We didn’t think we’d find ourselves saying this – at least not quite so soon – but British Columbians actually have good reason to miss Christy Clark.
That reason?
Her departure leaves the Canadian political landscape even more dominated by middle-aged white guys.
There are now only two women at the helm of Canadian provinces – Rachel Notley in Alberta and Kathleen Wynne in Ontario – and only one premier, Brian Gallant in New Brunswick, who can conceivably qualify as young.
Most of the rest are white guys over the age of 50 – including, of course, B.C. Premier John Horgan himself (and his coalition partner, Andrew Weaver of the Greens).
To be fair, the B.C. NDP are clearly ahead of the B.C. Liberals on issues of gender equality. Witness the party’s often controversial equity policies that seek to identify candidates from traditionally underrepresented groups – and, of course, Horgan’s gender-balanced cabinet.
It’s great to see a cabinet that includes women and people of colour. The more our leadership looks like the actual population of British Columbia, the closer we get to true representation of the people – you know, that whole thing democracy is supposed to be about.
But the premier’s office is something else altogether. There’s something significant about the top office being occupied by a woman (or, for that matter, a person from any other historically underrepresented group).
Was Christy Clark’s premiership good for the women of B.C.? That’s debatable at best.
But her very presence in the office was a much-needed reminder that, yes, women can and do occupy positions of power. A female face in charge is a powerful statement that “leader” does not always mean “man” – and it’s an important symbol of equality in the 21st century.
(And if you think that kind of symbolism is unimportant – well, we suspect you may just happen to be a middle-aged white guy.)
The B.C. Liberals would do well to consider that fact when choosing their next chief.
If the Liberals can find a credible leader who happens to be female, or who happens to be a person of colour, they stand to be able to woo some voters who are concerned about diversity and equity in politics.
Whether they’ll find any takers in their ranks is another question altogether.
