"As soon as we saw the virus starting to spread around the world, we started putting plans together to close events," said Mayor Ken Stannix of the Village of McAdam. "We actually closed down our village a couple days before the province put a lockdown into effect. We have a fairly older population that we have look out for."

Stannix has made international headlines as mayor for his progressive local leadership long before the COVID-19 pandemic. He famously increased the population of the village by offering $1 lots to people interesting in relocating to the area. While other small towns in New Brunswick were seeing their population decrease, Stannix increased McAdam's size and diversified the demographics with his innovative strategy to attract new residents. It's not surprising that his response to COVID-19 has been informed and progressive as well. 

"Looking ahead to Canada Day, we are asking locals to decorate their lawns and houses," said Stannix. "We still want to celebrate, but we want to do it safely."

In order to communicate effectively with residents while ensuring social distancing and public safety, Deputy Mayor Taylor Gallant has taken the lead on adopting new communications strategies. "We're using our village website, Facebook, and email and have adopted Zoom to put our council meetings online."

Gallant was elected to council when he was just 21 years old and hopes his work with village inspires other young people to get involved when municipal elections are held in May 2021. "You can make a real difference in your region," said Gallant.