"Let me begin by saying to every girl and every young woman watching tonight: I believe in you and never stop believing in yourself. I hope that we have shown you that in your life, anything is possible. Sometimes it can feel like you take two steps forward and then one step back. But may you never ever stop taking those steps forward." — Alberta Premier Rachel Notley in her concession speech on Tuesday.
The transition in power in Alberta as a result of Tuesday's election will mark the end of an era with the loss of the last female premier in Canada. You have to go back to December 2, 2010 for the last day Canada didn't have at least one female provincial premier.
There were as many as 5 female premiers for most of 2013 and briefly in 2014 but only 2 by late April 2014.
Alberta has had 2 female premiers while British Columbia, Ontario, Quebec, as well as Newfoundland and Labrador have had a single female premier.
Kathy Dunderdale (Newfoundland and Labrador) started the modern trend on December 3, 2010. She took over as Progressive Conservative Party leader and premier and successfully led her party to a win in the 2011 election.
Christy Clark (British Columbia) took over as Liberal Party leader and premier on March 14, 2011. Clark's party won in 2013 and 2017, though Clark had to win a seat for herself after the 2013 election. Her party won a majority of seats in 2017 but couldn't form government.
Alison Redford (Alberta) became the Progressive Conservative leader and premier on October 7, 2011 and led her party in the 2012 election.
Pauline Marois (Quebec) started as the Parti Québécois leader in 2007. Marois became the official opposition leader after the 2008 general election. She became premier in the 2012 general election. In an attempt to gain a majority, Marois called for an election in 2014 and her party was thrown out of power.
Kathleen Wynne (Ontario) took over as Liberal Party leader and premier on February 11, 2013. Wynne led her party to victory in the 2014 general election. Her party fell to third place in the 2018 general election.
The pyramid of female premiers crumbled fast in the winter and spring of 2014. Dunderdale resigned in late January 2014. Redford ran into a number of issues and left in late March. Marois gambled to win a majority government but lost to the Liberals in late April.
The number went up to 3 when Rachel Notley (Alberta) became premier of Alberta in 2015. Notley became the NDP leader in 2014 when the party was in fourth place.
The number fell to 2 when Clark stepped down in 2017 even through her party technically won the most seats. Wynne lost to Doug Ford in the Ontario election in 2018.
Canada is losing female premiers: Politics or sexism?
There aren't many current contenders to spark the next wave of female Canadian premiers. Let's look at the current rosters of female party leaders in the Canadian provinces.
Rachel Notley will soon be the opposition leader in Alberta and has been the NDP leader since October 18, 2014.
Andrea Horwath is the opposition leader in Ontario and has been the NDP leader since March 7, 2009.
Manon Massé is a prominent force in the Quebec Solidarity Party, now the third-ranked party in the Quebec assembly. Massé is the longest serving QS MLA in the Quebec assembly.
Alison Coffin is the third straight female leader of the NDP in Newfoundland and Labrador. Coffin succeeded Gerry Rogers who succeeded Lorraine Michael. The NDP has 2 seats in the assembly. The Newfoundland and Labrador election is set for May 16, but Rogers and Michael are not running for re-election.
Jennifer McKenzie spent about 18 months in charge of the NDP in New Brunswick. McKenzie resigned as party leader in late February. The NDP has 0 seats in the New Brunswick assembly.
Alberta goes back to its conservative ways by electing the UCP
Is it easier for a woman to be a governor (equivalent of premier) in the United States. There are 5x as many states as there are Canadian provinces. The United States currently has 9 female governors: 6 Democratic and 3 Republican. 5 of them started serving earlier this year. 2 more governors, both GOP, would likely still be in office but couldn't run again due to term limits.
The dynamic in Canada is very different. 4 of the 6 female premiers of the modern era inherited power from long-time runs by men. Each of the female premiers won an election. Clark is the only female premier to win 2 elections.
Marois and Notley are the only premiers who didn't inherit the title by being the new party leader. When the baton is passed, that usually means a weakened party that is in charge. Brian Mulroney transitioning the prime minister role to Kim Campbell is a textbook example. The Progressive Conservatives fell to 2 seats in the 1993 federal election.
Marois had a minority government when she was first elected. Notley broke a 44-year streak by the Progressive Conservatives in Alberta. These don't lead to long terms as premier.
CanadianCrossing.com Canadian politics coverage
Kim Campbell briefly served as prime minister in Canada from June 25-November 4 in 1993. Pat Duncan was premier in Yukon for about 2½ years from 2000-2002. Eva Aariak was premier in Nunavut from 2008-2013 in a nonpartisan, consensus government.
Rita Johnston served all of 217 days in 1991 as leader of the British Columbia Social Credit Party and therefore British Columbia premier until her party fell in the next election. Nellie Cournoyea was premier of Northwest Territories from 1991-1995 in a nonpartisan, consensus government. Catherine Callbeck was the first female premier to win an election, leading Prince Edward Island from 1993-1996 for the Liberal Party.
Then there is Elizabeth May, the first Green Party MP. May has represented the Saanich—Gulf Islands riding since May 2, 2011 and has led the Green Party since August 26, 2006. While May is serving on the federal level, her influence on the Greens has helped in her home province of British Columbia, where the Greens help hold the balance of power. Next week's Prince Edward Island election may show huge gains for the Greens in that province.
The 2010s had an amazing run of female premiers in Canada. The 2020s decade starts in January. We will be very curious to see if the new decade comes even close to the success for female premiers in Canada.
photo credit: CBC News Network
Comments