Women As Provincial/territorial Premiers
A total of ten women have served or are currently serving as the premier of a province or territory in Canada. The first female premier in Canadian history was Rita Johnston, who served as Premier of British Columbia for seven months in 1991 after she won the leadership of the governing party.
Women achieved a significant breakthrough in the early 2010s, when a number of women won the leadership of the governing political parties in their respective provinces within a short time of each other. Several journalists christened 2011 as "The Year of the Woman" because of the breakthrough. As of January 2013, Canada has six women who are serving as provincial or territorial premiers, including the four most populated provinces – meaning that almost half of Canada's provinces and territories are led by women, and that more than half of all the women who have ever served as provincial or territorial premiers are the current incumbents of their offices.
As of 2013, seven of Canada's ten provinces have had a female premier, but only one of those to date has had more than one. All three of Canada's territories have had one female premier each.
Upon winning the 2013 Ontario Liberal Party leadership election, Kathleen Wynne also earned the distinction of being the first out lesbian to hold a first ministership in Canada.
Read more about this topic: Women In Canadian Politics
Famous quotes containing the words women, provincial and/or territorial:
“One of the duties which devolve upon women in the present interesting crisis, is to prepare themselves for more extensive usefulness, by making use of those religious and literary privileges and advantages that are within their reach, if they will only stretch out their hands and possess them.”
—Sarah M. Grimke (1792–1873)
“The divinity in man is the true vestal fire of the temple which is never permitted to go out, but burns as steadily and with as pure a flame on the obscure provincial altar as in Numa’s temple at Rome.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“All the territorial possessions of all the political establishments in the earth—including America, of course—consist of pilferings from other people’s wash.”
—Mark Twain [Samuel Langhorne Clemens] (1835–1910)