Today, there are none.
The council of premiers back then took a collaborative approach to infrastructure investments, trade policy, skills training, strategy surrounding energy, affordable housing, health care and cyber bullying. At the time, between Ontario, Quebec, British Columbia, Nunavut, Newfoundland and Labrador, and Alberta, women first ministers led 87 per cent of Canadians.
Today, with not one woman at the table, Canadian premiers are working together to combat federal plans to address climate change with legal challenges and questionable, taxpayer funded marketing campaigns. And where infrastructure was once the priority, Ontario is working to slow down much needed community infrastructure projects that are led by the federal government.
The defeat of NDP leader Rachel Notley in the Alberta provincial election this past week — and the losses of her women colleagues who sat around the table in 2013 — represents a stark shift in the landscape of leadership among first minister posts in Canada.
This is exactly what Kate Graham explores in the Canada 2020 podcast No Second Chances. Graham, a senior fellow with Canada 2020 uses her research background in Canadian politics, local government, urban politics and public policy to explore the circumstances surrounding women as they take on first minister leadership posts.
Graham notes, “In 2019, why don’t we see more women in Canada’s most senior political roles? No Second Chances is an important opportunity to dig into this very question — starting with discussions with the few women who have been there. There is much we can learn about Canadian politics, and about us as Canadians, through this project — and it couldn’t come at a more crucial time.”
In total, 12 women from all sides of the political spectrum have served in the position of leader for a governing provincial, territorial, or federal political party in Canada. This list includes Rita Johnston, Nellie Cournoyea, Catherine Callbeck, Pat Duncan, Eva Aariak, Kathy Dunderdale, Christie Clark, Alison Redford, Pauline Marois, Kathleen Wynne, Rachel Notley and Kim Campbell.
full story at https://www.thestar.com/opinion/star-columnists/2019/04/21/with-no-more-women-premiers-the-landscape-of-leadership-has-changed.html
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