Susan Thompson is the first woman to serve as Winnipeg’s mayor. Nearly three decades after she left office, she says it’s taking too long for a second to be sworn in.
“Our city is over 150 years old, and I’m still the only woman to have become mayor. We have to change that,” said Thompson, who was the mayor of Manitoba’s capital from 1992 until 1998.
But it doesn’t appear that will change soon.
As of Saturday morning, none of the 11 people who had registered to run for mayor in the city’s upcoming October election are women.
Thompson wants to see women sign up before the Sept. 22 registration deadline passes.
“It’s been over 30 years since there’s been a woman leader, and it is time,” Thompson said.
WATCH | A sit-down with Susan Thompson:
She said her gender was often an issue for other people when she ran for office and led the city in the 1990s.
Many those issues persist today, Thompson said.
Four years ago, she told CBC News there needs to be “another seismic shift” in order to achieve gender parity at city hall.
Despite making up half of Winnipeg’s population, women remain underrepresented on city council. Just 37 per cent of council seats are currently held by women.
Barriers are still excluding many women from entering — or even considering entering — the Canadian political sphere, said Kelly Saunders, a political science professor at Brandon University.
On average, women hold about one-third of elected positions across all levels of government in Canada, she said.
“We make up half the population in this country and in this province and in the city, so I would certainly like to see more representation of women,” Saunders said.
But Saunders isn’t surprised women aren’t running to become Winnipeg’s next mayor.
They may be choosing not to run due to the harassment, threats and personal attacks that politicians can face, both online and in person.
These attacks can be more vicious and sexist when women and other gender-diverse people run for office, Saunders said.
Last year, the Winnipeg constituency offices of Manitoba Families Minister Nahanni Fontaine and Housing Minister Bernadette Smith were targeted by vandalism and fires.
Smith said the incidents were an “attack on democracy” and Fontaine said the acts wouldn’t scare the ministers out of politics.
Despite the hazards of working in politics, Saunders sees more and more young women filling the seats in her political science classes, she said.
‘Blood sport’
“It’s not that women aren’t interested. It’s … the fact that there are larger structural systemic barriers that make it that much harder for us to run and to be successful at running,” she said.
“I think until we really address the larger problems in our political system … it’s going to remain a pretty exclusive place, where a lot of people just don’t feel welcome.”
When Thompson first ran for public office in Winnipeg, she was warned that politics is a “blood sport.”
But she worked to avoid hostility in order to focus on important issues and meeting municipal goals, she said.
She “wouldn’t allow bad behaviour” while leading the city, she said.
“You want to see honesty, integrity, courage, leadership — and you want to see the job done. You don’t want to see bad behaviour,” Thompson said.
Waverley West Coun. Janice Lukes, a longtime fixture on Winnipeg city council, agreed that “politics is not for the faint of heart,” in an interview on Up to Speed.
“It can get really nasty, but if you’re dedicated and committed, you will succeed and move mountains,” said Lukes, who was first elected in 2014.
Lukes decided not to run for re-election this year. In June, she told reporters that she felt she had accomplished what she set out to do when she entered municipal politics.
While she doesn’t want to run for mayor, Lukes believes Winnipeg will eventually see another woman at the helm.
In Brandon, Manitoba’s second-largest city, there are no women on the mayoral ballot either.
As of Saturday morning, only incumbent Jeff Fawcett and former Progressive Conservative MLA Len Isleifson were registered to run.
Tracy Baker works to encourage more women to run for municipal office in Brandon as one of the co-founders of Her Seat at the Table.
Ward 1 Coun. Heather Karrouze is currently the only woman on the western Manitoba city’s council. That means women make up less than 10 per cent of the 11-person leadership team.
Baker said council needs more gender diversity so it can better represent Brandon’s residents.
“We’re just trying to have literally our seat at the table, because we think it’s very important that there is, first of all, gender equality, but also the different ideas and community involvement that come from both men and women are important,” she said.
Baker said more women have expressed interest in getting into local politics since the group started in 2023, but there’s a lot more work ahead before women are equitably represented on Brandon’s council.
Kathy Valentino, president of the Association of Manitoba Municipalities, is a city councillor in Thompson in northern Manitoba, where women make up 50 per cent of the eight-person council — led by Mayor Colleen Smook.
Valentino said anyone who is interested in making a difference in their local community should step up and register to run.
“A municipality is made up of many different people with different experiences and ideas, and that’s good and that’s healthy,” she said. “We need all people of diverse ranges to step forward.”
The Association of Manitoba Municipalities has a resource hub on its website with information for people who are interested in running in the Oct. 28 general municipal election.
Thompson has long kept an eye out for local women who would make good candidates — and she wants other Winnipeggers to do the same.
“If you see somebody that would make a good candidate, you have to encourage them,” the former mayor said.
“Winnipeg has wonderful women, but it really does take a village to encourage candidates.… Get in there and support and encourage women to take on the challenge.”
