B.C. Election: Why your ballot doesn't list more women

Incumbent NDP MLA candidate for North Vancouver-Lonsdale Bowinn Ma with her three-month-old son Jack. Ma is one of 55 women running in Saturday's provincial election. Photo by Jason Payne /PNG

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Three-month-old Jack coos as his mother, NDP candidate Bowinn Ma, discusses why more women haven’t put their names forward for Saturday’s provincial election.

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One reason may be the “significant barriers” that make it difficult for provincial politicians to take maternity leave, so Ma is campaigning every day in her North Vancouver-Lonsdale riding with an infant who is still breast feeding.

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Another is the increasing amount of harassment and toxic social media comments that female politicians say they receive, and in some cases threats to their safety.

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In one of B.C.’s most extreme examples of this, an explosive device was detonated outside Ma’s office in June 2025. No one was injured, but it was a frightening experience.

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“That day I was scheduled to have (my daughter) with me at the office, and I would be lying if I said that it didn’t create concern,” she said.

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“How could an incident like that not give a mother pause when part of her ability to do this work depends on occasionally having her child with her?”

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Still, Ma, who was the NDP’s infrastructure minister, is running for her fourth term because she believes the job is important and, “I’m not going to be intimidated away from representing my community.”

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A Postmedia analysis of the gender makeup of candidates running for B.C.’s five main parties shows the NDP with 60 per cent women and the Greens with 49 per cent, but the other parties trail with 27 per cent for the Conservatives, 23 per cent for CentreBC, and 36 per cent for OneBC.

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Conservative candidate Claire Ratteé (left) with volunteers as she runs for re-election in the Skeena riding. Source: Claire Ratteé campaign

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The lack of gender balance is concerning, but not surprising, for Kimberly Speers, associate professor in the University of Victoria’s school of public administration.

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“There’s always been a challenge to get women to run,” she said.

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Traditional reasons include time away from home, caregiving responsibilities, and how parties select their candidates. The biggest deterrent lately, Speers said, is that women “face more threats and harassment and gendered attacks than men.”

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She said governments should develop anti-harassment policies, that come with strict enforcement, to convince more women — as well as visible minorities and people with diverse backgrounds — to consider public service.

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After last weekend’s municipal election, only five of Metro Vancouver’s 21 mayors will be women.

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Less than one-third of federal MPs are women, including only nine of the 43 MPs representing B.C.

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The 2024 provincial election brought gender parity to the legislature for the first time, with 53 per cent of the 93 MLAs being women or gender-diverse people. B.C. is the first province to achieve this balance, Speers said.