No Second Chances

Female first ministers in Canada tend to last about half as long as men. They reach the top only to fall back down, often because they enter into their roles when chances of failure are highest. In this episode, we explore what happened when things took a turn for the worse.

Only twelve women have ever led Canada’s federal, provincial and territorial governments. For almost all, it was the first time a woman took the post. What did they bring to the table, how did their styles differ from the men that came before them, and what was the reaction?

Running in a leadership race isn’t for the faint of heart. There are upsides, like working to make a difference in the lives of constituents, and there are downsides, like opening yourself up to fierce criticism. What compelled these twelve women to take the leap? What was the experience like?

In this episode, we take a break from our series on Canada’s female first ministers for a special discussion focused on the 2019 Alberta general election. Premier Rachel Notley is quite literally the last woman standing when it comes to Canada’s female First Ministers, and the election outcome will be historic, one way or another.

Election night came and went, and the twelve women have all been elected for the first time. Find out more about the experiences they faced as rookie politicians: what hurdles did they confront, who supported them, and what surprised them about those early days?

A journey of a thousand miles (well, kilometers in Canada) begins with a single step. That’s true for the 12 women who would become Canada’s sole female first ministers. Find out what led them to take that first big step and run for public office.

We start where all good stories do: the beginning. In this episode, host Kate Graham speaks with Canada's 12 female first ministers about their childhoods, whether politics was a lifelong dream, and who shaped them along the way.

In this episode, host Kate Graham looks at the experiences of women in politics - then and now. To set the scene, she speaks with: veteran journalists Robert Fife and Susan Delacourt, former federal Conservative Party interim leader Rona Ambrose, current Green Party leader Elizabeth May, and University of Toronto Professor Dr. Sylvia Bashevkin.    

Throughout history, only 12 women have served as first minister in Canada. Put another way: there have been more than three times as many first ministers named ‘John,’ than there have been women. No Second Chances kicks off an important conversation about women in leadership – and it couldn’t come at a more crucial time for our politics.