Equal Voice - Research

Some facts about women in politics in Canada:

Once a leader, Canada, with just 64 women in Parliament – 20.7% of MPs -- now ranks 42rd in the world among democracies in terms of women’s representation in the national legislature, after Pakistan and Portugal.
Focus on the issue in other countries has delivered results: Wales recently became the first jurisdiction to elect 50% women, ahead of Sweden (45%) and other Nordic countries which have long been best at electing women. Recently Rwanda topped them, however, and became the nation with the most elected women at 48.8 per cent.
Canada has been slipping in terms of the number of women candidates running for Parliament – falling from a high of 476 women candidates in 1993 to just 373 in the last federal election. Liberal women candidates dropped from a high of 84 in 1997 to just 66 in 2000.
Financing and electoral reform have greatly improved representation of women in other countries. For example, democracies with proportional representation have on average twice as many women in their legislatures compared to “first past the post” systems such as Canada.
It can be done here: Quebec became the most representative legislature in Canada, with over 30% of the seats won by women in the provincial election. This happened because Jean Charest made recruitment and election of women a high priority.

Zambia, MMP and women, September 2, 2004
WILFRED A. DAY Equal Voice/A Voix Egale member

ELECTION WATCH – Women at Queen’s Park, 1981 through 2004, January 11, 2005 (Updated for 2004) (PDF document)
G.P. MURRAY RESEARCH LIMITED

Women’s Political Action Forum, YWCA Edmonton, February 26-28, 2004
Janice L. Kinch, RN, PhD Equal Voice/A Voix Egale member

Women in Legislature and the Senate, April 2003

House of Commons 301 63 21%

Senate 105 34 32%