10 Facts about Women in Canadian Politics

par Apathy is Boring Volunteer Melissa — 22 avril 2008

Did you know that Canada has been ruled by a woman for over 50 years? Since Canada is a constitutional monarchy, technically the sovereign of Canada is Queen Elizabeth II, who has reigned since 1952. As head of state, Queen Elizabeth II has been a huge fan of Canada and a strong supporter of Canadian national unity.

But most of the Queen’s powers are exercised through her representative the Governor General, a post that has been held by a woman for nearly a decade now. Chinese Canadian Adrienne Clarkson made headlines as the first woman of colour to take on this position in 1999, and Michaëlle Jean became the first black Canadian to serve as Governor General when she took over in 2005.

Even though the United States has yet to have a female President, Canadians can say that we’ve had a woman sit at the head of government. Kim Campbell became the first female Prime Minister in 1993 when Brian Mulroney announced his retirement and stepped down from the post. She took over his leadership of the Progressive Conservative party and, consequently, the top spot in Canadian government as well.

Women have also been appointed with other prominent roles in Cabinet, particularly as Deputy Prime Minister. This job has been dominated by women over the past 15 years, including the controversial Liberal MP Sheila Copps, who was a champion for women’s and minority rights, and fellow Liberal MP Anne McLellan, who was the most recent person to serve in this role.

Maybe they got tired of sitting on the sidelines while their husbands got to shake things up in Parliament every day. Canadians have seen two husband-wife teams take on federal politics since 2004: Gurmant and Nina Gurwal were both elected to Parliament as Conservative MPs in 2004, and currently Olivia Chow sits in the House of Commons with her husband Jack Layton, leader of the New Democratic Party of Canada.

Love her or hate her, Liberal MP Belinda Stronach definitely brought the public attention back to the role of women in Canadian politics. In a time when many women feel that they have to dress and act like “one of the boys” to make it in politics, with her pink shirts and trendy haircuts, Stronach showed that you don’t have to shun your feminine side to talk policy.

Beverley McLachlin was named the first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada in 2000, making her the first woman to head up the judicial branch of government. During her years on the Supreme Court, she helped legalize same-sex marriage, uphold child pornography criminal laws, and defend women’s rights to equality.

Women have been able to run for public office in Canada since 1919, but we’re still a long way off from achieving gender balance in provincial, territorial, and federal legislatures and Parliaments. Currently, only 21% of MPs nationally are women, and even Quebec, the province with the highest proportion of women in elected roles, only has 30% of these positions filled by women.

Despite these low numbers, women have been serving in politics since 1921, when Agnes Macphail became the first woman elected to the House of Commons as a member of the Progressive Party of Canada. She must have done a good job because she was re-elected four times—in the 1925, 1926, 1930, and 1935 federal elections.

Since 1918, both men and women have had the right to vote in elections. What does this mean for you? This means that if you want to see more balanced gender representation in Canadian politics—whether in the executive, legislative, or judicial branches of government, you have a responsibility to get out the vote and make that happen. The power is in your hands.

Sources:
Parliament of Canada
CBC
Supreme Court of Canada