PEI Votes 2003

September 29, 2003

Election 2000 Recap

All 6 women elected in 2000 represented the Conservative Party.

Progressive Conservative

• Pat Mella (Glen Stewart – Bellevue Cove) District 7
• Elected 1993, re-elected 1996, 2000.
• Not re-offering 2003
• Mildred Dover (Tracadie –Fort Augustus) District 8
• Elected 1996, re-elected 2000.
• Minister of Health and Social Services, 1996-2000
• Speaker, 2000-2003 (First Woman elected to this position.)
• Beth Mackenzie (Park Corner –Oyster Bed) District 18
• First elected 1996, re-elected 2000.
• Helen MacDonald (Summerside) District 22
• First Elected 2000
• Eva Rodgerson (West Point – Bloomfield) District 25
• First Elected 2000
• Gail Shea (Tignish Deblois) District 27.
• First Elected 2000
• Minster of Community and Cultural Affairs, 2000-2002
• First woman appointed Minister of Transportation and Public Works, 2002-2003
• Donna Butler (North River – Rice Point) District 16
• Defeated 2000, 2003

Results 2003

At the close of nominations women candidates have been nominated in 16 of 27 seats. Eleven ridings are all male-contests, with the result that 40.7% of seats will be held by male MLAs before the balloting begins. In another 5 ridings the sole woman candidate represents the NDP. Since the NDP held only 1 seat at the last election, more than half the seats in the legislature are likely to fall to male representatives without even looking at the relative position of the Conservative and Liberal candidates.

After election day there was one less woman in the legislature. Donna Butler was defeated by the Liberal challenger.

Five women MLAs representing the Conservative Party were re-elected in 2003. One woman MLA, Carolyn Bertram (Crapaud–Hazel Grove) District 17 joins the four member Opposition.

Overall Result for Representation by Women

No change. Loss of one experienced woman MLA. Addition of one woman MLA to the Opposition caucus.

Women–Historical

Elections PEI along with Elections Yukon are the only two provincial or territorial offices that provide specific information of women’s representation.

Women Leaders

Linda has been counting women legislators since the mid 1980s and Jane caught the bug in the early 1990s. At the high point for women leaders across Canada there were 8. Now, there are 3, and one has announced her intention to resign once a new leader is selected. Can you name the current women leaders?

Hide the answer: Elizabeth Weir, leader of the NDP in New Brunswick since June 1988 and Pat Duncan, leader of the Liberal party in the Yukon since February 1998. Joy MacPhail became the leader of the NDP in British Columbia in June 2001 but will not seek to lead the party after the next party convention.

For more analysis see the feature story Where Have All the Women Leader’s Gone?

Sheila Copps Leadership Race

fall 2003

• Campaign Website
• Post-Delegate Selection
• Women in Politics
• Increase the Representation of Women, Visible Minorities and Aboriginal Peoples in Government
• Chronology of a Career Politician (Political Cartoon)

Nova Scotia Votes 2003

August 5, 2003

Women Candidates in Nova Scotia General Election 2003

Official results: Elections Nova Scotia website 2003 Results Includes map

Media Coverage

• Fewer Women on the Ballot
• History in the Making in Halifax Clayton Park Riding
• “For the first time in the provinces political history, three women face off in the province’s political history.”
• “Offering for public office and serving as an elected representative is a significant commitment and I am encouraged by the increasing numbers of highly qualified women who are participating in the political process.” Premier John Hamm
• “I welcome competition from any woman who takes the political plunge—it’s not an easy life, but women are used to that. I’m proud to be representing a political party that has nine strong female candidates on its team in this election. We have a long way to go, but it’s a start.” Mary Ann McGrath, MLA

New Brunswick Votes 2003

June 9, 2003

At the close of nominations 29 ridings were all-male contests. The distribution of 33 women candidates over 26 ridings meant that half the seats would be won by men regardless of how the vote came out on election day.

The five women elected representing the Progressive Conservative Party are:

• Margaret Ann Blaney (Saint John-Kings), an incumbent, held her seat by 678 votes.
• Madeleine (Mado) Dubé (Edmonston), an incumbent, held her seat by 2,075.
• Brenda Fowlie (Kennebecasis), an incumbent held her seat by 19 votes.
• Joan MacAlpine (Moncton South), an incumbent, she held her seat 433 votes.
• Rose-May Poirier (Rogersville-Kouchibouguac) was the incumbent and held her seat by 321 votes. Elected for the New Democrats for her 4th term.
• Elizabeth Weir (Saint John Harbour) an incumbent held her seat by 639 votes. Elected to represent the Liberal Party.
• Carmel Robichaud (Miramichi Bay) defeated the Conservative incumbent by 127 votes.

Media Coverage

• Audio tape of Elizabeth Weir’s Speech
• Results for the NDP under Elizabeth Weir

Six of seven women MLAs return to the legislature, down 3 from the results of the 1999 election when 10 women were elected. On the government side there is experience and representation in Cabinet. The Liberals have a woman in their Opposition caucus. Overall result: negligible change but no advancement for representation by women.

Cabinet Positions

• 11. Rose-May Poirier Minister of the Office of Human Resources
• 14. Margaret-Ann Blaney Minister of Training and Employment Development
• 15. Madeleine Dubé Minister of Education
• 16. Brenda Fowlie Minister of the Environment and Local Government
• 18. L. Joan MacAlpine Minister of Parks and Tourism

The biographies of the women Cabinet Minister demonstrate strong ties to municipal politics.

There are 18 members of the Executive Council (Cabinet). Women Cabinet ministers hold portfolios that rank at the bottom of the pecking order. Four out of five of these positions are at the very bottom of the rank, and none of the women Cabinet Ministers place in the top half. Their ranking suggests that the current government does not consider any them to be contenders to lead the party in the near future.

Alexa MacDonough to Resign NDP Leadership

June 5, 2003

• Her Bio includes video clips of her early career in provincial politics, her election as leader of the NDP in Nova Scotia and taking over the leadership of the federal party in 1995.
• “An important attribute of leadership is knowing when to pass the torch.” includes audio clips of interviews about her resignation

Manitoba Votes 2003

Additional Resources

• Official Results
• Media Coverage of Women

Joy Macphail Will not Lead the NDP into the next Election

June 3, 2003

• Joy MacPhail makes 'right choice' for NDP
• MacPhail’s decision gives NDP a chance at government
Joy MacPhail Bio
• The Opposition Caucus
• Women in the House

Rosemary Brown, Champion of Equality and Diversity

April 27, 2003

A champion of equality and diversity Rosemary Brown served the country in many capacities. The first Black women elected to a legislature in Canada, she served as a member of the legislature of British Columbia from 1972 through 1986. She later taught Women’s Studies at Simon Fraser University and served as Chief Commissioner of the Ontario Human Rights Commission. She mentored other women politicians, convincing Alexa McDonough to run for the NDP in Nova Scotia. Her autobiography, Being Brown: A Very Public Life (1989) describes her experiences of racism and sexism as well as the many strategies she employed to bring about social change. She died April 27, 2003

“Rosemary Brown, 72”, Globe and Mail (Apr 27, 2003)

Additional Resources

• Excerpt from her leadership speech at the 1975 federal NDP leadership convention. She placed second to Ed Broadbent.
• Except from Being Brown about the leadership race
• First Brown Woman to Run for National Leader

Not Good Enough Representation for Women

April 12, 2003

The following is an excerpt from a speech by Sheila Copps given in Halifax to

“Since Confederation, 549 men have served in the Cabinet of the Government of Canada. So have 28 women.

The leaders of all the political parties in the House of Commons are men. So are all the candidates for the leadership of the federal PC Party. So are the other two candidates for the leadership of our Party.

The Premiers of all ten provinces are men. The leaders of the three territories are men. The mayors of all our provincial capitals are men.

That's just not acceptable. We need to do much, much better. There should be no glass ceilings in the basic democratic institutions of Canada.

By two elections from now, 50% of the candidates for Parliament for the Liberal Party should be women. I will encourage the Party to develop both the methods and the enthusiasm to accomplish that goal.

You know, I am still asked on a regular basis whether the Liberal Party is ready for a woman leader.

I like to reply that Bangladesh, Bermuda, Bolivia, Burundi, the Central African Republic, Dominica, Finland, Great Britain, Haiti, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Israel, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, the Netherlands Antilles, New Zealand, Norway, the Philippines, Sri Lanka and Turkey have all had women leaders. So I think the Liberal Party of Canada can handle it.

And it's not just the role of women in public life where we need to do better.”

External Link: Sheila Copps Home Page

Quebec Votes 2003

March 14, 2003

Summary of Results

On April 14, Quebeckers went to the polls to select 125 members of the National Assembly. There has been no comment on whether to expect more or fewer women to represent Quebec after voting day than they did before. This is unusual because in the last 15 years Quebec has been one of the leaders, along with Alberta, British Columbia and Yukon in getting more women elected to the provincial legislature.

On April 14, Quebeckers went to the polls to select 125 members of the National Assembly. There has been no comment on whether to expect more or fewer women to represent Quebec after voting day than they did before. This is unusual because in the last 15 years Quebec has been one of the leaders, along with Alberta, British Columbia and Yukon in getting more women elected to the provincial legislature.

Deborah Grey Will Not Seek Fifth Term

March 13, 2003

On the 14^th anniversary of Deborah Grey’s election to Parliament as the first representative elected under the banner of the Reform Party Deb Grey saw the part grow from 1 to 52 and then 60 seats when it formed the Official Opposition in 1997. In the spring election of 2000 the Canadian Alliance won 66 seats.

Stephen Harper had been Deb Grey’s legislative assistant when she first went to Parliament. At the time that she announced her retirement he was the leader of the Party.

In her retirement statement Ms. Grey said she had not entered Parliament “with the intention of becoming a ‘career politician.’ She passes “the torch to a new generation of political reformers.”

External Link:

• Deborah Grey Will Not Seek Fifth Term
• Her Statement