Women in the 43rd Canadian Parliament

The 43rd Canadian Parliament once again set a record number of female Members of Parliament, with 98 women elected to the 338-member House of Commons of Canada (28.9%) in the 2019 election. Of those 98 women, 31 were elected for the first time in the 2019 election. 2 more women were elected in by-elections in October 2020, reaching the historic milestone of 100 women in the House of Commons for the first time. This represents a gain of twelve seats over the previous record of 88 women in the 42nd Canadian Parliament. By contrast, the 116th United States Congress had 102 women sitting in the 435-seat United States House of Representatives (23.4%).

Party standings

PartyTotal women candidates in the 2019 Election% women of total candidates in the 2019 ElectionTotal women elected in the 2019 Election% women elected of total women candidates in the 2019 Election% women elected of total elected in the 2019 ElectionTotal women members of the House of Commons at dissolution% women of members in the House of Commons at dissolutionLiberal (of 338)39.3% (of 157)39.1%33.1% (of 337)16.0%Conservative (of 338)31.4% (of 121)20.8%18.2% (of 337)6.2%Bloc Québécois (of 78)46.2% (of 32)33.3%37.5% (of 337)3.6%New Democrats (of 338)49.1% (of 24)5.4%37.5% (of 337)2.7%Green (of 336)46.4% (of 3)1.3%66.6% (of 337)0.3%Independents (of 337)0.6%Total98 (of 338)29.0%99 (of 337)29.4%Table source:"Women Candidates in General Elections". Library of Parliament. Retrieved September 23, 2021.Table source:"Members of the 43rd Parliament". House of Commons of Canada. Retrieved September 24, 2021. and List of House members of the 43rd Parliament of Canada

Female Members

† denotes women who were newly elected in the 2019 election and are serving their first term in office. †† denotes women who were not members of the 42nd parliament, but previously served in another parliament. ††† denotes women who were newly elected in by-elections following the 2019 election.

NamePartyElectoral districtNotes Leona Alleslev Conservative Aurora—Oak Ridges—Richmond Hill Hon. Anita Anand† Liberal Oakville Minister of Public Services and Procurement Niki Ashton New Democrat Churchill—Keewatinook Aski Jenica Atwin† Liberal Fredericton Elected as a Green MP. Crossed the floor to the Liberal Party on June 10, 2021. Rachel Bendayan Liberal Outremont Hon. Carolyn Bennett Liberal Toronto—St. Paul's Minister of Crown–Indigenous Relations Hon. Candice Bergen Conservative Portage—Lisgar Sylvie Bérubé† Bloc Québécois Abitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik—Eeyou Lyne Bessette† Liberal Brome—Mississquoi Hon. Marie-Claude Bibeau Liberal Compton—Stanstead Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Rachel Blaney New Democrat North Island—Powell River Kelly Block Conservative Carlton Trail—Eagle Creek Élisabeth Brière† Liberal Sherbrooke Louise Chabot† Bloc Québécois Thérèse-De Blainville Hon. Bardish Chagger Liberal Waterloo Minister of Diversity, Inclusion and Youth Louise Charbonneau† Bloc Québécois Trois-Rivières Laurel Collins† New Democrat Victoria Julie Dabrusin Liberal Toronto—Danforth Pam Damoff Liberal Oakville North—Burlington Raquel Dancho† Conservative Kildonan—St. Paul Claude DeBellefeuille†† Bloc Québécois Salaberry—Suroît Caroline Desbiens† Bloc Québécois Beauport—Côte-de-Beaupré—Île d'Orléans—Charlevoix Anju Dhillon Liberal Dorval—Lachine—LaSalle Hon. Kirsty Duncan Liberal Etobicoke North Deputy Leader of the Government in the House of Commons. Julie Dzerowicz Liberal Davenport Rosemarie Falk Conservative Battlefords—Lloydminster Hon. Kerry-Lynne Findlay†† Conservative South Surrey—White Rock Hon. Diane Finley Conservative Haldimand—Norfolk Resigned on May 11, 2021. Hon. Mona Fortier Liberal Ottawa—Vanier Minister of Middle Class Prosperity and Associate Minister of Finance Hon. Chrystia Freeland Liberal University—Rosedale Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Hon. Hedy Fry Liberal Vancouver Centre Longest Currently Serving Female Member of Parliament Cheryl Gallant Conservative Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke Marie-Hélène Gaudreau† Bloc Québécois Laurentides—Labelle Leah Gazan† New Democrat Winnipeg Centre Marilène Gill Bloc Québécois Manicouagan Marilyn Gladu Conservative Sarnia—Lambton Hon. Karina Gould Liberal Burlington Minister of International Development Tracy Gray† Conservative Kelowna—Lake Country Hon. Patty Hajdu Liberal Thunder Bay—Superior North Minister of Health Rachael Harder Conservative Lethbridge Carol Hughes New Democrat Algoma—Manitoulin—Kapuskasing Assistant Deputy Speaker of the House of Commons Gudie Hutchings Liberal Long Range Mountains Marci Ien††† Liberal Toronto Centre Helena Jaczek† Liberal Markham—Stouffville Tamara Jansen† Conservative Cloverdale—Langley City Hon. Mélanie Joly Liberal Ahuntsic—Cartierville Minister of Economic Development and Official Languages Yvonne Jones Liberal Labrador Hon. Bernadette Jordan Liberal South Shore—St. Margaret's Ministers of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard Iqra Khalid Liberal Mississauga—Erin Mills Kamal Khera Liberal Brampton West Annie Koutrakis† Liberal Vimy Stephanie Kusie Conservative Calgary Midnapore Jenny Kwan New Democrat Vancouver East Marie-France Lalonde† Liberal Orléans Emmanuella Lambropoulos Liberal Saint-Laurent Andréanne Larouche† Bloc Québécois Shefford Patricia Lattanzio† Liberal Saint-Léonard—Saint-Michel Hon. Diane Lebouthillier Liberal Gaspésie—Les Îles-de-la-Madeleine Minister of National Revenue Soraya Martinez Ferrada† Liberal Hochelaga Lindsay Mathyssen† New Democrat London—Fanshawe Elizabeth May Green Saanich—Gulf Islands Leader of the Green Party until November 4, 2019. Karen McCrimmon Liberal Kanata—Carleton Hon. Catherine McKenna Liberal Ottawa Centre Minister of Infrastructure and Communities Cathy McLeod Conservative Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo Heather McPherson† New Democrat Edmonton—Strathcona Alexandra Mendès Liberal Brossard—Saint-Lambert Assistant Deputy Speaker of the House of Commons Hon. Maryam Monsef Liberal Peterborough—Kawartha Minister for Women and Gender Equality Kristina Michaud† Bloc Québécois Avignon—La Mitis—Matane—Matapédia Hon. Joyce Murray Liberal Vancouver Quadra Minister of Digital Government Hon. Mary Ng Liberal Markham-Thornhill Minister of Small Business, Export Promotion and International Trade Christine Normandin† Bloc Québécois Saint-Jean Jennifer O'Connell Liberal Pickering—Uxbridge Monique Pauzé Bloc Québécois Repentigny Hon. Ginette Petitpas Taylor Liberal Moncton-Riverview-Dieppe Deputy Government Whip. Mumilaaq Qaqqaq New Democrat Nunavut Hon. Carla Qualtrough† Liberal Delta Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Disability Inclusion Yasmin Ratansi Independent Don Valley East Resigned from the Liberal caucus in November 2020 to sit as an Independent. Hon. Michelle Rempel Conservative Calgary Nose Hill Sherry Romanado† Liberal Longueuil—Charles-LeMoyne Lianne Rood† Conservative Lambton—Kent—Middlesex Jag Sahota† Conservative Calgary Skyview Ruby Sahota Liberal Brampton North Ya'ara Saks††† Liberal York Centre Hon. Deb Schulte Liberal King—Vaughan Minister of Seniors Hon. Judy Sgro Liberal Humber River—Black Creek Brenda Shanahan Liberal Châteauguay—Lacolle Nelly Shin† Conservative Port Moody—Coquitlam Sonia Sidhu Liberal Brampton South Shannon Stubbs Conservative Lakeland Hon. Filomena Tassi Liberal Hamilton West—Ancaster—Dundas Minister of Labour Anita Vandenbeld Liberal Ottawa West—Nepean Karen Vecchio Conservative Elgin—Middlesex—London Julie Vignola† Bloc Québécois Beauport—Limoilou Cathay Wagantall Conservative Yorkton—Melville Hon. Jody Wilson-Raybould Independent Vancouver Granville Hon. Alice Wong Conservative Richmond Centre Jean Yip Liberal Scarborough-Agincourt Kate Young Liberal London West Salma Zahid Liberal Scarborough Centre Lenore Zann† Liberal Cumberland—Colchester

Accessibility to office and equal representation The Canadian Parliament has seen a dramatic increase in the number of women and racialized people that sit in the House of Commons in the last decade. However, the representation of women in the house has not always been key to the government's success. In 1921, the first federal election where the majority of women could vote took place. This was also the year that the very first woman was elected to sit in the House. Although 4 women ran, only one was elected: Agnes Campbell Macphail.

The 2019 Canadian election saw a record number of women in terms of the number of candidates as well as the proportion of women in contrast to all of the candidates. More than 700 of the 2,146 candidates were women, meaning that 34% of candidates identified as female. It was the first federal election where the data compiled on candidates’ gender identities could be possible to be other than a man or woman. Elections Canada data states that 19 of the 2,146 did not state their gender and 5 of the 2,146 candidates identified as a different identity. Since 1968, the percentage of women that have run in the Canadian Federal election has gone up by seven times, and with the 43rd Canadian Parliament setting records for representation, we can see change occurring.

One of the largest reasons why there is not a higher percentage of female candidates is because of the barriers to entry that they face. According to the Library of the Canadian Parliament, there are seven key factors that contribute to the barriers to entry that women face: gender stereotypes and discrimination, lack of confidence in their abilities, insufficient efforts to recruit female candidates, difficulties in financing their campaigns, absence of family-friendly and gender-sensitive workplaces, gender-based violence and harassment, and gender-biased media treatment. These seven reasons, identified by the Government of Canada, are the issues that must be addressed if equality is to be achieved in representation. Similarly, a book written by Newman et al. also noted similar things to be barriers to entry for women into the political landscape in Canada.

Female representation in Canada compared to international and provincial representation The number of women in the Canadian Parliament has been slowly but steadily increasing since the 1980s and has reached its highest point following the 2019 Canadian federal election where women made up 29.6% of the Canadian Parliament which is higher than the global average of 25.5% and very close to the 1995 United Nations goal of 30% female representation in government. In terms of gender representation in government, Canada outperforms a country like the United States in which the House of Representatives is made up of 27.4% women. However, in a country where women make up a slim majority of the population at 50.4% as of 2010, the 43rd Canadian Parliament still falls short when it comes to achieving gender parity in government. Canada also currently ranks 53rd in the world in gender representation in government which is behind the United Kingdom, Sweden, and Rwanda. However, with prominent Canadian political parties like the Liberals Party pledging to include more female representation in government as well as parties like the New Democratic Party putting forward a slate of candidates that was 49% women in the 2019 election, there is significant political pressure to increase the number of women representatives in government.