By Cheryl Jahn

Record number of women to sit in BC Legislature

Nov 4, 2024 | 3:43 PM

NORTHERN BC- The first woman elected to a provincial legislature in Canada was Louise McKinney in the 1917 Alberta general election, while the first woman elected to the House of Commons was Agnes Macphail, in the 1921 federal election. That was also the year women were allowed to run for office.

“If you think back, the suffragette movement, right? The late 1800s and then into the early 1900s, really the first women that got to vote was in I think it was 1917,” says Dawn Hemingway, a member of the Northern Feminist Institute for Research & Evaluation. “And it was because either they or their partners were in the military. And so they got to have a vote.”

And now, the BC Legislature has a record number of women. Fifty of the 93 seats are held by women. Three women were elected to Northern BC ridings, one of whom is now local MLA, Rosalyn Bird.

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“For me, it’s exciting just because it is an actual representation of our province currently because we are about 50-50 representation for men and women,” she says. “I would like to think that it is going to motivate younger women to know that these are avenues that are available for them. For me, that’s an exciting part.”

This region is no stranger to powerful political women. Lois Boone held the position of Deputy Premier in 1991 and more recently, Shirley Bond held that position in 2024. And perhaps it will be a different approach to governing.

“Not having been in that environment for it, I’m just going to hazard a guess,” says Bird. “I would like to think that although women aren’t going to be any less assertive in regards to Question Period, it may be less personal and more policy-driven. So I, I would like to think, but I, I don’t know. I haven’t experienced that yet. And it’s one of the things I’m really quite curious about; to see how that whole piece sort of plays out.”

Hemingway says women typically deal with issues differently. “For me, I think women can contribute potentially. But we need to contribute to change the kind of politics that happens now where people are just so separated. Yes, No and white, black, like no actual discussion takes place.”

But one thing is for certain, it will be an interesting gathering when the Legislature starts to take care of business next year.