Women in the 43rd Canadian Parliament

The 43rd Canadian Parliament once again set a record number of female Members of Parliament, with 98 women elected to the 338-member House of Commons of Canada (28.9%) in the 2019 election and 2 more in the October 2020 by-elections, that makes 100 women representing Canadians in the House of Commons for the first time in history.[1] This represents a gain of twelve seats over the previous record of 88 women in the 42nd Canadian Parliament. By contrast, the 116th United States Congress had 102 women sitting in the 435-seat United States House of Representatives.

See also: Women in Canadian politics

Of those 100 women, 54 were elected for the first time in the 2019 election.

Party standings
Party Total women candidates in the 2019 Election % women of total candidates in the 2019 Election Total women elected in the 2019 Election % women elected of total women candidates in the 2019 Election % women elected of total elected in the 2019 Election Total current women members of the House of Commons % women of current members in the House of Commons
Liberal 133 (of 338) 39.3% 52 (of 157) 33.1% 39.1% 52 (of 338) 15.3%
Conservative 106 (of 338) 31.3% 22 (of 121) 20.7% 18.1% 22 (of 338) 6.5%
Bloc Québécois 36 (of 78) 46.1% 12 (of 32) 37.5% 33.3% 12 (of 338) 3.5%
New Democrats 166 (of 338) 49.1% 9 (of 24) 5.4% 37.5% 9 (of 338) 2.6%
Green 156 (of 336) 46.1% 2 (of 3) 0.1% 66.6% 2 (of 338) 0.5%
Independents 1 (of 338) 0.3%
Total 98 (of 338) 28.9% 98 (of 338) 28.9%
Table source:[2] Table source: 43rd Canadian Parliament

Female Members
  • † denotes women who were newly elected in the 2019 election and are serving their first term in office.
  • †† denotes women who were not members of the 42nd parliament, but previously served in another parliament.
  • ††† denotes women who were newly elected in byelections since the 2019 election.
Name Party Electoral district Notes
  Leona Alleslev Conservative Aurora—Oak Ridges—Richmond Hill
  Anita Anand† Liberal Oakville
  Niki Ashton New Democrat Churchill—Keewatinook Aski
  Jenica Atwin† Green Fredericton
  Rachel Bendayan Liberal Outremont
  Hon. Carolyn Bennett Liberal Toronto—St. Paul's Minister of Indigenous and Northern Affairs
  Hon. Candice Bergen Conservative Portage—Lisgar
  Sylvie Bérubé† Bloc Québécois Abitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik—Eeyou
  Lyne Bessette† Liberal Brome—Mississquoi
  Hon. Marie-Claude Bibeau Liberal Compton—Stanstead Minister of International Development and Minister responsible for La Francophonie
  Rachel Blaney New Democrat North Island—Powell River
  Kelly Block Conservative Carlton Trail—Eagle Creek
  Élisabeth Brière† Liberal Sherbrooke
  Louise Chabot† Bloc Québécois Thérèse-De Blainville
  Hon. Bardish Chagger Liberal Waterloo Minister of Small Business and Tourism
  Louise Charbonneau† Bloc Québécois Trois-Rivières
  Laurel Collins† New Democrat Victoria
  Julie Dabrusin Liberal Toronto—Danforth
  Pam Damoff Liberal Oakville North—Burlington
  Raquel Dancho† Conservative Kildonan—St. Paul
  Claude DeBellefeuille†† Bloc Québécois Salaberry—Suroît
  Caroline Desbiens† Bloc Québécois Beauport—Côte-de-Beaupré—Île d'Orléans—Charlevoix
  Anju Dhillon Liberal Dorval—Lachine—LaSalle
  Hon. Kirsty Duncan Liberal Etobicoke North Minister of Science
  Rosemarie Falk Conservative Battlefords—Lloydminster
  Hon. Kerry-Lynne Findlay†† Conservative South Surrey—White Rock
  Hon. Diane Finley Conservative Haldimand—Norfolk
  Mona Fortier Liberal Ottawa—Vanier
  Hon. Chrystia Freeland Liberal University—Rosedale Minister of Foreign Affairs
  Hon. Hedy Fry Liberal Vancouver Centre Longest Current Serving Female Member of Parlimanet
  Cheryl Gallant Conservative Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke
  Marie-Hélène Gaudreau† Bloc Québécois Laurentides—Labelle
  Leah Gazan† New Democrat Winnipeg Centre
  Marilène Gill Bloc Québécois Manicouagan
  Marilyn Gladu Conservative Sarnia—Lambton
  Hon. Karina Gould Liberal Burlington Minister of Democratic Institutions
  Tracy Gray† Conservative Kelowna—Lake Country
  Hon. Patty Hajdu Liberal Thunder Bay—Superior North Minister of Status of Women then Minister of Employment, Workforce and Labour
  Rachael Harder Conservative Lethbridge
  Carol Hughes New Democrat Algoma—Manitoulin—Kapuskasing
  Gudie Hutchings Liberal Long Range Mountains
  Marci Ien††† Liberal Toronto Centre
  Helena Jaczek† Liberal Markham—Stouffville
  Tamara Jansen† Conservative Cloverdale—Langley City
  Hon. Mélanie Joly Liberal Ahuntsic—Cartierville Minister of Canadian Heritage
  Yvonne Jones Liberal Labrador
  Bernadette Jordan Liberal South Shore—St. Margaret's
  Iqra Khalid Liberal Mississauga—Erin Mills
  Kamal Khera Liberal Brampton West
  Annie Koutrakis† Liberal Vimy
  Stephanie Kusie Conservative Calgary Midnapore
  Jenny Kwan New Democrat Vancouver East
  Marie-France Lalonde† Liberal Orléans
  Emmanuella Lambropoulos Liberal Saint-Laurent
  Andréanne Larouche† Bloc Québécois Shefford
  Patricia Lattanzio† Liberal Saint-Léonard—Saint-Michel
  Hon. Diane Lebouthillier Liberal Gaspésie—Les Îles-de-la-Madeleine Minister of National Revenue
  Soraya Martinez Ferrada† Liberal Hochelaga
  Lindsay Mathyssen† New Democrat London—Fanshawe
  Elizabeth May Green Saanich—Gulf Islands Leader of the Green Party
  Karen McCrimmon Liberal Kanata—Carleton
  Hon. Catherine McKenna Liberal Ottawa Centre Minister of the Environment and Climate Change
  Cathy McLeod Conservative Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo
  Heather McPherson† New Democrat Edmonton—Strathcona
  Alexandra Mendès Liberal Brossard—Saint-Lambert
  Hon. Maryam Monsef Liberal Peterborough—Kawartha Minister of Democratic Institutions then Minister of Status of Women
  Kristina Michaud† Bloc Québécois Avignon—La Mitis—Matane—Matapédia
  Joyce Murray Liberal Vancouver Quadra
  Mary Ng Liberal Markham-Thornhill
  Christine Normandin† Bloc Québécois Saint-Jean
  Jennifer O'Connell Liberal Pickering—Uxbridge
  Monique Pauzé Bloc Québécois Repentigny
  Hon. Ginette Petitpas Taylor Liberal Moncton-Riverview-Dieppe
  Mumilaaq Qaqqaq New Democrat Nunavut
  Hon. Carla Qualtrough† Liberal Delta Minister of Sport and Persons with Disabilities
  Yasmin Ratansi Liberal Don Valley East
  Hon. Michelle Rempel Conservative Calgary Nose Hill
  Sherry Romanado† Liberal Longueuil—Charles-LeMoyne
  Lianne Rood† Conservative Lambton—Kent—Middlesex
  Jag Sahota† Conservative Calgary Skyview
  Ruby Sahota Liberal Brampton North
  Ya'ara Saks††† Liberal York Centre
  Deb Schulte Liberal King—Vaughan
  Hon. Judy Sgro Liberal Humber River—Black Creek
  Brenda Shanahan Liberal Châteauguay—Lacolle
  Nelly Shin† Conservative Port Moody—Coquitlam
  Sonia Sidhu Liberal Brampton South
  Shannon Stubbs Conservative Lakeland
  Hon. Filomena Tassi Liberal Hamilton West—Ancaster—Dundas
  Anita Vandenbeld Liberal Ottawa West—Nepean
  Karen Vecchio Conservative Elgin—Middlesex—London
  Julie Vignola† Bloc Québécois Beauport—Limoilou
  Cathay Wagantall Conservative Yorkton—Melville
  Hon. Jody Wilson-Raybould Independent Vancouver Granville
  Hon. Alice Wong Conservative Richmond Centre
  Jean Yip Liberal Scarborough-Agincourt
  Kate Young Liberal London West
  Salma Zahid Liberal Scarborough Centre
  Lenore Zann† Liberal Cumberland—Colchester

Accessibility to Office and Equal Representation

The Canadian Parliament has seen a dramatic increase in the number of women and racialized people that sit in the House of Commons in the last decade. However, the representation of women in the house has not always been key to the government’s success. In 1921, the first federal election where the majority of women could vote took place.[3] This was also the year that the very first woman was elected to sit in the House. Although 4 women ran, only one won, and her name was Agnes Campbell Macphail.[3]

The 2019 Canadian election saw a record number of women in terms of the number of candidates as well as the proportion of women in contrast to all of the candidates. More then 700 of the 2,146 candidates were women, meaning that 34% of candidates identified as Female.[3] It was the first federal election where the data compiled on candidates’ gender identities could possible to be other than a man or woman. Elections Canada data states that 19 of the 2,146 did not state their gender and 5 of the 2,146 candidates identified as a different identity.[3] Since 1968, the percentage of women that have run in the Canadian Federal election has gone up by seven times, and with the 43rd Canadian Parliament setting records for representation, we can see change occurring.[3]

One of the largest reasons why there is not a  higher percentage of female candidates is because of the barriers to entry that they face. According to the Library of the Canadian Parliament, there are seven key factors that contribute to the barriers to entry that women face: gender stereotypes and discrimination, lack of confidence in their abilities, insufficient efforts to recruit female candidates, difficulties in financing their campaigns, absence of family-friendly and gender-sensitive workplaces, gender-based violence and harassment, and gender-biased media treatment.[4] These seven reasons, identified by the Government of Canada, are the issues that must be addressed if equality is to be achieved in representation. Similarly, a book written by Jacquetta et al. also noted similar things to be barriers to entry for women into the political landscape in Canada.[5]

Female Representation in Canada Compared to International and Provincial Representation

The number of women in the Canadian Parliament has been slowly but steadily increasing since the 1980s[6] and has reached its highest point following the 2019 Canadian federal election where women made up 29.6%[7] of the Canadian Parliament which is higher than the global average of 25.5%[8] and very close to the 1995 United Nations goal of 30% female representation in government.[9] In terms of gender representation in government, Canada outperforms a country like the United States in which the House of Representatives is made up of 27.4% women.[7] However, in a country where women make up a slim majority of the population at 50.4% as of 2010,[10] the 43rd Canadian Parliament still falls short when it comes to achieving gender parity in government. Canada also currently ranks 53rd in the world in gender representation in government which is behind the United Kingdom, Sweden, and Rwanda.[7] However with prominent Canadian political parties like the Liberals Party pledging to include more female representation in government[11] as well as parties like the New Democratic Party putting forward a slate of candidates that was 49% women in the 2019 election,[12] there is significant political pressure to increase the number of women representatives in government.

Canadian Provinces and Territories come much closer to achieving gender parity in their Legislative Assemblies than their federal counterparts. Similar to the rest of Canada in the province of Ontario women make up a little over half of the population at 50.7%[13] but unlike the rest of Canada 35.5% of Ontario Member's of the Legislative Assembly are women.[14] In Quebec, a province where women make up 50.4%[13] of the population, gender parity is even closer to being achieved with women making up 42.4% of the National Assembly.[15] The Northwest Territory has come the closest to achieving gender parity with women making up 48.3%[13] of the population and 47.3% of the Legislative Assembly.[16] The Northwest Territories is also currently the only Province or Territory in Canada that has a female Premier Caroline Cochrane.[16]

See also

References
  1. "A record 98 women elected to Canada's 43rd Parliament, but equality advocates say that's not good enough". The Georgia Straight, October 22, 2019.
  2. Parliament of Canada: Women Candidates in General Elections
  3. "Women in the Parliament of Canada". HillNotes. 2020-01-23. Retrieved 2021-02-05.
  4. Karen, Vecchio (2019). "Elect Her: A Roadmap for Improving the Representation of Women in Canadian Politics" (PDF). House of Commons of Canada.
  5. Jacquetta, Newman (2012). Women, politics, and public policy: the political struggles of Canadian women. Don Mills, ON: Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780195432497.
  6. Griffiths, Nathan (2019-10-25). "Record 98 women were elected in Canada's 43rd Parliament". Vancouver Sun. Retrieved 2021-01-31.
  7. "Monthly ranking of women in national parliaments". Parline: the IPU’s Open Data Platform. Retrieved 2021-01-30.
  8. "Global and regional averages of women in national parliaments". Parline: the IPU’s Open Data Platform. Retrieved 2021-01-30.
  9. "Women politicians 'making gains'". BBC News. 2006-02-28. Retrieved 2021-01-30.
  10. "Female Population". Statistics Canada. 2015-11-30.
  11. "Add Women. Change Politics". Liberal. Retrieved 2021-01-30.
  12. Raman-Wilms, Menaka (2019-12-29). "2019 saw a record number of women elected — but gender equity in the Commons is still far off". CBC. Retrieved 2021-01-30.
  13. "Population, by province and territory, Canada, 2010". Statistics Canada. 2015-11-30. Retrieved 2021-01-31.
  14. "Ontario Ranks First in Canada for Women's Representation... but Canada now has just one female Premier". Equal Voice. 2018-06-08. Retrieved 2021-01-31.
  15. "Right of Québec women to vote and to stand for office". Elections Quebec. Retrieved 2021-01-31.
  16. "Record number of women elected in Northwest Territories". CBC. 2019-10-02. Retrieved 2021-01-31.
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