The provincial minister for the status of women is happy with the results of the 2017 municipal election and the number of female candidates, support and elected councillors.
That’s after Stephanie McLean, Minister for the Status of Women, launched the Ready for Her election discussion and resource for women interested in running as a candidate in the election, or supporting a campaign.
“I was hoping to see a few things,” McLean said. “I was hoping to see more women get involved in the political process from the organizing, volunteering, and engaging side. I was hoping to see more women put their name forward to run for election as well, and I was thrilled to see how many women put their names forward on the ballot in municipalities across the province.
“Finally, I was hoping to see more women elected and we did see that overall.”
The ministry itself was only created in 2015, after NDP premier Rachel Notley was elected. McLean said it takes time to build networks, resources and infrastructure needed to support women in these roles.
While 30 per cent representation has been suggested as a goal, McLean said she hopes to set a higher standard for Albertans so that women have a place at the table to voice their opinions.
“I set my sights much higher,” she said. “We have worked hard within my own political party and we have been able to see the results of when you do focus attention on recruiting more women.”
Canmore voters elected a record breaking number of women – four out of seven council positions were won by women candidates in the community. In 2010, Canmore had only one woman town councillor – Joanna McCallum.
As an incumbent in the 2017 election, McCallum was elected with 2,475 votes, along with Esmé Comfort (2,209) and Vi Sandford (2,341), as well as newly elected Councillor Karen Marra (2,094).
Incumbent Mayor John Borrowman was successful in his bid to lead the community for the next four years with 2,862 votes, while Rob Seeley (2,174) was also re-elected and the youngest candidate Jeff Hilstad (2,516).
Bigger centres like Calgary and Edmonton each added another female councillor to the decision making table, noted McLean. Overall, the results were ones the minister will celebrate.
“I think that is huge and those are huge strides,” she said. “I am pleased with the result in Canmore and we have actually seen some better numbers in smaller centres. That says a lot for the ingenuity and spirit of our rural women.”
When she set out with the Ready for Her initiative earlier this year, the goal was to provide resources for women to increase democratic participation rates. In 2013, for example, the municipal election resulted in 490 women elected when there are a possible 1,874 positions.
Women on average hold 26 per cent of elected seats in municipalities in Alberta and that breaks down to only eight per cent in special areas, 11 per cent in improvement districts, 11 per cent in municipal districts, 19 per cent in cities, 20 per cent in summer villages, 31 per cent in villages, and 32 per cent in towns, according to Municipal Affairs.
The Federation of Canadian Municipalities finds the national average for women in municipal office was 27 per cent in 2015. In Alberta, 33 per cent of MLAs are women and five of 32 MPs from the province are women – 16 per cent compared to 36 per cent across Canada.
Some of the reasons for low participation in elections by women is that they still are the primary caregivers and do more household work; many may not feel they have the education or experience to run; political culture and sexism can also make women feel unwelcome, and the realization they need more support and resources than men running for office.
However, without women holding political positions on councils and at higher levels of government, there is a lack of diversity of opinions being considered by decision makers.
