McDonough deserves our gratitude

When I ran for the leadership of the federal NDP, I was told on more than one occasion, “We tried women leaders and it didn’t work out.” No, women did not lead the NDP to a winning election, but neither did any male leaders. Alexa McDonough’s leadership certainly worked out when it came to showing Canadians that yes, women can lead political parties, and leaders can be authentic, principled and empathetic.

When McDonough, who passed away recently, was elected federal leader in 1995, she faced serious political headwinds. Despite a run of 14 years as the Nova Scotia NDP leader, she still faced the massive barrier of leadership stereotypes, many of which continue.

She was undoubtably tough and hard working but did not display the kind of table thumping bluster that often gets rewarded in politics. Women who try to imitate that male stereotype of leadership often get labelled angry, disagreeable or worse.

That she was a fundamentally decent person who didn’t play to that macho type meant she got labelled by some as weak or ineffective. She hated the cut and thrust of the “gotcha” moments in question period and the media, and told me she thought she wasn’t any good at it. Maybe she was too thoughtful to hammer home those 30 second clips.

Undermining her was a hurtful sport that some indulged in, both in and outside her caucus. By the 1990s, neo-liberal austerity and free market ebullience were in full swing. That alone was challenging enough. But McDonough was also elected federally in the slipstream of Bob Rae, the one-term Ontario NDP premier who by the time he left office was vilified by many on the left and right of the political spectrum.

It was also the period of Tony Blair, who moved the British Labour Party from the left to the centre. Many NDP activists were understandably wary of that shift, and many, including many labour leaders, were also accustomed to a type of leadership completely at odds with McDonough’s approach.

I confess that I too felt the party was adrift, and while I didn’t criticize McDonough publicly, I did support the New Politics Initiative, a movement designed to push the party to the left or create a new left party. It went nowhere, but after McDonough announced she would step down as leader, that energy and the desire for change was seized on by Jack Layton and it helped fuel his successful leadership bid.

Not many men stick around after they’ve been leader and it must be difficult. However, McDonough did remain as an MP for two more terms. She helped the new leader as he learned the ropes in Ottawa and she focused on her role as the party’s foreign affairs and international development critic. Fighting Islamophobia became a major focus, and she was the first to take up the cause of the unjust imprisonment of Maher Arar.

When I was first elected as an NDP member of Parliament in 2006, I found myself immersed in a strange new world. McDonough came to my rescue, without being asked, instantly friendly and encouraging. She invited me to share her rental flat near the Rideau Canal and so as two very busy MPs, we also became roommates. What I saw firsthand was McDonough’s thoughtfulness and her fierce passion for causes she believed in, such as peace and human rights. And she wanted to open more doors for women to follow her.

While politics wasn’t always kind, McDonough carved a political path that inspired and assisted those of us who did follow. She gamely supported my unsuccessful leadership bid after Jack Layton’s untimely death and was a tremendous inspiration to our team of mostly young activists. We owe her a debt of gratitude and mourn her loss.