Women in Canadian politics

3921: 1619:, the territorial Status of Women Council ran an educational seminar on women in politics, which was attended by all ten women who ran as candidates in the election campaign. Given the consensus government structure of the legislature, one of the strategies that the women pursued was to not run against each other, in an attempt to avoid splitting the vote; of the 19 legislative districts in the territory, only one had more than one woman candidate on the ballot. 1478:

critics dismissed her as being competent enough to bring the party's traditional core vote back following an unprecedented disaster, but not possessing the leadership skills necessary to take the party any further than its own base; in the subsequent 2009 election, the party won just two additional seats. After a period of caucus infighting, she was forced to announce her resignation as party leader in December 2010; notably, her (male) successor,

1258:, and thus a woman would have been elected premier of Prince Edward Island in 1993 regardless of which party won. Political analysts have debated, however, whether either woman could have won the election if the other party had been led by a man. Further, Callbeck's government proved unpopular, and she held power for just three years before she was forced to step down in favour of a new leader. 3935: 1246:

unintentionally complicate the efforts of women to achieve higher office. For instance, while it is possible in the United States for voters to choose one party's candidate for president or governor and a different party's candidate for their congressional or state representative, Canadians vote only for their local representative, and not directly for their premier or prime minister.

1434:

of the leadership campaigns, further, both became leader late in the final year of the government's mandate, just weeks before a mandatory election. As a result, both were left with very little time to demonstrate that their administrations could offer any sort of fundamental change, and thus remained vulnerable to the negative perceptions that voters held of their predecessors.

942:, however, the territory went from just two female MLAs before the election, ranking dead last in all of Canada for female representation in the legislature, to electing nine women, reaching virtual gender parity in the 19-seat legislature and immediately vaulting to the highest percentage of female representation in all of Canada. On July 27, 2021, following the resignation of 1520:, for instance, has commented on the uneasy relationship between leadership and gender: "I was called arrogant, aggressive and lacking compassion," she stated in 1997, "I don't have a typically female pattern of speech. I'm open and assertive. In men, those traits are perceived as leadership material. In a woman, they are denigrated". Similarly, 1634:, she spoke of the need for parliamentarians to make the political environment more family friendly, stating that "I hope we can make the world a place where women and new parents do not have to choose between their careers and their families...It is important for society to make it easier, not harder, to achieve work-life balance." 50:. Although female representation in politics has increased since then, and political parties have identified increasing the number of female candidates as an organizational and political goal, women are still significantly underrepresented in politics compared to the general population. Canada has had one woman Prime Minister, 1433:

substitute for creating a substantive policy platform. Campbell and Johnston, for instance, both inherited the leadership of scandal-plagued and unpopular incumbent parties which were considered unlikely to win the next election even before each woman assumed the party's leadership. Due to the timing

1249:

In the 1990s, parties led by women often fared particularly poorly in election campaigns, sometimes even losing elections their parties had seemed poised to win. This gave rise to extensive discussion of the double standards that the public applies to women in leadership roles; some commentators have

995:

As of 2023, the most common path for a woman to becoming premier or prime minister has been to win the leadership of the party that was already in power, thus immediately becoming the first minister without a general election. Women who attained a leadership position in this manner have, however, had

549:

This dearth of women in political leadership may, in some ways, be attributable to women's general exclusion from important cabinet positions that are seen as stepping stones to leadership. Women were largely excluded from Canadian cabinets until the 1970s. Only in rare instances do women comprise a

103:, as premier, and chose women for four of the six cabinet roles. After one of the 10 male MLAs resigned his seat in 2021, the resulting by-election was won by a woman, making the Northwest Territories the first jurisdiction in Canadian history to have an outright majority of its legislators be women. 1584:

In addition to the underrepresentation of women in politics overall, younger women are typically even more underrepresented. While younger men are quite regularly elected to political office at all levels of government, women under the age of 40 holding office at the provincial or federal levels are

1477:

Carole James had the most dramatic success of any woman leader in reviving a party in crisis, taking the British Columbia NDP from its dramatic defeat in the 2001 election – when it won just two seats and didn't even qualify for official party status – to 33 seats in the 2005 election. However, some

1114:

manages to go home for dinner with his kids every night, or most nights when he's in the country, and he has breakfast with them in the morning, and he's a pretty busy guy. He does a pretty good job. Every family has their own circumstances and makes its own decisions. I've talked about this with my

926:

In the 2017 Nunavut election six women were elected, vaulting the territory to 27 per cent female representation in the legislature and marking the first time in the territory's history that it ranked higher than last or second-last for female representation among Canada's provinces and territories.

1217:

received extraordinary publicity that focused on her beauty rather than any element of her capacity to represent her constituency or work as an MP. Also, former NDP leader Alexa McDonough was sometimes judged for wearing the same dress on multiple occasions, with magazines featuring headlines such

2288:

One barrier to women's participation in municipal politics that has been commonly identified is that while a few of Canada's largest cities pay their councilors enough that city council can be a person's sole full-time job, most smaller cities pay their councilors only a modest salary that may not

1397:

I've learned some lessons in my time in politics, and I learned women don't come to the political arena easily. Generally speaking, women have a lot of uncertainty about whether or not they have the kind of skills that will not only give them success, but staying power. It is seen as a blood sport

1245:

in the United States, prime ministers and provincial premiers in Canada are not independently elected by the general electorate; instead, the position goes automatically to the leader of the largest party caucus in the legislature. This creates a significantly different campaign dynamic, which may

1050:

As of 2023, seven of Canada's ten provinces have had a female premier, but only British Columbia and Alberta have had more than one. All three of Canada's territories have had at least one female premier each. As of November 2023, the female premiers are Caroline Cochrane, who was selected as

1016:

Women achieved a significant breakthrough in the early 2010s, when a number of women won the leadership of the governing political parties in their respective provinces within a short time of each other. Several journalists christened 2011 as "The Year of the Woman" because of the breakthrough; by

1405:

has also suggested that new opportunities have been opened for women due to recent changes in Canadian political culture. According to Smith, the fact that most governments in Canada have now instituted fixed election dates helps women, who still generally hold more responsibility for the care of

1536:

Because male and female politicians are judged according to disparate standards, Bashevkin has suggested that many women may be discouraged from entering politics in the first place. She writes, "Efforts to recruit more female candidates often fall short once the individuals being wooed start to

1398:

and you have to get the elbows up and there are many women who don't want to participate in that way. (Women) never think they know enough to be a candidate. They think they have to have the answer for everything, where the male candidates are much more confident and are more prepared to wing it.

1548:

Political parties which take a strictly hands-off approach typically find themselves unable to put forward a slate of candidates that is more than 20 to 25 per cent female – but parties which implement more active strategies often risk being criticized as "anti-democratic" if their programs too

1501:, she explains that female politicians are far less likely to receive media coverage than their male counterparts. Moreover, in the cases where women manage to attract coverage, the media often tends to " on personal style and private life matters, rather than on public policy views." Here, the 2292:

Among younger women, the fact that family tasks such as child care are still not always divided equitably between fathers and mothers has been identified as an issue; a woman with young children will often have more difficulty finding the time to add a political career to her schedule than her

2289:

even significantly exceed minimum wage, regardless of how many hours they work — making the council effectively a full-time job for only part-time pay, and thus largely restricting the role to people who have the time and resources to balance their council work with another source of income.

1473:

became leaders of provincial parties which had already been largely wiped off the electoral map. According to political scientist Linda Trimble, this made the leadership of these parties a "flawed prize" which a male politician would be seen as weak for even wanting – and then those women who

1381:

I can't tell you the number of women who say, I don't know if I have a thick-enough skin, or I don't know if I have what it takes. And I look at them and think: Okay, you told me you have three children. You started your own business. You now employ 73 people. And you tell me you don't have a

876:

Smith is premier; Anglade, Beck, Notley, Stefanson and Stiles are the Leader of the Official Opposition in their provinces; White, Furstenau and Chender lead third parties; and Massé is co-leader of a third party that maintains a tradition of always having both a male and a female co-leader.

1212:

Criticism of female politicians in Canada has often occurred in terms of aesthetic assessment that has worked to connect ideas about a politician's beauty to their political and leadership abilities. Clothing, hairstyles and overall appearance have all been subject to scrutiny. For example,

1544:

Political parties at both the federal and provincial levels have often faced difficulty in boosting the number of women prepared to stand as election candidates. This may be in part because women may be reluctant to run for parliament because of the adversity and combative nature of work.

456:, have run for the leadership of federal political parties. Brown was the first black woman to ever run for leadership of a federal political party. MacDonald unwittingly lent her name to a political phenomenon known as "Flora Syndrome" when even some of her own committed delegates at the 2310:

The FCM has set the goal of increasing the number of women in municipal government to at least 30 per cent by 2026, and has identified a number of strategies to do so, including mentoring programs, active recruitment of women to serve on municipal boards and committees, and implementing

2395:. The heads of state of the territories are commissioners representing the federal government, not the king. All are ceremonial roles with negligible real political power. The governor general and lieutenant governors are appointed by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister. 1325:

Pat Duncan, meanwhile, won the 2000 Yukon election against parties led by men, but her government lasted just two years before it was reduced to a minority when three Liberal MLAs resigned from the caucus – and in the resulting 2002 election, her party was nearly wiped out.

1017:

September 2012, in fact, fully half of all Canadian provinces had female premiers. By early 2014, however, two of the premiers had resigned amid controversy, which some analysts attributed in part to gender issues. According to political scientist Brenda O'Neill of the

1585:

especially rare. This dichotomy has been attributed to a variety of factors, including women being reluctant to take on the responsibilities of a career in politics until their children are older, as well as the belief that younger women are especially likely to face

1250:

noted, for instance, that when a party led by a woman loses an election, much greater blame is placed on the leader herself — or even on the entire concept of women as leaders — than when a man leads his party to defeat. Prior to the 21st century only one woman,

1474:

actually achieved a measure of success in reviving the parties often became vulnerable to internal leadership challenges once their work had returned the party to real contention for power, and renewed desirability as a prize for male politicians to pursue.

133:

in 1917, albeit in a limited capacity: the franchise was only extended to those who were in active military service or related to a man who was. This was followed by full suffrage in 1918, and the right to stand for election to the House of Commons in 1919.

1581:, slotting a disproportionate number of women candidates in ridings their party has little chance of winning while doing little or nothing about the fact that the more competitive candidate selection process in "winnable" seats still tends to favor men. 2273:– a position which is hired, not elected – in Canada. However, they still lagged significantly behind men as elected municipal councilors and mayors, representing just 23 per cent of all elected municipal officials. Only in Canada's three territories, 1537:

think about what happened to the few courageous pioneers who preceded them." This might explain the general decrease of female representation in Canadian government in recent years—for instance, a major federal party has not had a female leader since

1573:

Conversely, the federal New Democratic Party requires its riding associations to make at least a good faith attempt to ensure that women or minority candidates are on the ballot whenever a nomination contest is held, but does not set a quota per se.

1565:

nominate a woman in the resulting by-election or general election, in order to ensure that the party is placing women in "winnable" seats – however, this strategy faced criticism from some potential candidates who felt that the policy constituted

5762: 336:

holds the record for the most female candidates in a single election, with 582 women running for office that year. In terms of women elected to the House of Commons, the 2021 election also holds the record, with 103 successful female candidates.

1359:

in 2022, has noted that she faced not just indifference, but active discouragement, from both men and women – based around the notion that at age 35, she was too young and hadn't earned the right to get into politics – when she first ran for

153:. Macphail was the only one successful in winning a seat, and she became the first woman to be elected into the House of Commons. Macphail was re-elected in the next four elections, and was the only woman in the House of Commons until the 1008:

in Alberta — have become premier of a province or territory by leading their party to victory in a general election in which they were not already the incumbent premier: Duncan was elected in 2000, Marois in 2012, and Notley in 2015.

1167:

distracted her from conducting a proper campaign in the 1993 election. He did not, however, elaborate on how Campbell's personal life constituted a greater distraction to her political career than his own family life with his wife

106:

As of 2010, Canada ranked 50th in the world for women's participation in politics, with women holding just 23 per cent of the seats in federal, provincial and territorial legislatures. At the federal level, Canada was tied with

5725: 5986: 4698: 1086:

Women in politics still sometimes face a double standard, with their personal lives subject to greater scrutiny than those of men in equivalent positions. In what some commentators have characterized as an example of sexism,

2293:

husband does, and may in fact end up being even worse off financially as a councilor's salary may not actually be enough to cover the cost of paid childcare. Even older women are not immune to this issue, however; in 2010,

1012:

No woman premier has ever won two successive general elections, however; as of 2023, every woman premier who has won one election has either lost, or resigned the office in advance of, her second election at the helm.

2285:, did women represent more than one-third of elected municipal officials at the time of the study, and the Yukon was the only province or territory in all of Canada where more than one-third of all mayors were women. 1368:

I found it was very paternalistic. From men and women, I kept hearing that I was too young and that it wasn't my turn. I was told I should wait until I was older, even though there were male councillors younger than

665:, in the same election. MacAdams was elected to a special temporary seat allotted to soldiers and nurses serving in World War I. McKinney and MacAdams were the first two women elected in the British Commonwealth. 1660:. (Reeve is a position similar to mayor, with the difference that Barss was selected and appointed internally by her colleagues on the village council, not directly elected to the position by the voters.) In 1936, 1021:, "I think there still is a double standard that's applied to women versus men in terms of how they lead, the degree of support they are given and the degree to which is extended to them when they make mistakes." 996:

a mixed record of success or failure in their first general elections as leader; Campbell and Johnston both failed to win reelection, while several other women (including Callbeck) succeeded. Only three women —

5670: 5730: 5720: 1091:

was asked by several journalists to explain how she could properly do her job as provincial Minister of Education while simultaneously raising a newborn child; her then-husband, Liberal Party strategist

5881: 5680: 1382:

thick-enough skin and you don't think you have what it takes? Look in a mirror. Why is it that some people who are so capable and so accomplished somehow still don't think they have what it takes?"

1604:

in the House of Commons, an excessive focus on women parliamentarians' appearance rather than their ideas and skills, and the need to take advantage of modern communications technologies, such as

1516:

Furthermore, many desirable leadership qualities are commonly associated with masculinity. As a result, a female politician who displays these qualities may be seen as off-putting and unfeminine.

5926: 1596:, whose board consists of several prominent female politicians, works to assist women in running for public office through education, advocacy and professional networking. When former federal MP 88:, of coming the closest that a governing party caucus has ever come to attaining gender balance — the party's caucus had 25 women and 28 men, representing a caucus that was 47 per cent female. 5921: 5901: 1191:, for instance, was criticized in a relatively civil manner for the ethics of his floor-crossing, Stronach was variously labelled a "dog", a "dipstick" and a "whore" by her former colleagues. 1150:

gave birth to a child in 1988, and was dismissed by another MLA as "a high-priced babysitter" when she set up a playpen in her office and took time out from a committee meeting to breastfeed.

915:

The Northwest Territories and Nunavut often have the smallest percentages of female members of any legislature in Canada; however, women's representation made significant breakthroughs in the

80:, of becoming the first party with official party status ever to have an elected caucus that reached or exceeded parity between women and men, with four women and two men elected as MLAs. The 5737: 5675: 280: 1345:, one of Canada's first prominent women mayors, once famously quipped that "Whatever women do they must do twice as well as men to be thought half as good. Luckily, this is not difficult." 5752: 5611: 648: 4251: 6068: 1254:

in Prince Edward Island, had ever won election to a first ministership in Canada — notably, she led her party into an election where the main opposition party was also led by a woman,

69:. At various times, parties have also had 100 per cent female representation in their caucuses, but again only by virtue of having a caucus that consisted of just one or two members. 1406:

children and aging or ailing parents than most men do, to plan more easily toward a goal of running for political office; and the fact that most political parties have now moved to a

1200:, Kim Campbell claimed that her own campaign staff sometimes treated her more as a figurehead than as the actual leader of the party, even going so far as to keep campaign offices at 1100: 698: 4972: 4930: 4695: 1600:

was given an award by Equal Voice for her role in advancing women's participation in politics, in her speech she identified some of what she saw as the barriers, including a lack of

407:

was the first woman to win the leadership of a party with seats in the House of Commons. Louise Blanchard (Acadian party) was the first woman chief of a provincial party in Canada.

2439:

in 1974. Since then, all ten provinces have had female lieutenant governors, and all three territories have had female commissioners. The first female territorial commissioner was

550:

significant proportion of Canadian cabinets, as in the case of then-Ontario Premier Bob Rae's first cabinet in 1990, in which 11 of 26 ministers were women. As of July 2013, the

1502: 5304: 4382: 5976: 5966: 5742: 5449: 701:

of a legislature — although Smith had also previously served a short stint as Acting Speaker, and was similarly the first woman in both Canada and the British Empire to do so.

176:

was elected in a 1941 Edmonton by-election to succeed her late husband. On March 13, 1944, Casselman became the first woman ever to preside over the House of Commons as acting

5238: 4325:"Making a Difference When the Doors Are Open: Women in the Ontario NDP Cabinet 1990-1995" In Opening Doors Wider: Women's Political Engagement in Canada (Ed. Sylvia Bashevkin) 6053: 6038: 4743: 4563: 2640:, the territory's first-ever partisan legislative election. Although the party wins the election, Watson fails to win her own seat and thus does not become government leader. 5259: 5412: 4453: 6006: 539: 4158: 616:, a group of five women whose activism originally secured the right of women to be named to the Senate, were posthumously named as honorary senators in 2009. The women – 5747: 3833: 1153:

Both Copps and Campbell wrote in their autobiographies that their romantic and family lives were excessively scrutinized by colleagues and journalists. In the 2006 book

457: 419: 1123:

became the first woman in Canadian history to give birth to a child while serving as a provincial cabinet minister. She was followed in 2001 by Christy Clark. In 1987,

357: 5864: 5807: 3756: 2788: 2648: 5558: 5817: 4579: 3636: 2852: 2826: 2757: 57:

Political parties have occasionally achieved balanced representation in their elected caucuses, but mainly as a byproduct of a party collapse – for example, in the

5174: 4435: 5891: 5834: 5482: 2365:, women were elected to six of the seven seats (including the mayoralty). This council also included two women under the age of 40 at the time of their election. 1067: 599: 1280:

despite having more than a 10 per cent lead in the polls when the election was called. McLeod was criticized for a perceived tendency toward weak leadership and

6063: 5644: 4768: 580:

was appointed as the first woman to sit in the Senate. In 1955, Wilson achieved another first, becoming the first woman to become Deputy Speaker of the Senate.

4809:"Crafting a Public Image: Women MPs and the Dynamics of Media Coverage." In Opening Doors Wider: Women's Political Engagement in Canada (Ed. Sylvia Bashevkin) 5911: 5829: 5478: 4117: 3613: 533: 120: 5996: 5916: 5871: 4544: 3690: 3680: 3646: 1616: 939: 920: 96: 5991: 2769: 4600: 4177: 3623: 2897: 2659: 2452: 295: 177: 5839: 5606: 5442: 3511: 2148: 1377:

has asserted that one of the biggest barriers to women's greater participation in politics is their own fear of stepping into the public spotlight:

676: 503: 349: 62: 5886: 4847: 3572: 1238: 1107:

how she planned to balance her role as a mother with the responsibilities of serving as provincial premier if she won – to which Clark responded:

981: 4224: 2346:, with 15 women councillors representing exactly one-third of the full council. Women have also represented around a third of elected members of 5795: 3988: 3857: 1487: 1289: 314:, which title she assumed (after resigning her seat in Parliament) on 28 January 1984. Sauvé would continue as vicereine until Christmas 1989. 5849: 5588: 5583: 5578: 5573: 5568: 5563: 5553: 5548: 5543: 5538: 5533: 5528: 5523: 5518: 5513: 5508: 5503: 5498: 5493: 5488: 3155: 2477:

is the first woman in Canada to be elected to any office. She served six years on the Victoria School Board and was presented to the future

2262: 1554: 1285: 124: 4980: 4905: 4493: 4050: 4927: 3200: 3072: 2726: 2633: 1649:

in 1917, becoming the first woman ever elected to any municipal office in Canada. However, women had previously served as school trustees.

1052: 566:

Although women gained the right to stand for election to the House of Commons in 1918, women did not have the right to be appointed to the

449: 377: 1528:

have been accused of harshness and stridence, with Copps receiving the epithets of "baby", "slut" and "bitch" in Parliamentary discourse.

1047:

system, in which they were selected by their colleagues in the legislative assembly rather than by leading a political party to victory.

6132: 5435: 4867: 3807: 3089: 2102: 969: 5373: 1261:

However, as the number of women leaders has increased, several other women leaders have since led their parties to election victories.

6028: 6016: 5769: 5301: 3480: 3004: 2221: 2021: 984:, but the party was defeated in the subsequent general election. The first woman to become premier by winning a general election was 6058: 5956: 5876: 5802: 5705: 5637: 5357: 5133: 5102: 5071: 5040: 5009: 4286: 2811: 2374: 959: 661:

in 1917 to represent the electoral district of Claresholm. McKinney's victory was certified prior to the election of another woman,

484: 65:

achieved gender parity in their elected caucus, but only by virtue of electing just two Members of Parliament nationwide and losing

5279: 4747: 2304: 99:, with nine women and 10 men elected as MLAs; at the first formal meeting of the legislative assembly, the MLAs selected a woman, 5710: 5700: 5695: 5690: 5391: 4616: 4202: 4007: 3967: 3000: 2667: 1390: 935: 4162: 3881: 3325: 3024: 2777: 2765: 2604: 2582: 2512: 2343: 1425:

Conversely, commentators have also claimed that political parties in Canada have tended to turn to female leaders as an almost

1329:

Some have attributed this to the belief that the voting public widely ascribes leadership qualities more to men than to women.

658: 584: 438: 257: 5417: 1127:

became the first woman in Canadian history to give birth to a child while sitting as a federal Member of Parliament. In 1999,

6101: 6091: 5933: 5812: 3552: 3392: 2926: 2711: 2567: 2436: 2399: 1627: 1361: 1307: 1303: 1265: 1242: 1196: 1187:

in 2005, political reaction to her announcement took on a very different tone than similar moves by male politicians – while

415: 404: 373: 369: 365: 361: 345: 341: 333: 264: 227: 211: 200: 192: 165: 154: 138: 58: 47: 4885: 1341:

that women in politics have to be tougher, stronger and harder-working than men to reach the same level of achievement, and

727:

Women serving as leaders of political parties which hold legislative seats at the provincial level as of November 2023

5336: 3442: 3256: 2497: 1277: 916: 680: 422:, but lost the subsequent general election. No woman has yet been elected Prime Minister of Canada in a general election. 130: 85: 35: 1333:, for example, once noted in a newspaper interview that "if you're a woman and you're aggressive, you're a ball-buster", 6127: 5630: 5472: 5171: 2916: 2841: 2644: 2615: 2388: 2266: 2251: 1623: 1352: 1322:, proved unable to capitalize on early signs of popularity, all ultimately losing significant ground for their parties. 1296:

shifting in the wind, and the party's popular support dropped almost 20 percentage points in the space of just 40 days.

1222: 1180: 519: 453: 268: 81: 2412:

was the first female governor general of Canada, appointed in 1984. Four other women have since been governor general:

1612:, so that both men and women in politics have greater flexibility to balance their job duties with their family lives. 1429:

ploy in times of crisis – in some cases, parties have been accused of relying on the "novelty" of a female leader as a

260:

for two days in 1958 while the PM was out of the country on a state visit, the first woman ever to be given that duty.

6043: 5320: 3231: 2637: 2362: 977: 719:, the territory's first partisan legislative election – however, she was defeated in her own riding by another woman, 716: 515: 480: 77: 558:

became the first prime minister to appoint a fully gender-balanced cabinet with equal numbers of both men and women.

2303:

that she was only able to serve on city council because as a retired teacher she was able to support herself on her

491:

of their parties during leadership campaigns; however, Grey was considered only an acting Leader of the Opposition.

5854: 5757: 4903:

The accidental symbol: How Martha Hall Findlay became synonymous with 'women in politics'—despite her best efforts.

4633: 4479: 4338: 3780: 2822: 2815: 2715: 2689: 2523: 2384: 2078: 2058: 529:

Two smaller political parties which currently do not hold any seats in the House of Commons are also led by women:

311: 73: 39: 4528: 4023: 6023: 5946: 5941: 4413: 4360: 4073: 3225: 2936: 2792: 2489: 1882: 1589:

assumptions that their political and professional abilities are unequal to those of men in the same age bracket.

1155: 938:, the two largest and most urbanized communities in the territory, in any election between 1995 and 2019. In the 226:– were elected to Parliament. Every subsequent election has had at least two women elected to Parliament, except 4650: 4804: 3891: 2749: 2625:

becomes Canada's first female Deputy Minister, Ministry of Community & Social Services, Province of Ontario

2600: 2323: 1631: 1225:

in 2004 was labeled "Blond Ambition"; Stronach later attracted more press for dyeing her hair brown and dating

613: 588: 322: 299: 276: 141:, the first general election where women had full participation, five women stood as candidates: Harriet Dick, 2338:, Ontario, with women holding four of the seven ward seats alongside three male councillors and a male mayor. 5198: 4024:"'Gender never came into my mind,' says woman who brought N.W.T. Legislature to Canada's 1st female majority" 6106: 3607: 3267: 2920: 2912: 2863: 2803: 2682: 2456: 1933: 1426: 1184: 947: 881: 862: 694: 488: 381: 353: 4844: 1163:– Campbell's immediate predecessor as Prime Minister – asserted that Campbell's romantic relationship with 5774: 3797: 2930: 1567: 897: 621: 543: 238: 237:

Shipley became, in 1955, the first woman in Canadian history to introduce the formal motion to accept the

185: 150: 3218: 2563: 1497:

has noted the disparity between how male and female politicians are perceived by the public. In her book

1142:

was criticized for asking her in an interview whether her new job as premier would leave her any time to

441:, although this is largely a ceremonial post whose duties and power are dependent on the Prime Minister. 203:, the only election after 1921 in which no female candidates were elected to Parliament at all. However, 4408: 4290: 3875: 3340: 3235: 2738: 2700: 2444: 2347: 2331: 2330:, Ontario, with women holding the mayoralty and six of the 11 ward seats, and represent exactly half of 2282: 1840: 1411: 1273: 1032: 1018: 572: 554:

Cabinet had 11 female ministers in a cabinet of 39, though most held minor portfolios; in October 2015,

511: 396: 303: 173: 66: 5150: 2596:

becomes the first woman to be nominated as a candidate for the leadership of a federal political party.

17: 2350:

in recent years, but have approached or exceeded 50 per cent of candidates elected to the lower-level

1096:, was not asked the same question despite holding a similarly busy and high-profile public position. 5223:"Parliament gets a makeover: An influx of young women could help change Canadian politics for good". 4724: 3844: 2351: 2339: 2095: 1646: 1281: 1044: 989: 92: 4823: 668:

MacAdams was the first woman in the British Empire to introduce a piece of legislation for debate.

6086: 5653: 4939: 3948: 3055: 2622: 2178: 1855: 1407: 1374: 1338: 1147: 800: 510:, who entered the House of Commons in the 2011 election as the leader and first elected MP of the 5243: 4902: 4782: 4225:"'She cleared our path': First female external affairs minister, Flora MacDonald, dead at age 89" 3901: 3664: 3548: 3425: 3415: 3402: 3114: 2983: 2848: 2799: 2761: 2392: 1967: 1558: 1550: 1466: 1251: 1176: 1060: 985: 368:, although they are a minor party who have never won a seat in the House of Commons. Between the 307: 181: 5032: 5026: 639:

In November 2020, the Senate briefly reached gender parity, with 47 male and 47 female members.

5125: 5119: 5094: 5088: 5063: 5057: 5001: 4995: 2772:

soon afterward, becoming the first woman in Canada to win a premiership in a general election.

5285: 5260:"NDP MP Moore, who gave birth during campaign, wants MPs to ‘aim higher’ on work-life balance" 5129: 5098: 5067: 5036: 5005: 4575: 3312: 3308: 3298: 3285: 3059: 2837: 2707: 2593: 2578: 2559: 2417: 2413: 2335: 2312: 2168: 2158: 2138: 2112: 2085: 1984: 1862: 1669: 1665: 1605: 1386: 1356: 1342: 1128: 1028: 836: 743: 445: 434: 400: 249: 242: 100: 95:

of the Northwest Territories achieved near gender parity across the entire legislature in the

4953:"What Now? After bringing the NDP far in 2005, this time Carole James couldn't seal the deal" 4092: 679:

in 1918 and was appointed to the BC government cabinet in 1921. Irene Parlby (elected in the

344:

has nominated the most female candidates in every election since its creation, except in the

6096: 3885: 3851: 3820: 3801: 3747: 3736: 3515: 3491: 3333: 3242: 3159: 3149: 3142: 3107: 3100: 3035: 3018: 2953: 2947: 2940: 2830: 2734: 2730: 2696: 2611: 2586: 2574: 2538: 2527: 2508: 2440: 2432: 2238: 2214: 2125: 1916: 1597: 1525: 1506: 1494: 1454: 1446: 1419: 1315: 1311: 1173: 1164: 1024: 965: 943: 889: 672: 662: 607: 603: 567: 392: 284: 253: 204: 1131:

became the first Member of Parliament to bring her newborn baby into the House of Commons.

5361: 5308: 5178: 4934: 4909: 4851: 4702: 4252:"Highest percentage ever of female and gender-diverse candidates running in this election" 3940: 3576: 3467: 3460: 3453: 3329: 3204: 3028: 2977: 2753: 2663: 2504: 2294: 1957: 1943: 1737: 1609: 1538: 1450: 1299: 782: 769: 654: 633: 595: 495: 215: 31: 5354: 4294: 3250: 2655: 2409: 1115:

family. My son is no longer a toddler. We've had this conversation. And we can handle it.

523: 291: 263:

The number of women elected to the House reached double digits for the first time in the

2566:, the first woman to lead a provincial political party in Canada, becomes leader of the 5264: 5225: 4720: 4549: 3895: 3861: 3784: 3712: 3684: 3600: 3541: 3474: 3429: 3406: 3347: 3302: 3292: 3194: 3183: 3176: 3169: 3128: 3121: 3093: 3083: 3076: 3049: 2987: 2901: 2891: 2884: 2784: 2678: 2545: 2534: 2519: 2485: 2448: 2255: 2191: 2068: 2031: 2011: 1950: 1926: 1909: 1767: 1661: 1657: 1653: 1510: 1458: 1402: 1348: 1255: 1201: 1160: 1120: 1111: 1071: 1056: 1001: 901: 823: 795: 684: 625: 577: 555: 551: 326: 231: 169: 146: 142: 43: 4677: 1204:'s preferred room temperature even if Campbell ordered them to adjust the thermostat. 494:

Four other women have served as leaders of political parties in the House of Commons:

27:

Representation by women has been a significant issue in Canadian politics since 1900.

6121: 5183: 4914: 4707: 3926: 3837: 3723: 3705: 3694: 3640: 3617: 3583: 3559: 3446: 3419: 3386: 3260: 3246: 3187: 2957: 2722: 2674: 2493: 2421: 2247: 2051: 2041: 2001: 1994: 1899: 1875: 1820: 1807: 1319: 1188: 1169: 1093: 1088: 1005: 973: 905: 810: 720: 507: 472: 430: 219: 3742:

Leaders of all political parties represented in the Legislature – Kathy Dunderdale,

2342:

also surpassed the Federation of Canadian Municipalities' 30 per cent target in the

5378: 5341: 4889: 4872: 4584: 4055: 3993: 3791: 3774: 3743: 3566: 3531: 3484: 3372: 3365: 3274: 3011: 2807: 2773: 2745: 2629: 2552: 2403: 2299: 2270: 1977: 1827: 1754: 1704: 1521: 1517: 1470: 1442: 1330: 1214: 1139: 1124: 950:, the Legislative Assembly had a majority of women legislators— a first in Canada. 909: 893: 885: 849: 704: 690: 629: 617: 476: 468: 426: 411: 318: 196: 158: 51: 2555:

of BC becomes the first woman in the Commonwealth elected speaker of a legislature

2670:, making her the first woman to lead a political party in a Canadian legislature. 930:

In the Northwest Territories, a woman was not elected to any district outside of

399:

was the first woman ever to win the leadership of a federal political party, and

4620: 3650: 3630: 3505: 3379: 3281: 2973: 2905: 2859: 2474: 2380: 2327: 2228: 2201: 1889: 1800: 1790: 1780: 1642: 1593: 1577:

At various times, both federal and provincial parties have also been accused of

1462: 1438: 1334: 1293: 931: 708: 499: 460:

failed to vote for her, a loss of support which many commentators attributed to

223: 5413:

Library of Parliament ; Women Candidates in General Elections 1921 to Date

4952: 2714:) becomes the first woman to lead a political party with representation in the 1284:

on the issues, especially after she withdrew her party's support from the 1994

3916: 3905: 3811: 3760: 3719: 3701: 3358: 2964: 2425: 1744: 1714: 1479: 1415: 1269: 1036: 997: 756: 356:

nominated the most female candidates for the first time in their history. The

108: 5427: 1668:

became the first woman ever elected as mayor in a general election; in 1951,

4637: 3657: 3396: 1724: 1509:'s marital status "four times as often as they did that of fellow contender 1104: 272: 4494:"The Canadian Senate briefly reached gender parity — here's why it matters" 2768:

in January by winning the leadership of the governing party; she calls the

2703:) becomes the first woman ever to lead a federal political party in Canada. 636:– are the only people in the history of the Senate to be given this honor. 498:, who succeeded McLaughlin as leader of the New Democratic Party in 1995; 5324: 5121: