cheer to support us and that type of crowd is truly the sixth man on the court.”

Featured Story | Sports & Recreation

Tyler Beauchesne

See more articles by
Tyler Beauchesne

Women Wolves successfully defend home court on opening weekend

The Algonquin Wolves women’s basketball team backed up its big Friday win with a strong 18-point victory on Saturday. The Wolves defeated the Loyalist Lancers 53-35 at the Jack Doyle […]

Kolbe Devaux

Photos: Kolbe Devaux

October 31, 2022
Revised: January 30, 2024 3:36pm

Photo: Kolbe Devaux

Sydney Moore (left) dribbles the ball against the Loyalist Lancers.

The Algonquin Wolves women’s basketball team backed up its big Friday win with a strong 18-point victory on Saturday.

The Wolves defeated the Loyalist Lancers 53-35 at the Jack Doyle Athletics and Recreation Centre.

Similar to Friday’s game, the Wolves had a tough time putting the ball through the hoop, only managing 10 points in an even first quarter. Through the second quarter, the two teams continued to battle for the upper hand until the clock read 2:42 and the score line read 19-18 in favour of the Wolves.

From there the Wolves scored 11 points, more than they had managed in the first 7 minutes and 18 seconds of the quarter, to take a 30-21 score line into the half.

The third quarter was a true defensive slug fest with the Wolves scoring only seven points and the Lancers just six themselves. However, in the fourth, the hosts’ offence clicked. The Wolves scored 16 points, opened up a lead as large as 23 points, limited their opponents to just eight points and claimed a comfortable 53-35 victory to close out their opening weekend.

The defensive performance of his team was a source of pride for head coach Jaime McLean.

“Definitely a better defensive effort today,” he said. “It was a little slow getting there but even though it wasn’t phenomenal in the first quarter we were still accomplishing what we wanted to accomplish. We made our little tweaks and the girls jumped on board. The energy started to come up and we started to lock in defensively. It’s nice to see that improvement from yesterday to today.”

The head coach believed through the suffocating defence the team eventually found its offence.

“We were trying to take the energy from locking down defensively. In the third quarter we focused so much on what we were trying to do defensively that we weren’t executing offensively. When we finally took the energy from the positive defense it was translated when we moved to the offensive side of the floor,” said McLean.

Top scorer with 17 points, Meaghan McNamara also thought Saturday’s defensive performance was better than Friday’s.

Meaghan McNamara top scored with 17 points. All five of her field goals were three pointers. — Meaghan McNamara was the top scorer with 17 points. All five of her field goals were three pointers. Photo credit: Kolbe Devaux

“Today I just think we were communicating a bit more on defence,” she said. “We really held it more together as a team.”

The forward, who is excited to be playing again after missing last season, put the team’s offensive surges down to its preparation.

“We were running out sets. When we noticed it was zone, we made the switches automatically. The bench was being loud and that was great. Everyone was loud and talking and communicating. The defence was leaving me open and my teammates were hitting me when they saw that,” said McNamara.

The Wolves now have a week off before they try to earn their third consecutive win.

“Can’t complain about 2-0. That’s always the goal to start the season, try to get as many wins as you can in a row. We’re looking forward to next weekend and our next matchup. We’ll do the scouting and find out what we got,” said McLean.

The Wolves next play the Seneca Sting on Nov. 5 at 4 p.m. at the Jack Doyle Athletics and Recreation Centre.

Featured Story | Sports & Recreation

Algonquin Wolves | Basketball | OCAA | OCAA women's

Kolbe Devaux

See more articles by
Kolbe Devaux

Women’s basketball Wolves open season at home with a big win

The Algonquin Wolves women’s basketball team opened its season with a win on Friday night, defeating the St. Lawrence Surge 73-48 in front of an engaged home crowd. The hosts […]

Kolbe Devaux

Photos: Kolbe Devaux

October 31, 2022
Revised: January 30, 2024 3:36pm

Photo: Kolbe Devaux

Leah Hirst (right) defends the ball as the Wolves close out their opening game of the season.

The Algonquin Wolves women’s basketball team opened its season with a win on Friday night, defeating the St. Lawrence Surge 73-48 in front of an engaged home crowd.

The hosts scored 12 straight points to end the first quarter, 17-7 and went into halftime leading 40- 20.

Head coach Jaime McLean was pleased with his team’s offensive effort in their season opener.

“Offensively we were playing well,” he said. “We were running through things and we stayed within ourselves which created points for us which was great. During the preseason when we broke out of what we do we were turning the ball over because we didn’t know where our teammates were. Today we played within our systems and we knew where to find teammates.”

Forward Libby Hirst, who scored 10 points in the game, agreed with her head coach’s thoughts on the team’s offense.

“I think we’re happy with that (73 points),” she said. “We didn’t really set goals for our offensive points but for defensive points we said we would try to limit the other teams to 45 points a game, so we just missed the mark on that. But offensively I think we’re happy with that.”

Dasia McDonald (left) led all scorers with 26 points against the St. Lawrence Surge Photo credit: Kolbe Devaux

In the second half, the Wolves continued to score, opening up a 28-point lead early in the third quarter, and never led by less than 19 through the rest of the game.

However, both player and coach were critical of the team’s defensive performance.

“It feels good to win but one of our coaches said it. We only won that game because the other team couldn’t score very well. We weren’t playing together on defense. Our communication wasn’t very good. Our help rotations and our rebounding all need improvement for tomorrow,” said Hirst.

McLean agreed.

“There’s a lot of good in terms of the overall result,” he said. “Defensively though there’s two things we need to work on. Number one is communication. We’re not communicating properly.”

“The other is 100 per cent rebounding. In every game, if you don’t win the rebounding battle, you’re not giving yourself a good chance to win the game, even if you’re playing worse teams or better teams. If you’re not winning that battle first, you’re not giving yourself second chances, you’re not preventing the second chances. It’s a major factor in every game,” said McLean.

The head coach was very grateful to play in front of a home crowd.

“Honestly to have energy on Day 1 is amazing, I really hope we get more people out now they’ve got the first experience and people seeing what we can do and what we’ve got. I really hope they enjoyed today,” said McLean.

The Wolves next play the Seneca Sting on Nov. 5, at 4 p.m. at the Jack Doyle Athletics and Recreation Centre.

Featured Story | Sports & Recreation

Algonquin Wolves | Basketball | OCAA | Wolves

Kolbe Devaux

See more articles by
Kolbe Devaux

ARC front and centre in College ward’s future

Algonquin College’s Jack Doyle Athletics and Recreation Centre featured heavily in the plans of College ward candidates during Ottawa’s municipal election. For the first time in its history since the […]

Kolbe Devaux

Photos: Kolbe Devaux

October 26, 2022
Revised: October 26, 2022 11:33am

Photo: Kolbe Devaux

The main gym at the Jack Doyle Athletics and Recreation Centre is the home of the Algonquin Wolves varsity basketball and volleyball teams.

Algonquin College’s Jack Doyle Athletics and Recreation Centre featured heavily in the plans of College ward candidates during Ottawa’s municipal election.

For the first time in its history since the City of Ottawa’s amalgamation, College has a new councilor at the helm following Laine Johnson’s election victory on Oct. 24.

Leading up to the election, two other candidates, Pat McGarry and Wendy Davidson, discussed the college’s new recreation complex.

The 125,000-square-foot facility is home to the Algonquin Wolves varsity basketball and volleyball teams and is open to the public only during the summer semester.

Speaking at the elections fair coordinated by Algonquin College on Oct. 17, McGarry said recreation is extremely important.

“It’s been on my platform right from the start,” he said. “I like Mark Sutcliffe’s plan of reducing fees by 10 per cent immediately because I can tell you there are so many families right now that cannot afford to put their children in sports or arts or anything like that and there’s a lot of seniors that way too. I have big plans for building back up community sports, community arts and community engagement.”

Sutcliffe won the mayor’s race. The new city council takes office on Nov. 15.

McGarry, who finished second in the College ward race, was very impressed with the Jack Doyle ARC.

“It’s a fantastic facility and I have had the real privilege of speaking to a lot of folks from the Students’ Association. We have facilities that should be used all the time. It does not make sense to me, at all, that we have great facilities sitting idle, and it will help the college, it will help the ward, it’ll help the community. It’s win win win,” said McGarry.

Davidson said the Jack Doyle ARC featured prominently in her plans for College ward. She finished in third place in the College ward election.

“When I met with the president it was something that I spoke with him about, saying that I’d love to have more engagement with the college and be able to use your facilities possibly and just get the community more comfortable with the college,” Davidson said.

Davidson said the cost of recreation in the ward is too high.

“I think it’s very important for, not just youth, but for everybody to be able to be active and involved in recreation so I think it’s something we need to make sure stays affordable for everybody,” Davidson said.

Municipal Election

Arc | College ward | Municipal election

Kolbe Devaux

See more articles by
Kolbe Devaux

Wounded women’s soccer Wolves survive injury crisis in crossover game

A three-person bench, a two-goal second half, one called-off game-tying goal and a late yellow card for assistant coach Steve Ball were all parts of the Algonquin Wolves’ 2-1 victory […]

Kolbe Devaux

Photos: Kolbe Devaux

October 26, 2022
Revised: January 30, 2024 3:36pm

Photo: Kolbe Devaux

Jordan Blades-McHenry (centre) drives past her defender into the penalty area. She would score to tie the match up at 1 - 1, leading to a Wolves victory.

A three-person bench, a two-goal second half, one called-off game-tying goal and a late yellow card for assistant coach Steve Ball were all parts of the Algonquin Wolves’ 2-1 victory over the Fanshawe Falcons on a cloudless Saturday afternoon.

For the fourth consecutive match, the hosts started with a weakened team as injuries from previous matches meant some players were unavailable for the must-win game.

However, the injury crisis was not the only obstacle the Wolves faced.

“There were a lot of nerves going into it,” said striker Jordan Blades-McHenry. “It was very intimidating not knowing what was going to happen especially because it’s a crossover game. You never know what the (West division) teams are going to be like.”

The Falcons capitalized on the Wolves’ nerves and took the lead in the 22^nd minute. It was only the fifth time this season the Wolves conceded first. Makayla Pearl nearly brought the home team level before half time but her 40^th minute free kick hit the crossbar, leaving the Wolves trailing at the break.

“We knew in that locker room we really wanted to win this game. We had an advantage playing at home because we’re used to training here and playing here. We knew we had to give it our best and go out on the field and score some goals,” said Blades-McHenry.

The rookie striker, who scored 14 goals in 10 regular season games, found the net just seven minutes after halftime to bring the Wolves back on level terms. Then in the 58^th minute, the Falcons failed to clear a corner and Pearl’s shot hit the opposition’s captain and sailed past the goalkeeper, giving the Wolves a 2-1 lead.

The Wolves had a major scare in the 77^th minute when the visitors managed to put the ball in the net but the offside flag was raised keeping the score line at 2-1.

For head coach Basil Phillips, the result was more important than the performance.

“It was a tough game,” he said. “That’s a playoff game. They’re scrappy, they’re ugly but you’ve got to find a way to win and we did that today.”

Phillips was particularly pleased with his team’s ability to convert scoring opportunities, a part of the game it has struggled with at times.

“I’m very proud of the team. We didn’t have a good first half but we regrouped and came out better in the second half. We still didn’t create a lot but timely finishing is what makes the difference between end of season and you’re going home or going to Provincials,” he said.

The head coach was full of praise for his squad’s fight in the face of adversity.

“We’ve got injuries all over the place,” he said. “Half the team is injured or playing injured. Today we had a very short bench and even one of them has an injury. But the determination of the team, especially those who started and finished the game, is just huge.”

Saturday’s victory secured the Wolves’ spot in the quarterfinals of the provincials.

“I’m definitely nervous but I’m super excited,” said Blades-McHenry. “I’ve never been to provincials before so it’ll be something new and I’m really excited to do it with this team.”

Blades-McHenry finished the regular season as the top scorer in the league with 14 goals. She only failed to score in two of the 10 matches she played.

Meanwhile, the Wolves’ finished in second place in the Ontario College Athletics Association’s East Division with 22 points from 10 matches. The Wolves won seven matches, lost two and had one draw.

The Wolves play the Niagara Knights on Oct. 27 in Game 4 of the quarterfinals at Vaso’s Field in Oshawa.

The 2022 OCAA women’s soccer championship is being hosted by Durham College.

Meanwhile, the Algonquin College men’s soccer team suffered a 2-1 defeat in its crossover game against the St. Clair Saints to end their season in disappointing fashion.

Featured Story | Sports & Recreation

Wolves | Women's soccer

Kolbe Devaux

See more articles by
Kolbe Devaux

Mark Sutcliffe wins Ottawa mayoral race

Updated Oct. 25, 11:30 a.m. Broadcaster and political rookie Mark Sutcliffe will be moving into the mayor’s office after defeating his main opponent, Catherine McKenney, in the Oct. 24 municipal […]

Magan Carty

Photos: Cameron Ryan

October 24, 2022
Revised: January 30, 2024 3:36pm

Photo: Cameron Ryan

Mark Sutcliffe speaks to reporters at Lago after winning Ottawa's mayoral race on Oct. 24

Updated Oct. 25, 11:30 a.m.

Broadcaster and political rookie Mark Sutcliffe will be moving into the mayor’s office after defeating his main opponent, Catherine McKenney, in the Oct. 24 municipal election.

A lifelong resident of the nation’s capital, he will take over for Jim Watson, who has been Ottawa’s mayor since 2010.

“What a beautiful night in Ottawa,” Sutcliffe said during the opening remarks of his victory speech at Lago restaurant on Dow’s Lake.

“I love Ottawa, and that’s never been more true than today.”

Sutcliffe’s centrist campaign led him to victory over 13 other candidates, despite having no prior political experience.

After the results became clear, Sutcliffe paid tribute to McKenney and referred to them as a “trailblazer.”

“Catherine is an incredibly passionate advocate for the most vulnerable, and Catherine has an unequalled ambition for what our city can be,” Sutcliffe said.

“I have always admired and respected Catherine, and every day in this campaign I gained even more respect for them.”

Once CTV declared Sutcliffe as the winner, McKenney’s supporters over at All Saints event space in Sandy Hill started booing and some even started leaving before McKenney could start their speech.

McKenney expressed disappointment in the results but gratitude for the support they received.

“This is not the result we hoped for but here we are. It’s tough and it’s disappointing but we are going to move forward,” McKenney said.

They encouraged supporters to share drinks, stories and tears.

“Tomorrow we will get back up and keep working to create the city we deserve,” McKenney said. “One night and one loss will not keep us down for long.”

McKenney will end their term as councillor for Somerset Ward on Nov. 14, the end of the current four-year term. They have held the ward seat since 2014.

The unofficial results had Sutcliffe winning 51.37 per cent of the vote, ahead of the 37.88 per cent captured by McKenney.

Bob Chiarelli, the only candidate with previous mayoral experience, won 5.08 per cent of the vote.

Ottawa mayoral candidate Bob Chiarelli addresses supporters on Oct. 24 after finishing third in the municipal election. Photo credit: Leslie Bader

At a Carling Avenue restaurant, Chiarelli thanked his supporters, friends and family after learning he would not become Ottawa’s next mayor. He said he felt like he could have fixed transit problems but will assist Sutcliffe if needed. Chiarelli said Ottawa transit had an “unpredictable future, escalating losses and unreliable service.”

To cap off his short speech, which touched on his long career in politics, Chiarelli offered: “You know what? I just might run again.” A friend replied, “You always say that, Bob.”

The unofficial voter turnout was 43.79 per cent.

Sutcliffe spent his career in media and has been a fixture in the Ottawa journalism scene for years. He founded the Ottawa Business Journal, hosted a radio show on CFRA and has written columns for the Ottawa Citizen.

Before the election, Sutcliffe released a list of priorities for his first 100 days in office, which included passing a city budget that caps the property tax increase to between 2 and 2.5 per cent, freezing transit fares and reducing recreation fees for children and youth by 10 per cent.

Sutcliffe told his supporters he promises to be a mayor for all of Ottawa.

“I am feeling a lot of emotions right now: humility, excitement, a lot of relief, but most of all, I’m feeling incredible gratitude,” Sutcliffe said.

On Nov. 15, he’ll join a revamped city council that includes 11 new ward councilors.

“Tonight, we are going to celebrate. But tomorrow we will get to work,” Sutcliffe said.

– with files from Leslie Bader and Tyler Beauchesne

Featured Story | Municipal Election

Catherine mckenney | Mark Sutcliffe | Municipal election

Magan Carty

See more articles by
Magan Carty

Michelle Young wins first Blair H. Tetreault Memorial Award

Michelle Young, a broadcasting-television student in her second year at Algonquin College, was visibly emotional after receiving the first Blair H. Tetreault Memorial Award on Oct. 21. “This means a […]

Magan Carty

Photos: Magan Carty

October 24, 2022
Revised: January 30, 2024 3:36pm

Photo: Magan Carty

In honour of her late husband, Louise Tetreault (left) presents Michelle Young (right) with the first Blair H. Tetreault memorial award.

Michelle Young, a broadcasting-television student in her second year at Algonquin College, was visibly emotional after receiving the first Blair H. Tetreault Memorial Award on Oct. 21.

“This means a lot to me,” Young said while tearing up during her acceptance speech at the ceremony and thanking the Tetreault family.

“I took a big risk in switching careers, and it’s touching my heart knowing my name was chosen to represent the values of such a special person. This will go up on the wall and it will stay there forever,” she said.

The annual $4,000 bursary was made possible by a $109,000 endowed gift from the family of Blair Tetreault, who worked in the live sports broadcasting industry for 40 years after graduating the same program as Young in 1981. His son, Scott Tetreault, is also a grad of the program.

Among many notable successes, Blair Tetreault covered the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary for CTV and the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan‎ for CBS. He and his crew won Emmy Awards for their coverage of the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, Norway.

When Tetreault passed away in June 2021, his family decided to honour his memory with an award for students following in his footsteps.

“We wanted to give back because the college afforded Blair the opportunity to have such a wonderful career,” said his brother, David Tetreault.

Matthew McCooeye, the coordinator of the broadcasting-television program, described Tetreault as a “father figure” who worked hard to bring out the best in every member of his crew.

“Thank you for sharing Blair with the rest of us,” McCooeye said to the Tetreault family during his speech. “Blair was the perfect companion for this business. He was someone we admired and tried not to disappoint.”

The Blair H. Tetreault Memorial Award reinforces the values Algonquin College tries to instill in all its students, according to president and CEO, Claude Brulé.

What makes the award unique, Brulé said, is the fact that it’s not just about academic performance.

“Technical skills are one thing, and they are important,” he said, “but warmth and kindness are equally important. It’s about being a good person.”

Young was chosen as the first recipient of this award because she contributed meaningfully to a sense of collegiality among fellow students and professors. She exemplified integrity, caring, learning and respect in addition to earning a GPA of 3.6 or higher in her first year of study.

“We stipulated those criteria because Blair was that kind of person,” said his wife, Louise Tetreault, who presented the award to Young.

“Not only was he strong technically, but he also shared a great deal of warmth and collegiality with his crew and made a point of mentoring people just getting started in their career,” she said.

Young aspires to broadcast live sports and events after graduation, just like Tetreault, and “feel that rush.” McCooeye said he knows there’s a place in the broadcasting industry waiting for her.

Young described the experience of receiving the award and seeing her name alongside Tetreault’s as “extremely validating.”

“I must be doing something right,” she said. “It’s a boost of confidence. I’m on the right track.”

Careers | Featured Story | News | People

Magan Carty

See more articles by
Magan Carty

Algonquin College professor’s TrendifyLive provided statistics for municipal candidates

In 2018, all of Alem Legesse’s work culminated in a Twitter feed that provides statistics for corporations and electoral candidates. The statistics and tools gathered through TrendifyLive provide electoral candidates […]

Tyler Major-Mcnicol

Photos: Tyler Major-Mcnicol

October 24, 2022
Revised: January 30, 2024 3:36pm

Photo: Tyler Major-Mcnicol

Alem Legesse, founder of TrendifyLive and a part-time computer programming professor at Algonquin College.

In 2018, all of Alem Legesse’s work culminated in a Twitter feed that provides statistics for corporations and electoral candidates.

The statistics and tools gathered through TrendifyLive provide electoral candidates with the analytics necessary to better connect with their target audience.

For example, you could research a specific timeline to access information about leading mayoral candidates.

TrendifyLive saves people from skimming through pages of information.

“TrendifyLive empowers voters to make informed decisions by providing them with simple and easy-to-use visual reports containing public sentiment and ranked candidates’ promises. The software is always trusted for its accuracy and insightfulness specifically up to and days before election day because of its real-time projections,” said Legesse, the founder of TrendifyLive and a part-time computer programming professor at Algonquin College.

Legesse’s goal was to simplify finding advanced statistics for those seeking out specific content and it has become a tool his students use for projects and assignments.

Salah Griffith is an engineering program student at Algonquin College. Legesse described her as a role model for many women, specifically in underrepresented groups. The reason being is she doesn’t let outside noise, or her skin colour deter her from her goals.

“I believe TrendifyLive is a great tool for people like me who get overwhelmed by the continuous management of multiple social media pages. It is a simple way to keep track of social media and the tool can be customized to your liking,” said Griffith, a third-year computer engineering student.

Griffith met Legesse during an intro to database course during the first semester of her first year in her program and she feels he has increased her passion and drive. While Griffith is driven to succeed and sets big goals, such as running her own business after graduation, Legesse pushes her to pursue her own business venture, rather than working for a corporation.

“There were many times after class we would discuss the semantics of becoming a successful, black entrepreneur and he would often motivate me to strive for more than what I set out for myself,” said Griffith.

Legesse believes TrendifyLive responds perfectly to the upcoming municipal election for three reasons.

“It tracks Twitter activities, and many candidates use the platform to communicate with voters and supporters. For the past couple of years, we have been covering Canadian elections including the federal, Ontario provincial, and Ottawa municipal. And our software is always trusted for its accuracy and insightfulness specifically up to and days before election day because of its real-time projections. The City of Ottawa has been one of our lead customers that included Mayor Jim Watson, and other councillors who are familiar with our software,” said Legesse.

Griffith believes social media has become a popular way to promote and connect with supporters.

“Social media is a crucial aspect of receiving feedback about a campaign. TrendifyLive easily gathers social media analytics so that candidates can figure out the most effective way to connect with their target audience and tailor their online presence accordingly,” said Griffith.

Legesse explained some of the things you can learn using his Twitter tool.

“[It can] measure the impacts of a candidate’s election activities. Overall voters’ sentiments towards the election and different candidates can be derived from the software,” he said.

Live predictions about the election or the campaign can be tracked daily or weekly. Instant reports before, during, and after a debate are easily accessible.

For Legesse, he feels he has only scratched the surface and has plans to expand the software to other countries, with an emphasis on his home continent of Africa. This will potentially gain more exposure and frequency of women competing for important roles in municipal, provincial, and federal politics.

“When the time is right, our team would like to expand to two other continents [Europe and Africa] as well, hopefully soon. Because as a start-up venture, we are always busy not only refining the tool but also introducing it to potential markets,” said Legesse.

“If a single story is to be told from TrendifyLive analysis over Twitter, the demand for change is historically driven by women of all backgrounds, both influential and ordinary citizens,” said Legesse about who has driven the demand for change and growth and inspired the advancement of TrendifyLive.

Featured Story | Municipal Election

Municipal election | Social media

Tyler Major-Mcnicol

See more articles by
Tyler Major-Mcnicol

Access to recreation amenities emerges as key municipal election issue

Ottawa’s municipal voters have indicated that one of the biggest issues for the next mayor to tackle is sports and recreation. According to a study by Broadbent Institute, 13 per […]

Tyler Beauchesne

Photos: Tyler Beauchesne

October 24, 2022
Revised: January 30, 2024 3:36pm

Photo: Tyler Beauchesne

A group of figure skaters participate in a session at the Nepean Sportsplex.

Ottawa’s municipal voters have indicated that one of the biggest issues for the next mayor to tackle is sports and recreation.

According to a study by Broadbent Institute, 13 per cent of the Ottawa population believes the issue of sports and recreation needs to be addressed. Many issues that need fixing include high enrollment fees, long wait times to register for programs, and the city’s website crashing due to high traffic.

However, candidates in this election have a clear plan to address this area if they get elected.

“What I can share with you is that one of the reasons I am running is that we have a real challenge with getting a lot of families and seniors out there to do sports and recreation,” Pat McGarry, a candidate in College ward, said on the recreation issue.

“We need to get on that as it gives opportunities to the youth to meet people and stay active which is the purpose of these facilities. What I keep hearing is that families and seniors cannot afford these activities and we need to do better as parents should not have to choose which of their children gets to do sports and which don’t.”

On the subject of expensive fees, Bernard Couchman, a mayoral candidate, said: “Since the cost of living is on the rise, I want to reduce the fees so that sports are more affordable. I want to make sure that everyone can have access to our facilities without issue because exercise can help everyone be better both physically and mentally. For sports, registration fees are way too high. I want to cap those fees at five dollars. I want the city to invest in this area and give the money back to you so that the public can participate in playing sports and creating memories. If you get young people involved in sports, they will develop life skills that will help them in the future such as teamwork, accountability, and leadership.”

Mick Mariani, a representative for mayoral candidate Mark Sutcliffe, talked about how Sutcliffe wants to fix the city’s website and how Algonquin College can be used to help out with the recreation issue:

“We have families who will wait until midnight on the city website to reserve their son and daughter and the website will just crash because of this,” Mariani said. “Mark wants to re-haul the website and hire more people to work on it. He has three kids and some of them are doing sports, so this issue is very important to him. Mark was on the board for Algonquin College, and he cares about this place a lot. The ARC is a great resource and Mark wants to use it to help with the issue.”

Amanda Presley, an English public school board candidate in the area of College and Knoxdale-Merivale wards, said that she wants to go back to using schools for public recreation.

“Our schools used to be used as recreation centres prior to COVID,” Presley said. “I would like to see a return to that where we use our schools after-hours for community groups. It would foster a sense of community that I feel we have lost in the last two years. For recreation fees, I would register my kids for swimming and it would be full within two hours. I think having more facilities, as well as more programs, will make it easier for multiple families to use these programs.”

Students also gave their opinions on what the city can do to fix the situation.

“Things need to improve,” said Alex Lara, a student at Algonquin College. “Maybe the city should start by making gyms just like the one here at Algonquin College. For these gyms, we can reduce the price of membership fees so that everyone can have access to them.”

Featured Story | Sports & Recreation

Election

Tyler Beauchesne

See more articles by
Tyler Beauchesne

Meet two current and former Algonquin College professors running for city council

Some of Algonquin College’s professors, both past and present, are running for city council in the Oct. 24 municipal election. Steve Desroches is running for city council in the Riverside […]

Tyler Beauchesne

Photos: Tyler Beauchesne/Steve Desroches campaign

October 21, 2022
Revised: January 30, 2024 3:36pm

Photo: Tyler Beauchesne/Steve Desroches campaign

Michael Wood (left) and Steve Desroches (right) are both current and former professors at Algonquin College seeking election.

Some of Algonquin College’s professors, both past and present, are running for city council in the Oct. 24 municipal election.

Steve Desroches is running for city council in the Riverside South-Findlay Creek ward. He is a former local government professor at Algonquin College who was a city councillor and deputy mayor from 2006 to 2014.

“I decided to run because I was approached by many residents in the ward to put my name forward so that the area would have an experienced city councilor,” Desroches said. “There is much work to be done to keep up with the growth in the area.”

Desroches explained why public transit would be a top priority if he is elected.

“The city operates a large number of services that impact students, such as transit. Their voice is their say. Voting is one of the key duties of citizens and part of a healthy democracy. Public Transit is a top priority. We need to ensure that the new O-Train service benefits the residents of the ward with a reliable feeder system to access the new service.”

Michael Wood is running for councillor in the Knoxdale-Merivale ward. He is a current professor at Algonquin College where he has been teaching business, music, media and film for 15 years.

“The only reason I decided to run for office was that I have a passion for helping people,” Wood explained. “I can think of over the last 15 years of being a part-time professor at Algonquin College where students would all say the same things about me. I saw a post where a student talked about how they sent an email to me at 2 a.m. and I responded in 5 minutes. I don’t care how big or small your problem is, I will always try to help you. You may say, ‘It’s no big deal’, but it is to you so it’s a big deal to me. I want the people to know that I want to help you in any way that I can.”

Wood talked about why it is important to encourage students to vote.

“One of the advantages of myself running for office is that the students see that their prof is running which could get them to want to get involved in the community,” Wood said. “They see us wanting to be engaged in the community and I think that everyone should be involved as it would make the community a better place. I prefer my students to call me Mike over professor as I always viewed myself as a mentor than a professor. Students get to see first-hand what’s involved in a campaign and getting involved. They want to ask questions about the election and I think it’s a super cool way to inspire students to do something in the future.”

One of Wood’s main goals as city councillor would be to improve the transit system, based on his experience with his students.

“I have students come late to class and apologize as their bus was late,” Wood said. “I tell them to take a seat and don’t worry about it because it’s not their fault. Then, I have other students tell me that they waited for the bus and even went early to the stop, and nothing showed up.”

Wood described his plan for fixing this issue.

“I will take the stories I hear from others up with everyone involved with city transit so that we can come up with a viable solution on this issue,” Wood said. “We have to work together to make it more efficient, affordable, and reliable. Once we do that, it will help everybody who uses it.”

Featured Story | Municipal Election

Municipal election | Professors