There have been 23 Canadian prime ministers, but only one was born in British Columbia and only one was a woman. That, of course, is the Rt. Hon. Kim Campbell. Ms. Campbell has broken glass ceilings ever since she was a high school student, when she became the first female student council president. Her career in professional politics began as a Vancouver School Board Trustee before moving to provincial politics, sitting as an MLA with the now defunct Social Credit Party and running for its leadership. Ms. Campbell entered federal politics in 1988 with the Progressive Conservative Party – one of the forerunners of today’s Conservative Party – becoming the rare politician to have served at all three levels of government in Canada. She held several cabinet roles, most notably Attorney General and Minister of Justice, before succeeding the late Rt. Hon Brian Mulroney as prime minister.
Since leaving office, Ms. Campbell has served as Canadian Consul General in Los Angeles, taught at the Harvard Kennedy School, was the Founding Principal of the Lougheed Leadership College at the University of Alberta, chaired Canada’s Supreme Court Advisory Board and led the International Women’s Forum, the Council of Women World Leaders, the World Movement for Democracy and the Club de Madrid – the largest forum of former democratic presidents and prime ministers. Throughout her journey, from her time in office to her work on the international stage, Ms. Campbell has been a global champion of democratization, good governance, gender equity and the environment. And she’s a passionate believer in the power of the next generation to create a better world through politics.
What do you think?
- Do you agree that our democracy is fragile?
- If it is, how can we contribute to its health?
- Is it good enough to just vote and understand the issues from all sides when doing so? Is the bar, as Ms. Campbell said, that low? Or do we need to do more?
- Do we need to get involved with political parties and be part of a party’s policy and candidate selection process?
- Are too few of us giving up important decisions to too few?
- Do we need to consider running for office, or is it fair to say that politics – and party politics specifically – isn’t for everyone?
- Is proposing and advocating for good policy the best tool available for advancing innovative ideas?