America wasn’t ready for a female President.
Just ask Kamala Harris or Hillary Clinton.
Is Canada ready?
Of course we know that Kim Campbell served as the first female prime minister of Canada from June to November 1993. Time to blink, then she was gone. I’m not sure if that counts.
As the New Year started with a bang and lots of fireworks around the world including Canada (with the exception of no-fun Vancouver), people celebrated and coalesced in their optimism for 2025.
That lasted about five minutes where we saw terrorist acts in New Orleans and Las Vegas at the beginning of the year. War rages on in Israel as well as between Russia and Ukraine. We celebrated the life of former US president Jimmy Carter and for a fleeting moment, we understood what it meant to be a decent and peace-loving human being. A welcome reprieve from the catastrophic news out of Los Angeles where the fires continue to rage out of control, destroying communities with thousands of people displaced. Armageddon.
In the midst of all this sadness comes the reality that our prime minister has resigned and Parliament is prorogued with the Liberals searching for a new leader. And next door, Trump is set to take office as the next president of the US.
So I ask again, is Canada ready for a female prime minister?
At the time of writing, there is speculation that former Finance Minister and Deputy PM, Chrystia Freeland and former BC Premier, Christy Clark are considering throwing their hats in the ring.
Are they strong enough to stand up to Trump who is threatening Canada with tariffs and wanting to absorb Canada as America’s 51st state? Do they have what it takes to take on this disruptive, bombastic and arrogant leader of the free world?
Well, let’s look at the track record of these two prominent and successful women.
Chrystia Freeland was born in Peace River, Alberta in 1968. She was a journalist before entering politics where she has served as the Liberal Member of Parliament for University-Rosedale (Toronto) since 2015. She was first elected to the House of Commons in 2013. She is intelligent and multilingual and was the first woman to hold the position of Finance Minister. She advocated for a national child care program in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. She was loyal to her boss, Trudeau, until he threw her under the bus in December of last year at which time she resigned, throwing the Liberals into a tailspin. I might add, she showed class during this upheaval.
Christy Clark, who was born in Burnaby in 1965, was the 35th premier of British Columbia from 2011 to 2017. She was the first woman premier in Canada to be re-elected. A Liberal MLA since 1996, she took a break from politics in 2005 and became a media darling until her return to power in 2011. Her political legacy includes spearheading one of the most significant economic transformations in BC’s history. A tough and straightforward woman who can stand up to bullies (she started the Pink Shirt Campaign). Are you listening Mr. Trump?
She worked to foster stronger trade relationships with China, she supported the LNG and Site C Dam projects and liaised with First Nations leaders on a framework for reconciliation. She was an advocate for female empowerment and was known to have said the only way to overcome barriers was to break them.
Are we ready for a female Prime Minister? Hell yeah!
There’s just one problem.
Pierre Polievre is going to win the next federal election.
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