Lack of diversity a test for UCP leadership race
Candidates vow to build inclusive party, as no women or minorities seek top job
The United Conservative Party appears to be in a position of strength as contenders vie to be the first leader, but as the new party takes shape it faces questions over whether issues around diversity could be an Achilles heel.
The deadline to enter the UCP leadership contest was last Tuesday and the roster of candidates, as expected, was filled out by the four men who had already declared: Jeff Callaway, Brian Jean, Jason Kenney and Doug Schweitzer.
For Lana Cuthbertson, the chair of Alberta’s northern chapter of Equal Voice Canada — a group dedicated to increasing the number of women in politics — the lack of women in the race is “disappointing.”
In an interview, she said it could be a potential problem for the new party as it finds its place on the Alberta political landscape.
“Having more women in your political party, especially these days, is strategically advantageous,” said Cuthbertson.
“The fact that this party doesn’t have any women running for the leadership, while it’s not surprising, is probably not a great thing for (them) ... on the other hand, it’s really going to come down to how much of an effort is the party ultimately going to make to recruit female candidates. That’s going to be huge.”
The UCP was founded this summer when Wildrose and Progressive Conservative members voted to create a new party. Polls have shown the UCP to be in a strong position to take on the NDP government in the 2019 provincial election, but a Mainstreet Research survey released in August suggested the party is less popular among women than men.
At one point, the Tories and Wildrose each had a woman as leader, when premier Alison Redford and opposition leader Danielle Smith squared off in the legislature.
But the new 27-member UCP caucus only has two female MLAs — Leela Aheer and Angela Pitt.
That stands in contrast to Premier Rachel Notley’s NDP government, which boasts of its gender parity.
The last PC leadership race began with two women in the running, but both Donna Kennedy-Glans and Sandra Jansen dropped out, with Jansen citing harassment before later defecting to the NDP government.
Cuthbertson said she’s uncertain if there’s lingering fallout from that situation, but it’s important for the UCP to show it is a welcoming party.
Those seeking the UCP leadership say not to read too much into the lack of female candidates.
Former PC leader Kenney said in a recent interview that the makeup of the field is “circumstantial” and polls indicate that a majority of Alberta women will support the new party.
But Kenney said he is committed to diversity and would reach out to women to encourage them to run for the UCP if elected leader.
“I’m committed to do everything we can to ensure a highly competent, principled, diverse slate of candidates in the next election,” he said, noting that as a federal minister more than half of his appointments to commissions had been women.
Jean also touted his bona fides on the issue, saying in a statement that more than half his campaign team were women and that he had won the endorsement of Aheer and Pitt.
“I will actively seek out and promote strong conservative women to stand for nominations and seek leadership positions in our party, because it’s critically important that we don’t just have women at the decision-making table, but also in positions of influence throughout our political organization,” he said.
Schweitzer, a corporate lawyer, also pledged to encourage “a record number of women to run in 2019.”
Callaway said one of the jobs of the new UCP leader will be to ensure that rules don’t throw up barriers to running.
He noted that the leadership race’s high cost of entry — $95,000 — may have contributed to no women in the race.
“The rules need to be fair,” said Callaway, an investment adviser and former president of the Wildrose party.
Besides the lack of women, the UCP leadership slate is also all white.
It’s also heavily slanted to Calgary, with three of the four candidates — Kenney, Schweitzer and Callaway — from the city, while Jean is from Fort McMurray. There is no candidate from Edmonton, the provincial capital and second-largest city.
Robyn Henwood, chair of the party’s leadership election committee, said in a recent interview she wasn’t concerned about the lack of diversity in the race.
“Any time you run for office it takes a very special person and it’s not for everybody ... I want to have people who genuinely want the job put their name forward.”