Hadden Kelloway once considered leaving Sparwood, B.C. Now he's mayor
Hadden Kelloway once feared he wouldn't be accepted in Sparwood, B.C. Friends and neighbours convinced him to stay. Now, more than 30 years after arriving, he's the town's mayor.
Kelloway once considered moving away to transition. More than a decade later, he leads the community
Amber Wang · CBC News
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Hours before his swearing-in ceremony, Hadden Kelloway stood in front of a mirror at home, practising a speech he would soon deliver as the new mayor of Sparwood, B.C.
On Nov. 3, he took his oath of office in the small southeastern B.C. mining town where he has lived for more than three decades.
It was a moment he once could hardly have imagined.
Kelloway made history on Oct. 17, becoming B.C.'s first known openly transgender mayor.
He received 864 votes, compared with 334 for acting mayor Amy Cardozo.
His victory also marks a changing of the guard in Sparwood's local politics. The small mining town had been led for years by David Wilks, a former federal Conservative MP who stepped down in May.
Kelloway defeated his interim successor, while five of the six council seats went to newcomers.
Hadden Kelloway shows a tattoo he got after undergoing top surgery. He says it depicts a man trying to break free from a woman's body. (Amber Wang/CBC)
A community he almost left
After moving from Newfoundland, Kelloway planned to spend five years in Sparwood. He stayed for the friendships and tight-knit community. But when he decided to transition about 15 years ago, he found himself weighing a major decision.
"I felt that maybe a small town like Sparwood wasn't ready for it," he said.
He considered moving to Vancouver, Calgary or Edmonton, where he could go through his transition without people knowing his history.
Instead, conversations with family, friends and a colleague convinced him to stay.
After he told friends at his curling club about his plans, one put a unisex sign on the washroom door.
"I knew then that this is where I was going to stay at that moment," he said.
Later, staff at the local swimming pool made sure he had access to suitable changing rooms when he wanted to return to swimming.
Penny Lowe, who met Kelloway through a hockey team 32 years ago, was among the friends who supported him.
"To me it's the exact same person and nothing has changed for me," Lowe said.
Hadden Kelloway, left, and longtime friend Penny Lowe. The two met through a hockey team 32 years ago. (Amber Wang/CBC)
A new mayor, and calls for change
"That feeling of acceptance is undescribable," Kelloway said. "Now, when you get that town that accepts you to elect you as mayor ... It's an unbelievable feeling."
Preparing for the swearing-in ceremony also brought a personal first.
"The lady at the mall asked me what size of suit I took when I graduated school and I told her I had no idea. I actually wore a dress when I graduated." Kelloway said.
But Kelloway says taking office also means addressing what he heard during the campaign.
Residents told him they felt their local council wasn't listening.
"We lost that togetherness somewhere along the way," he said.
Kelloway says that he wants to create a closer relationship between councillors and district staff and local organisations.
For Lowe, the election carries its own expectations.
"I don't think there's going to be anything that's going to be hidden away from the people and everyone's going to know and have that voice and then it'll be answered," she said.
Hadden Kelloway took the oath of office as Sparwood's new mayor on Nov. 3, 2026. He won the election with 864 votes. (Amber Wang/CBC)
More than a personal milestone
"They did not cast their vote for what I was. Sparwood cast their vote for who I was," Kelloway said.
Although Kelloway has spoken publicly about his transition, he did not campaign on his transgender identity.
He suspects some people will be surprised by the results of the election.
"They'll be like, 'Oh my God, I didn't know he was a transgender man.' So that's the cool part, and that's the good part about Sparwood," he said.
Sparwood is a B.C. border town just 18 kilometres from Alberta. (Amber Wang/CBC)
Kelloway knows his experience is not universal.
"There's so many people in the world like me that are just abused and live on the streets and I've been so frigging lucky," he said.
He hopes to inspire more members of the 2SLGBTQ+ community to go into leadership positions and inspire other communities to be open to people of different backgrounds.
For Kelloway, the town he once considered leaving has become inseparable from his identity.
"Biologically, my birthplace is Newfoundland. But I was born in Sparwood."
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Amber Wang is an award-winning video journalist and filmmaker with CBC News based in Cranbrook, B.C. She previously worked for BBC World Service, focused on visually driven narratives. You can contact her at amber.wang@cbc.ca.
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