The 40th Canadian Parliament contained a record number of female Members of Parliament, with 69 women elected to the House of Commons of Canada in the 2008 federal election. However, this represented just 22 per cent of the 308 total MPs, and only a modest gain over the 65 women in the 39th Canadian Parliament."No big gains in Parliament for women", The Globe and Mail, October 15, 2008.
With 23 women elected to the House for the first time, the 2008 election also increased the number of female MPs who have sat in the House of Commons of Canada since Confederation to 216, from 193 at the end of the 39th Parliament. Nine incumbent women MPs did not stand for re-election in 2008, and ten incumbent women were defeated on election night.
In total, 445 women ran in the 2008 election. The record for female participation in a federal election continues to be held by the 1993 election, in which 476 women ran as candidates, but the 2008 election had the second largest slate of female candidates in Canadian history.
By contrast, the United States House of Representatives has elected only a marginally larger number of women despite having 127 more seats. The 2008 Congressional elections saw 74 women elected to the House of Representatives, for an all-time total of 229.
At the dissolution of the 40th Parliament, the number of women sitting as federal MPs stood at 67, as two women elected in 2008 subsequently resigned from the House: Dawn Black on April 13, 2009 and Judy Wasylycia-Leis on April 30, 2010. Women did not win any of the by-elections to the 40th Canadian Parliament.
Party standings
PartyWomen candidatesWomen electedWomen as % of caucus% of women candidates electedLiberal1131924.6716.81New Democrats1041232.4311.53Bloc Québécois211530.0075.00Conservative632315.9736.50Table source:Parliament of Canada: Women Candidates in General Elections
The 2008 election was the first time in Canadian electoral history that one of the major parties nominated more female candidates than the New Democrats or their predecessor, the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation.
By province
ProvinceNumber of women MPsNumber of seatsPercentage of women Newfoundland and Labrador 2 7 28.6% Nova Scotia 1 11 9.1% Prince Edward Island 1 4 25.0% New Brunswick 1 10 10.0% Quebec 21 75 28.0% Ontario 21 106 19.8% Manitoba 6 14 42.8% Saskatchewan 2 14 14.3% Alberta 3 28 10.7% British Columbia 10 36 27.7% Territories 1 3 33.3% Totals 69 308 22.4%
Members The longest-serving female MP currently in the House of Commons is Albina Guarnieri, who was first elected in the 1988 election and surpassed 20 years in office in December 2008. In the 39th Parliament, Guarnieri was tied for this status with Diane Marleau, who was first elected in 1988 but was defeated in the 2008 election.
† denotes women who were newly elected in the 2008 election and are serving their first term in office. Names in boldface denote ministers in the current Cabinet of Canada.
NamePartyElectoral districtNotes Diane Ablonczy Conservative Calgary—Nose Hill Leona Aglukkaq† Conservative Nunavut Rona Ambrose Conservative Edmonton—Spruce Grove Niki Ashton† New Democrat Churchill Josée Beaudin† Bloc QuébécoisSaint-Lambert Carolyn Bennett Liberal St. Paul's Dawn Black New Democrat New Westminster—Coquitlam Resigned April 13, 2009. Kelly Block† Conservative Saskatoon—Rosetown—Biggar France Bonsant Bloc Québécois Compton—Stanstead Sylvie Boucher Conservative Beauport—Limoilou Diane Bourgeois Bloc Québécois Terrebonne—Blainville Lois Brown† Conservative Newmarket—Aurora Paule Brunelle Bloc Québécois Trois-Rivières Dona Cadman† Conservative Surrey North Chris Charlton New Democrat Hamilton Mountain Olivia Chow New Democrat Trinity—Spadina Siobhán Coady† Liberal St. John's South—Mount Pearl Bonnie Crombie† Liberal Mississauga—Streetsville Jean Crowder New Democrat Nanaimo—Cowichan Pat Davidson Conservative Sarnia—Lambton Libby Davies New Democrat Vancouver East Claude DeBellefeuille Bloc Québécois Beauharnois—Salaberry Nicole Demers Bloc Québécois Laval Johanne Deschamps Bloc Québécois Laurentides—Labelle Ruby Dhalla Liberal Brampton—Springdale Kirsty Duncan† Liberal Etobicoke North Linda Duncan† New Democrat Edmonton—Strathcona Meili Faille Bloc Québécois Vaudreuil—Soulanges Diane Finley Conservative Haldimand—Norfolk Raymonde Folco Liberal Laval—Les Îles Judy Foote† Liberal Random—Burin—St. George's Carole Freeman Bloc Québécois Châteauguay—Saint-Constant Hedy Fry Liberal Vancouver Centre Christiane Gagnon Bloc Québécois Québec Cheryl Gallant Conservative Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke Shelly Glover† Conservative Saint Boniface Nina Grewal Conservative Fleetwood—Port Kells Albina Guarnieri Liberal Mississauga East—Cooksville Monique Guay Bloc Québécois Rivière-du-Nord Helena Guergis Conservative Simcoe—Grey Martha Hall Findlay Liberal Willowdale Candice Hoeppner† Conservative Portage—Lisgar Carol Hughes† New Democrat Algoma—Manitoulin—Kapuskasing Marlene Jennings Liberal Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Lachine Francine Lalonde Bloc Québécois La Pointe-de-l'Île Carole Lavallée Bloc Québécois Saint-Bruno—Saint-Hubert Megan Leslie† New Democrat Halifax Irene Mathyssen New Democrat London—Fanshawe Cathy McLeod† Conservative Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo Alexandra Mendès† Liberal Brossard—La Prairie Maria Minna Liberal Beaches—East York Maria Mourani Bloc Québécois Ahuntsic Joyce Murray Liberal Vancouver Quadra Anita Neville Liberal Winnipeg South Centre Bev Oda Conservative Durham Tilly O'Neill-Gordon† Conservative Miramichi Lisa Raitt† Conservative Halton Yasmin Ratansi Liberal Don Valley East Denise Savoie New Democrat Victoria Judy Sgro Liberal York West Gail Shea† Conservative Egmont Michelle Simson† Liberal Scarborough Southwest Joy Smith Conservative Kildonan—St. Paul Ève-Mary Thaï Thi Lac Bloc QuébécoisSaint-Hyacinthe—Bagot Josée Verner Conservative Louis-Saint-Laurent Judy Wasylycia-Leis New Democrat Winnipeg North Resigned April 30, 2010. Alice Wong† Conservative Richmond Lynne Yelich Conservative Blackstrap Lise Zarac† Liberal LaSalle—Émard
References