Canadian first ministers at the federal and provincial levels have much say in the direction of government, and since 1867 such leadership positions have been almost exclusively occupied by men. Only recently has the number of female first ministers increased to the point where it is feasible to assemble a set of essays about them. In this excellent edited collection of 11 insightful essays about 12 cases of women's subnational leadership, Sylvia Bashevkin presents the first comprehensive book about women premiers.
The cases represent different periods, parties and social contexts; the common thread is a focus on when women attain leadership positions. The authors of the chapters throughout the book use a threefold classification of leadership contexts. The first is imperilled leadership. Women leaders in this category assumed control of parties that had been successful in the past but then entered a period of decline. The second category, empowered leadership, contains cases of experienced, popular governing parties that selected a new female leader who could win the premier's office in the next election. The third category, pioneering leadership, combines aspects of imperilled and empowered leadership. Pioneering leadership occurs when the head of a long-term opposition party brings her party to power for the first time, and these politicians “carry the positive halo that comes from turning the tables on an established governing elite and installing a new regime” (11). The chapters also employ a common framework to examine how women's leadership has shaped the climate of political debate, the content of public policy and the numbers of women in party, cabinet and civil service positions (5).
Three territorial cases in the book's first section effectively illustrate the specific contexts and important differences that mark women's political leadership. Graham White's study of Nellie Cournoyea's trailblazing term as the first Aboriginal woman to become a Canadian first minister when she led the Northwest Territories’ government in the early 1990s underscores her dedication to serving her community. White concludes that in terms of her approaches and accomplishments, “Cournoyea must be considered first and foremost an Aboriginal premier and only secondarily a woman premier” (52). In studying Pat Duncan's leadership of Yukon from 2000 to 2002, Maura Forrest notes she was the first woman to win an election where the other competing parties were led by men (56). Although Duncan appointed the first gender-balanced cabinet in Canadian history after entering office, Forrest finds her governmental priorities were largely economic rather than gendered ones (78). The final essay, concerning Eva Aariak's role in leading Nunavut from 2008 to 2013, is presented by Sheena Kennedy Dalseg as a case study of change-oriented leadership exercised by a leader sincerely devoted to finding consensus, a style that complemented Inuit cultural norms informing the legislative context (96).
The next section contains two essays about women's leadership in Atlantic Canada. Catherine Callbeck, the first woman ever elected as a provincial leader when she won office in Prince Edward Island in 1993, is analyzed by Don Desserud and Robin Sutherland as a premier who was successful in striking a balance among competing policy priorities (112). Drew Brown, Elizabeth Goodyear-Grant and Amanda Bittner probe the leadership of Kathy Dunderdale, who served as Newfoundland and Labrador's premier from 2010 to 2014. They note that although Dunderdale was a strong proponent of women's rights and gender equality, she devoted so much attention to hydroelectric development and several political crises that “gender-related issues seemed to fall off the radar screen” (133).
With respect to central Canada, in chapter 7, Philippe Bernier Arcand examines Pauline Marois's paradoxical record as Quebec premier from 2012 to 2014. Although she claimed to be a strong advocate for women's rights, during her leadership women's numerical representation in cabinet actually declined (167), and her understanding of nationalism and social values was narrowly focused on the francophone, Quebec-born majority (169). In chapter 8, Bashevkin gives an account of Kathleen Wynne's leadership as Ontario's first woman premier from 2013 to 2018. She notes Wynne moved women's cabinet representation beyond a “glass ceiling” of 42 per cent, concluding that her time in office “constituted a key breakthrough not just for women but also for sexual orientation minorities” (192). Yet other aspects of Wynne's record were much less transformative.
In the final section, the book's attention shifts to the west. Tracy Summerville analyzes the leadership of Rita Johnson and Christy Clark. Although both women were selected to head parties in British Columbia fraught with controversy, Clark managed to lead her party to its fourth consecutive win in 2013, becoming the province's first popularly elected female premier (204–5). The last two chapters concern Alberta. Clark Banack finds premier Alison Redford did not “move the needle” much on women's issues during her time in the premier's office from 2011 to 2014, perhaps owing to the constraints imposed by her right-wing caucus (239). Melanee Thomas underscores that Rachel Notley's victory in the 2015 election made Alberta the first province to elect a woman-led government twice in a row. Premier Notley actively used the levers of the state to improve women's political representation and entrench gender identity rights within provincial law (264).
This engaging book will be a popular addition to class curricula, particularly those concerning provincial/territorial politics, gender and politics, intersectional studies, leadership studies and Canadian elections. The work helpfully exemplifies the many policy, party, identity and gender-based challenges each woman premier faced while in office. In answering whether they “do politics differently,” the analysts communicate these women premiers could have used their official powers more actively to ameliorate the many inequalities, injustices and barriers that women face. Bashevkin notes in her summary chapter: “Given that they were responsible for making these institutions work, women premiers tended to adopt many of the same repertoires as did the men who preceded and succeeded them” (287). As the editor observes, this volume opens up new scholarly terrain, and it ought to lead academics to engage the many questions it raises and test some of the answers it provides.
