{"id":199018,"date":"2019-05-09T10:31:00","date_gmt":"2019-05-09T14:31:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/irpp-policy-options.local\/issues\/alberta-pei-votes-say-women-politics\/"},"modified":"2025-04-14T04:45:00","modified_gmt":"2025-04-14T08:45:00","slug":"alberta-pei-votes-say-women-politics","status":"publish","type":"issues","link":"https:\/\/potestlaunch.irpp.org\/fr\/2019\/05\/alberta-pei-votes-say-women-politics\/","title":{"rendered":"What the Alberta and PEI votes say about women in politics"},"content":{"rendered":"

Much has been made of Rachel Notley\u2019s loss to Jason Kenney and the United Conservative Party in Alberta \u2013 there are once again no women premiers in Canada. But this isn\u2019t the only story to tell about women in Canadian politics. In other elections, including the one in Prince Edward Island, the results show that gender equity is not inevitable and progress for women is not linear.<\/p>\n

Women\u2019s representation in the legislature, like Notley\u2019s premiership, was a casualty of the Alberta election. The number of women elected fell from 29 to 26. Women are also underrepresented at the cabinet table, at 30 percent. Notley\u2019s cabinet was 53 percent women (she beat Trudeau to the punch at gender equity in 2015 but received less praise \u2013 and less criticism \u2013 for it). With women making up fewer than 1 in 4 of the governing UCP MLAs, parity under Kenney was always a long shot.<\/p>\n

On the surface, the news is better from PEI, where the number of women increased to 23 percent. While an improvement over 2015, 6 women in the Legislative Assembly is still fewer than were elected in 2007, according to the PEI Coalition for Women in Government<\/a>. If parity in cabinet was unlikely in Alberta, it is an impossibility in PEI. Just 1 <\/em>of the Progressive Conservative party\u2019s 12 MLAs is a woman.<\/p>\n

So, what lessons do these elections hold for women in Canadian politics? First, parties on the right need to do more to recruit and run more women. In Alberta, just 31 percent of candidates running for the UCP were women compared to more than half of all NDP hopefuls. In PEI, 26 percent of PC candidates were women, fewer than either the incumbent Liberals or the top-of-the-polls Greens.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Alberta Premier Jason Kenney, flanked by his cabinet, speaks after being sworn into office in Edmonton on April 30, 2019. THE CANADIAN PRESS\/Jason Franson<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As parties on the right<\/a> win<\/a> elections<\/a> across<\/a> the country<\/a>, gender equity in Canadian politics rests on the ability of conservative party leaders and organizers to recruit women to run under their banner.<\/p>\n

The problem appears to be complacency. To run a gender-balanced slate of candidates, Kenney only needed to recruit 44 talented conservative women across the province. In PEI, Dennis King only had to find 14. This shouldn\u2019t be hard. Organizations like Equal Voice<\/a>, the PEI Coalition for Women in Government<\/a>, She Leads<\/a>, and Parity YEG<\/a> are doing their part, but parties are the real power holders, and they need to do the heavy lifting.<\/p>\n

Running more women isn\u2019t, on its own, enough. Women made up 31 percent of UCP candidates, but just 24 percent of the newly elected caucus. The drop off was even more significant in PEI \u2013 26 percent of candidates for the PCs were women, but the 1 woman elected represents just 14 percent of the party\u2019s MLAs. Why? It\u2019s not voters \u2013 there is no evidence in Canada that voters discriminate against women at the polls \u2013 it\u2019s where <\/em>women are running.<\/p>\n

Women in both\u00a0provinces\u00a0were much more likely to be running in ridings largely considered unwinnable, and much less\u00a0likely to be running in party strongholds. In Alberta, almost three times as many men as women (30 to 11) ran in seats considered UCP strongholds. In PEI, there were no women running in ridings where their party\u2019s success was considered a sure thing.\u00a0This isn\u2019t a problem just for conservative parties nor is it unique to Alberta or PEI, it\u2019s a trend across the country<\/a> in both recent and past elections<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Parties need to run more women and provide them with the necessary resources in the ridings where they can win. If parties won\u2019t do it, it\u2019s time for more proactive measures. In New Brunswick<\/a>, new campaign finance laws mean per-vote subsidies are based on gender, and parties get more money when they run women in ridings where they can secure the most votes. A 2016 failed Private Member\u2019s Bil<\/a>l by former NDP MP and current Vancouver Mayor Kennedy Stewart would have penalized parties for running too few women. As we inch toward, and sometimes away from, gender equity in politics, it\u2019s clear we need to do more.<\/p>\n

Now, a message for those tempted to say, \u201cforget all this number-counting-identity-politics \u2013 may the best person win.\u201d The assertion that Canadian democracy is a meritocracy rests on the unsaid belief that women, underrepresented at every level of government, have less skill, knowledge or capacity. They don\u2019t. Our country would be better if the structural barriers that prevent equal opportunity in politics were dismantled. We need more opportunities for women in politics, especially LGBTQ, minority and Indigenous women. Canada needs their experience, expertise and energy.<\/p>\n

Photo: Alberta NDP Leader Rachel Notley interacts with Kathleen Hinke, 5, as she makes a campaign stop at a daycare in Calgary on April 10, 2019. THE CANADIAN PRESS\/Dave Chidley<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

Do you have something to say about the article you just read? Be part of the\u00a0<\/em>Policy Options\u00a0discussion, and send in your own submission.\u00a0Here is a\u00a0<\/em>link<\/em><\/a>\u00a0on how to do it.\u00a0<\/em>|\u00a0Souhaitez-vous r\u00e9agir \u00e0 cet article ?\u00a0<\/em>Joignez-vous aux d\u00e9bats d\u2019<\/em>Options politiques\u00a0et soumettez-nous votre texte en suivant ces\u00a0<\/em>directives<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Much has been made of Rachel Notley\u2019s loss to Jason Kenney and the United Conservative Party in Alberta \u2013 there are once again no women premiers in Canada. But this isn\u2019t the only story to tell about women in Canadian politics. In other elections, including the one in Prince Edward Island, the results show that […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":81099,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"content-type":"","ep_exclude_from_search":false},"categories":[9385,9358,9372],"tags":[8613,9256,8631,8493],"article-status":[],"irpp-category":[4234,4250,4348,4254,4229],"section":[],"irpp-tag":[6956,7078,7155,7033],"class_list":{"0":"post-199018","1":"issues","2":"type-issues","3":"status-publish","4":"has-post-thumbnail","5":"hentry","6":"category-medias-et-culture","7":"category-politique","8":"category-recent-stories-fr","9":"tag-alberta-fr","10":"tag-elections-provinciales","11":"tag-pei-fr","12":"tag-gender-inequality-fr","13":"irpp-category-democracy","14":"irpp-category-democratie","15":"irpp-category-egalite-des-genres","16":"irpp-category-gender-equality","17":"irpp-category-politics","18":"irpp-tag-alberta","20":"irpp-tag-ile-du-prince-edouard","21":"irpp-tag-p-e-i"},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nWhat the Alberta and PEI votes say about women in politics<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Yes, it\u2019s a shame there are no longer any women premiers. But the bigger problem is the lack of consistent progress on getting women in legislatures.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/potestlaunch.irpp.org\/fr\/2019\/05\/alberta-pei-votes-say-women-politics\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"fr_FR\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What the Alberta and PEI votes say about women in politics\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Yes, it\u2019s a shame there are no longer any women premiers. But the bigger problem is the lack of consistent progress on getting women in legislatures.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/potestlaunch.irpp.org\/fr\/2019\/05\/alberta-pei-votes-say-women-politics\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Policy Options\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/IRPP.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-04-14T08:45:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/potestlaunch.irpp.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Facebook-What-the-Alberta-and-PEI-votes-say-about-women-in-politics.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"628\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:image\" content=\"https:\/\/potestlaunch.irpp.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/05\/Twitter-What-the-Alberta-and-PEI-votes-say-about-women-in-politics.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@irpp\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/potestlaunch.irpp.org\/fr\/2019\/05\/alberta-pei-votes-say-women-politics\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/potestlaunch.irpp.org\/fr\/2019\/05\/alberta-pei-votes-say-women-politics\/\",\"name\":\"What the Alberta and PEI votes say about women in politics\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/potestlaunch.irpp.org\/fr\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/potestlaunch.irpp.org\/fr\/2019\/05\/alberta-pei-votes-say-women-politics\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/potestlaunch.irpp.org\/fr\/2019\/05\/alberta-pei-votes-say-women-politics\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/potestlaunch.irpp.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/What-the-Alberta-and-PEI-votes-say-about-women-in-politics.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-05-09T14:31:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-04-14T08:45:00+00:00\",\"description\":\"Yes, it\u2019s a shame there are no longer any women premiers. But the bigger problem is the lack of consistent progress on getting women in legislatures.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/potestlaunch.irpp.org\/fr\/2019\/05\/alberta-pei-votes-say-women-politics\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"fr-FR\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/potestlaunch.irpp.org\/fr\/2019\/05\/alberta-pei-votes-say-women-politics\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"fr-FR\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/potestlaunch.irpp.org\/fr\/2019\/05\/alberta-pei-votes-say-women-politics\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/potestlaunch.irpp.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/What-the-Alberta-and-PEI-votes-say-about-women-in-politics.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/potestlaunch.irpp.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/What-the-Alberta-and-PEI-votes-say-about-women-in-politics.jpg\",\"width\":2000,\"height\":700},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/potestlaunch.irpp.org\/fr\/2019\/05\/alberta-pei-votes-say-women-politics\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/potestlaunch.irpp.org\/fr\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"What the Alberta and PEI votes say about women in politics\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/potestlaunch.irpp.org\/fr\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/potestlaunch.irpp.org\/fr\/\",\"name\":\"Policy Options\",\"description\":\"Institute for Research on Public Policy\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/potestlaunch.irpp.org\/fr\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/potestlaunch.irpp.org\/fr\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"fr-FR\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/potestlaunch.irpp.org\/fr\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Policy Options\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/potestlaunch.irpp.org\/fr\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"fr-FR\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/potestlaunch.irpp.org\/fr\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/potestlaunch.irpp.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/PolicyOptions_Logo.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/potestlaunch.irpp.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/PolicyOptions_Logo.png\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":365,\"caption\":\"Policy Options\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/potestlaunch.irpp.org\/fr\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/IRPP.org\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/irpp\"]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"What the Alberta and PEI votes say about women in politics","description":"Yes, it\u2019s a shame there are no longer any women premiers. But the bigger problem is the lack of consistent progress on getting women in legislatures.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/potestlaunch.irpp.org\/fr\/2019\/05\/alberta-pei-votes-say-women-politics\/","og_locale":"fr_FR","og_type":"article","og_title":"What the Alberta and PEI votes say about women in politics","og_description":"Yes, it\u2019s a shame there are no longer any women premiers. But the bigger problem is the lack of consistent progress on getting women in legislatures.","og_url":"https:\/\/potestlaunch.irpp.org\/fr\/2019\/05\/alberta-pei-votes-say-women-politics\/","og_site_name":"Policy Options","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/IRPP.org","article_modified_time":"2025-04-14T08:45:00+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":628,"url":"https:\/\/potestlaunch.irpp.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Facebook-What-the-Alberta-and-PEI-votes-say-about-women-in-politics.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_image":"https:\/\/potestlaunch.irpp.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/05\/Twitter-What-the-Alberta-and-PEI-votes-say-about-women-in-politics.jpg","twitter_site":"@irpp","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/potestlaunch.irpp.org\/fr\/2019\/05\/alberta-pei-votes-say-women-politics\/","url":"https:\/\/potestlaunch.irpp.org\/fr\/2019\/05\/alberta-pei-votes-say-women-politics\/","name":"What the Alberta and PEI votes say about women in politics","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/potestlaunch.irpp.org\/fr\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/potestlaunch.irpp.org\/fr\/2019\/05\/alberta-pei-votes-say-women-politics\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/potestlaunch.irpp.org\/fr\/2019\/05\/alberta-pei-votes-say-women-politics\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/potestlaunch.irpp.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/What-the-Alberta-and-PEI-votes-say-about-women-in-politics.jpg","datePublished":"2019-05-09T14:31:00+00:00","dateModified":"2025-04-14T08:45:00+00:00","description":"Yes, it\u2019s a shame there are no longer any women premiers. But the bigger problem is the lack of consistent progress on getting women in legislatures.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/potestlaunch.irpp.org\/fr\/2019\/05\/alberta-pei-votes-say-women-politics\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"fr-FR","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/potestlaunch.irpp.org\/fr\/2019\/05\/alberta-pei-votes-say-women-politics\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"fr-FR","@id":"https:\/\/potestlaunch.irpp.org\/fr\/2019\/05\/alberta-pei-votes-say-women-politics\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/potestlaunch.irpp.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/What-the-Alberta-and-PEI-votes-say-about-women-in-politics.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/potestlaunch.irpp.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/What-the-Alberta-and-PEI-votes-say-about-women-in-politics.jpg","width":2000,"height":700},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/potestlaunch.irpp.org\/fr\/2019\/05\/alberta-pei-votes-say-women-politics\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/potestlaunch.irpp.org\/fr\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"What the Alberta and PEI votes say about women in politics"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/potestlaunch.irpp.org\/fr\/#website","url":"https:\/\/potestlaunch.irpp.org\/fr\/","name":"Policy Options","description":"Institute for Research on Public Policy","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/potestlaunch.irpp.org\/fr\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/potestlaunch.irpp.org\/fr\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"fr-FR"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/potestlaunch.irpp.org\/fr\/#organization","name":"Policy Options","url":"https:\/\/potestlaunch.irpp.org\/fr\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"fr-FR","@id":"https:\/\/potestlaunch.irpp.org\/fr\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/potestlaunch.irpp.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/PolicyOptions_Logo.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/potestlaunch.irpp.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/PolicyOptions_Logo.png","width":1200,"height":365,"caption":"Policy Options"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/potestlaunch.irpp.org\/fr\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/IRPP.org","https:\/\/x.com\/irpp"]}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/potestlaunch.irpp.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/issues\/199018","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/potestlaunch.irpp.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/issues"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/potestlaunch.irpp.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/issues"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/potestlaunch.irpp.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/81099"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/potestlaunch.irpp.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=199018"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/potestlaunch.irpp.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=199018"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/potestlaunch.irpp.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=199018"},{"taxonomy":"article-status","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/potestlaunch.irpp.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article-status?post=199018"},{"taxonomy":"irpp-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/potestlaunch.irpp.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/irpp-category?post=199018"},{"taxonomy":"section","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/potestlaunch.irpp.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/section?post=199018"},{"taxonomy":"irpp-tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/potestlaunch.irpp.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/irpp-tag?post=199018"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}