Hanes: Fréchette’s accomplishment marks another milestone for women

I was an exchange student living in France when Kim Campbell was running for the leadership of the Progressive Conservatives back in 1993.

Since my stay overseas predated the internet, my parents would mail me newspaper clippings so I could keep track of the race that would ultimately determine the first woman to serve as Canada’s prime minister.

As a 16-year-old, I was inspired by Campbell’s historical feat, which for me transcended party affiliation and seemed long overdue. But nearly 33 years later, no one has managed a repeat.

It’s a reality Campbell herself reflected on when I interviewed her in 2019.

“I don’t overstate my importance to Canadian history, but as the years go by and no other woman is elected leader of a governing party, I say, ‘You know, it’s harder than it looks,’ ” she said then. “It’s not that I try to exaggerate what I did, but if I denigrate it or minimize it, I’m cheating all the other women who need to have examples to encourage them and who also deserve to be taken seriously.”

Campbell’s words resonate this week as another woman makes political history. Christine Féchette will be sworn in Wednesday as Quebec’s next premier, only the second woman to hold the job after Pauline Marois in 2012.

Her accomplishment is both an important milestone on the long road to equality — and a reminder that the progress can be fleeting.

In many ways, Fréchette’s ascent mirrors that of Campbell three decades ago.

Fréchette was chosen as the new Coalition Avenir Québec leader on Sunday to replace outgoing two-term premier François Legault. She inherits an unpopular government and will have just months to try to reverse her party’s fortunes before an election in October.

After two majority governments, Campbell was selected to replace exiting Prime Minister Brian Mulroney. But on election night 1993 a few months later, the Conservatives were reduced to just two seats. It was game over for Campbell.

Fréchette, too, rose to power on the endorsement of party members alone, rather than the vote of the electorate. But that should not diminish the accomplishment.

In Canada, it seems that the higher the office, the harder the glass ceiling, which is why Fréchette’s exploit is so notable.

Fréchette is in rarefied company in Quebec — despite this being a province that wants to enshrine abortion rights in a constitution and adopted laws regulating religious dress supposedly for the sake of equality.

Only Marois has stood in Fréchette’s shoes. The Parti Québécois leader eked out a minority government in 2012 that lasted 18 months. But Marois’s victory night celebrations were marred by a deranged gunman.

There have been just 15 female premiers and territorial leaders in Canada since B.C.’s Rita Johnston blazed the trail in 1991. In 2013, there were six at the same time — a pinnacle. But by 2019, there were none again.

Fréchette now brings the total to 16 and the tally presently sitting to three. In her maiden press conference, Fréchette said she spoke with Premier Susan Holt of Nova Scotia and Premier Danielle Smith of Alberta on Monday.

One 2018 study published in the Canadian Journal of Political Science found that women tend to be elevated to premier in times of crisis, chosen internally, and ejected more swiftly.

Fréchette has secured her place in the history books, but she will have to work hard to cement a legacy that is more than a footnote.

At Montreal city hall, having a mairesse has been normalized — though it shouldn’t be taken for granted.

Valérie Plante broke the barrier in 2017 and won a second mandate in 2021.

Soraya Martinez Ferrada followed in Plante’s footsteps last November, the second woman, second successive woman and first woman of Latina descent.

Plante often put an emphasis on being a woman, proposing a signature Pink Line of the métro and winking at feminism with her campaign slogan “l’homme de la situation.” Plante also made encouraging other women a hallmark of her leadership.

Martinez Ferrada talks more about her background as an immigrant. But she spoke out for women’s rights by defending abortion as a former federal Liberal cabinet minister.

Whether it’s 1993 or 2026, female leaders are still fighting many of the same battles, from double standards to blatant misogyny.

Plante, like many female politicians in the social media era, has decried being the target of hateful comments toward women.

Marois has said more female leaders are needed as role models to help convince others there is room for their contributions in politics.

In the three decades since Campbell’s stint as prime minister, gender parity was pioneered in the federal cabinet and two women tried but failed to become president of the United States.

“Sexism is not people saying, ‘Oh, we don’t like women.’ Because most sexists will walk over hot coals before ever admitting that they are sexist,” Campbell said in that interview almost six years ago. “What it is, is never giving you the benefit of the doubt. The assumption is you don’t belong there, you’re an interloper. So any sign that you’re not perfect: ‘Aha, you see?’ … It’s not that you might genuinely be well-suited to do this, and have earned the respect of your colleagues — there has to be a catch.”

Plus ça change.

These may be the least of Fréchette’s challenges as premier. But her tenure, however long it lasts, is another step for womankind.

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