Kim Campbell: Women in Parliament

Did being a woman in the top job make a difference?

Written by Nelle Oosterom

 — Posted May 14, 2010

Former Canadian Prime Minister Kim Campbell.
PHOTO TAKEN BY DENISE GRANT, RIGHTS OWNED BY KIM CAMPBELL

It’s been ninety years since women in Canada won the right to stand for election to Parliament. Kim Campbell was Canada’s first female prime minister. Did being a woman in the top job make a difference? In a podcast with associate editor Nelle Oosterom, Campbell reflects back on her own experience as a woman in Canadian politics.

More stories about the history of women in Canada’s Parliament appeared in the June-July 2010 issue of  Canada’s History magazine.

Themes associated with this article

Skip social share links

Related to Prime Ministers

The Ballots Question

In 1919, a federal political party held a convention to choose its leader, forever changing the way politics is practised in Canada.

Article

Love in Code

Canada’s fourth prime minister, John Thompson, and his wife Annie were so passionate about each other that their long separations fueled an erotic intensity that animated their written communications. But you won’t find the evidence easily.

Article

Canada's Father Figure

Sir John A. Macdonald has been caricatured as a drunkard and a crook. But without him there would be no Canada.

Article

A Life Full of Firsts

The story of Kim Campbell, Canada's first — and only — female prime minister.

Article