I am ranking them based on person days governed - multiply the population by the number of the days in power
- Kim Campbell Fed 3,786,000,000 132 days PC
- Christy Clark BC 2,015,000,000 458 days Lib
- Alison Redford Ab 915,000,000 251 days PC
- Rita Johnson BC 715,500,000 217 days Socred
- Kathy Dunderdale Nf 288,000,000 560 days PC
- Catherine Callbeck PEI 149,000,000 1353 days Lib
- Nellie Cournoyea NWT 92,000,000 1469 days na
- Eva Aariak Nu 42,900,000 1309 days na
- Pat Duncan Yk 24,800,000 884 days Lib
We had three female first ministers for 132 days in 1993. Since March 14th 2011 we have had three or more female first ministers. Given that it seems probable Christy Clark will be premier till May 14th next year, we will have 11 more months of at least three female first ministers in Canada. I do not know how much longer Eva Aariak will be premier of Nunavut.
The only other woman who seems to have any potential to become a first minister is Pauline Marois in Quebec. I have no idea how the election will go there or when it is likely to held. Jean Charest could still hold out well into 2013 before he calls an election.
I noted last year that of the ones with a partisan leaning, the women have all been from the right or centre right. Also interesting to note is that it has been the west and the north that have had the women in power. Seven of 9 of them are from the west and north. Kim Campbell is still the only Prime Minister to come from BC.
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update on June 21st - I have underlined the women that have won a mandate in an election or in the case of NWT and Nunavut were selected to be premier by the non-partisan legislatures.
Interesting factoid, Eva Aariak is the second female premier for the area now covered by Nunavut. This means for 7 years and 228 days they have had a female premier, more than a third of the time since Nelly Cournoyea came into office in Novmeber 14th 1991
4 comments:
Didn't Sir John A at one point hold a BC seat and John Turner was elected as an MP in 1984 from Vancouver Quadra but lost the confidence of the house within days after the full election results were certified(I guess the issue with Turner is whether are not at any point was he concurrently Prime Minister and the Member from Vancouver Quadra).
You are right, I should have remembered John MacDonald as he represented my city in 1878 to 1882. Now I could argue the point he was not from BC only represented a BC riding......
John Turner is I think the only the second PM in Canada never to have been an MP while being PM. The other one was Mackenzie Bowell who was a Senator.
You could factor in some "power bonus" for actually getting elected in as First Minister; the run of lame duck female Canadian leaders isn't exactly a ringing endorsement of women politicians triumphantly breaking through the highest of glass ceilings.
I am not sure how I would add that as a factor. It will show up over time as the ones that win elections pass the others.
The electoral wins in the last year of Kathy Dunderdale and Alison Redford means they will work their way up the rankings. Kathy Dunderdale will pass Rita J at the end of the summer in 2014. Alison Redford will pass Kim Campbell in the summer of 2014.
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