# Women in the 44th Canadian Parliament

The 44th Canadian Parliament includes a record number of female Members of Parliament, with 103 women elected to the 338-member House of Commons of Canada (30.5%) in the 2021 election. Of those 103 women, 22 were elected for the first time in the 2021 election. This represents a gain of five seats over the previous record of 98 women elected at the beginning of the 43rd Canadian Parliament, and a gain of three seats from the record high of 100 women during the previous parliamentary session following by-elections.
By contrast, the 117th United States Congress had 119 elected women sitting in the 435-seat United States House of Representatives (27.3%).
The 2021 election represented the highest proportion of women ever on the ballot.

## Party standings

| Party | Total women candidates in the 2021 election | % women of total candidates in the 2021 election | Total women elected in the 2021 election | % women elected of total female candidates in the 2021 election | % women elected of total elected in the 2021 election | Total current female members of the House of Commons | % women of current members in the House of Commons |
| Liberal | 147 (of 338) | 43% | 57 (of 160) | 38.8% | 35.6% | 57 (of 338) | 16.9% |
| Conservative | 111 (of 337) | 33% | 22 (of 119) | 19.8% | 18.5% | 22 (of 338) | 6.5% |
| Bloc Québécois | 37 (of 78) | 47% | 12 (of 32) | 32.4% | 37.5% | 12 (of 338) | 3.6% |
| New Democrats | 175 (of 338) | 52% | 11 (of 25) | 6.3% | 44.0% | 12 (of 338) | 3.6% |
| Green | 112 (of 252) | 44% | 1 (of 2) | 0.9% | 50.0% | 1 (of 338) | 0.3% |
| Total | | | 103 (of 338) | | 30.5% | 104 (of 338) | 30.8% |
| Table source: | Table source: | Table source: | Table source: | Table source: | Table source: | Table source: and List of House members of the 44th Parliament of Canada | Table source: and List of House members of the 44th Parliament of Canada |

## Female members

* † denotes women who were newly elected in the 2021 election and are serving their first term in office.
* †† denotes women who were newly elected in by-elections following the 2021 election.
| Name | Party | Electoral district | Notes |
| Hon. Anita Anand | Liberal | Oakville | Minister of Transport; former Minister of National Defence |
| Niki Ashton | New Democratic | Churchill—Keewatinook Aski | |
| Jenica Atwin | Liberal | Fredericton | |
| Lisa Marie Barron† | New Democratic | Nanaimo—Ladysmith | |
| Hon. Rachel Bendayan | Liberal | Outremont | Minister of Official Languages |
| Hon. Carolyn Bennett | Liberal | Toronto—St. Paul's | Resigned on January 16, 2024; Minister of Mental Health and Addictions and Associate Minister of Health |
| Hon. Candice Bergen | Conservative | Portage—Lisgar | Resigned on February 28, 2023 |
| Sylvie Bérubé | Bloc Québécois | Abitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik—Eeyou | |
| Hon. Marie-Claude Bibeau | Liberal | Compton—Stanstead | Former Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food/National Revenue |
| Rachel Blaney | New Democratic | North Island—Powell River | Whip of the New Democratic Party |
| Kelly Block | Conservative | Carlton Trail—Eagle Creek | |
| Valerie Bradford† | Liberal | Kitchener South—Hespeler | |
| Hon. Élisabeth Brière | Liberal | Sherbrooke | Minister of National Revenue |
| Louise Chabot | Bloc Québécois | Thérèse-De Blainville | |
| Hon. Bardish Chagger | Liberal | Waterloo | Former Minister of Diversity, Inclusion and Youth |
| Sophie Chatel† | Liberal | Pontiac | |
| Laurel Collins | New Democratic | Victoria | |
| Julie Dabrusin | Liberal | Toronto—Danforth | |
| Pam Damoff | Liberal | Oakville North—Burlington | |
| Leila Dance†† | New Democratic | Elmwood—Transcona | |
| Raquel Dancho | Conservative | Kildonan—St. Paul | |
| Claude DeBellefeuille | Bloc Québécois | Salaberry—Suroît | Whip of the Bloc Québécois |
| Caroline Desbiens | Bloc Québécois | Beauport—Côte-de-Beaupré—Île d'Orléans—Charlevoix | |
| Anju Dhillon | Liberal | Dorval—Lachine—LaSalle | |
| Lena Diab† | Liberal | Halifax West | |
| Hon. Kirsty Duncan | Liberal | Etobicoke North | |
| Julie Dzerowicz | Liberal | Davenport | |
| Rosemarie Falk | Conservative | Battlefords—Lloydminster | |
| Michelle Ferreri† | Conservative | Peterborough—Kawartha | |
| Hon. Kerry-Lynne Findlay | Conservative | South Surrey—White Rock | |
| Hon. Mona Fortier | Liberal | Ottawa—Vanier | Former President of the Treasury Board |
| Hon. Chrystia Freeland | Liberal | University—Rosedale | Former Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance |
| Hon. Hedy Fry | Liberal | Vancouver Centre | Longest currently-serving female Member of Parliament |
| Anna Gainey†† | Liberal | Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Westmount | |
| Cheryl Gallant | Conservative | Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke | |
| Marie-Hélène Gaudreau | Bloc Québécois | Laurentides—Labelle | Chair of the Bloc Québécois caucus |
| Leah Gazan | New Democratic | Winnipeg Centre | |
| Marilène Gill | Bloc Québécois | Manicouagan | |
| Marilyn Gladu | Conservative | Sarnia—Lambton | |
| Laila Goodridge† | Conservative | Fort McMurray—Cold Lake | |
| Hon. Karina Gould | Liberal | Burlington | Leader of the Government in the House; former Minister of Families, Children and Social Development |
| Tracy Gray | Conservative | Kelowna—Lake Country | |
| Hon. Patty Hajdu | Liberal | Thunder Bay—Superior North | Minister of Indigenous Services and minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Northern Ontario |
| Rachael Harder | Conservative | Lethbridge | |
| Lisa Hepfner† | Liberal | Hamilton Mountain | |
| Carol Hughes | New Democratic | Algoma—Manitoulin—Kapuskasing | Assistant Deputy Speaker of the House of Commons |
| Hon. Gudie Hutchings | Liberal | Long Range Mountains | Minister of Rural Economic Development |
| Lori Idlout† | New Democratic | Nunavut | |
| Hon. Marci Ien | Liberal | Toronto Centre | Minister for Women and Gender Equality and Youth |
| Hon. Helena Jaczek | Liberal | Markham—Stouffville | Former minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario |
| Tamara Jansen†† | Conservative | Cloverdale—Langley City | |
| Hon. Mélanie Joly | Liberal | Ahuntsic-Cartierville | Minister of Foreign Affairs |
| Yvonne Jones | Liberal | Labrador | |
| Arielle Kayabaga† | Liberal | London West | |
| Iqra Khalid | Liberal | Mississauga—Erin Mills | |
| Hon. Kamal Khera | Liberal | Brampton West | Minister of Diversity, Inclusion and Persons with Disabilities; former Minister of Seniors |
| Shelby Kramp-Neuman† | Conservative | Hastings—Lennox and Addington | |
| Annie Koutrakis | Liberal | Vimy | |
| Stephanie Kusie | Conservative | Calgary Midnapore | |
| Jenny Kwan | New Democratic | Vancouver East | Chair of the NDP caucus |
| Marie-France Lalonde | Liberal | Orléans | |
| Emmanuella Lambropoulos | Liberal | Saint-Laurent | |
| Melissa Lantsman† | Conservative | Thornhill | |
| Viviane Lapointe† | Liberal | Sudbury | |
| Andréanne Larouche | Bloc Québécois | Shefford | |
| Patricia Lattanzio | Liberal | Saint-Léonard—Saint-Michel | |
| Hon. Diane Lebouthillier | Liberal | Gaspésie—Les Îles-de-la-Madeleine | Former Minister of National Revenue |
| Leslyn Lewis† | Conservative | Haldimand—Norfolk | |
| Hon. Soraya Martinez Ferrada | Liberal | Hochelaga | Minister of Tourism and responsible for the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec |
| Lindsay Mathyssen | New Democratic | London—Fanshawe | |
| Elizabeth May | Green | Saanich—Gulf Islands | |
| Heather McPherson | New Democratic | Edmonton—Strathcona | |
| Alexandra Mendès | Liberal | Brossard—Saint-Lambert | Assistant Deputy Speaker of the House of Commons |
| Kristina Michaud | Bloc Québécois | Avignon—La Mitis—Matane—Matapédia | |
| Hon. Joyce Murray | Liberal | Vancouver Quadra | Former Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard |
| Hon. Mary Ng | Liberal | Markham—Thornhill | Minister of Export Promotion, International Trade and Economic Development |
| Christine Normandin | Bloc Québécois | Saint-Jean | |
| Jennifer O'Connell | Liberal | Pickering—Uxbridge | |
| Monique Pauzé | Bloc Québécois | Repentigny | |
| Hon. Ginette Petitpas Taylor | Liberal | Moncton—Riverview—Dieppe | President of the Treasury Board, former Minister of Official Languages and minister responsible for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency |
| Hon. Carla Qualtrough | Liberal | Delta | Former Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Disability Inclusion/Sport and Physical Activity |
| Hon. Michelle Rempel Garner | Conservative | Calgary Nose Hill | |
| Anna Roberts† | Conservative | King—Vaughan | |
| Sherry Romanado | Liberal | Longueuil—Charles-LeMoyne | Deputy Leader of the Government in the House of Commons |
| Lianne Rood | Conservative | Lambton—Kent—Middlesex | |
| Hon. Ruby Sahota | Liberal | Brampton North | Minister of Democratic Institutions and minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario; former Chief Government Whip |
| Ya'ara Saks | Liberal | York Centre | |
| Hon. Judy Sgro | Liberal | Humber River—Black Creek | |
| Brenda Shanahan | Liberal | Châteauguay—Lacolle | Chair of the Liberal caucus |
| Sonia Sidhu | Liberal | Brampton South | |
| Nathalie Sinclair-Desgagné† | Bloc Québécois | Terrebonne | |
| Hon. Pascale St-Onge† | Liberal | Brome—Missisquoi | Minister of Canadian Heritage; former Minister of Sport and minister responsible for the Economic Development Agency of Canada for the Regions of Quebec |
| Shannon Stubbs | Conservative | Lakeland | |
| Jenna Sudds† | Liberal | Kanata—Carleton | |
| Hon. Filomena Tassi | Liberal | Hamilton West—Ancaster—Dundas | Former Minister of Public Services and Procurement/minister for Canada Post Corp./Receiver General/minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario |
| Leah Taylor Roy† | Liberal | Aurora—Oak Ridges—Richmond Hill | |
| Hon. Joanne Thompson† | Liberal | St. John's East | Minister of Seniors |
| Hon. Rechie Valdez† | Liberal | Mississauga—Streetsville | Minister of Small Business |
| Anita Vandenbeld | Liberal | Ottawa West—Nepean | |
| Karen Vecchio | Conservative | Elgin—Middlesex—London | |
| Dominique Vien† | Conservative | Bellechasse—Les Etchemins—Lévis | |
| Julie Vignola | Bloc Québécois | Beauport—Limoilou | |
| Cathay Wagantall | Conservative | Yorkton—Melville | |
| Jean Yip | Liberal | Scarborough—Agincourt | |
| Salma Zahid | Liberal | Scarborough Centre | |
| Bonita Zarrillo† | New Democratic | Port Moody—Coquitlam | |

## Accessibility to office and equal representation

The Canadian Parliament has seen a dramatic increase in the number of women and racialized people that sit in the House of Commons in the last decade. However, the representation of women in the House has not always been key to the government's success. In 1921, the first federal election where the majority of women could vote took place. This was also the year that the very first woman was elected to sit in the House. Although four women ran, only one was elected: Agnes Campbell Macphail.
The 2021 Canadian election once again set a record for the proportion of women candidates; 582 women or gender diverse candidates ran in that year's election, accounting for 43% of all nominees across the five major parties.
One of the largest reasons why there is not a higher percentage of female candidates is because of the barriers to entry that they face. According to the Library of the Canadian Parliament, there are seven key factors that contribute to the barriers to entry that women face: gender stereotypes and discrimination, lack of confidence in their abilities, insufficient efforts to recruit female candidates, difficulties in financing their campaigns, absence of family-friendly and gender-sensitive workplaces, gender-based violence and harassment, and gender-biased media treatment. These seven reasons, identified by the Government of Canada, are the issues that must be addressed if equality is to be achieved in representation. Newman et al. noted similar barriers to entry for women into the political landscape in Canada.

## Female representation in Canada compared to international and provincial representation

The number of women in the Canadian Parliament has been slowly but steadily increasing since the 1980s and has reached its highest point following the 2021 Canadian federal election where women made up 30.5% of the Canadian House of Commons, higher than the global average of 25.7% and surpassing the 1995 United Nations goal of 30% female representation in government. In terms of gender representation in government, Canada outperforms a country like the United States in which the House of Representatives is made up of 27.4% women. However, in a country where women make up a slim majority of the population at 50.4% as of 2010, the 43rd Canadian Parliament still falls short when it comes to achieving gender parity in government. Canada also currently ranks 53rd in the world in gender representation in government which is behind the United Kingdom, Sweden, and Rwanda. However, with prominent Canadian political parties like the Liberal Party pledging to include more female representation in government as well as parties like the New Democratic Party putting forward a slate made up of 52% women or gender diverse candidates in the 2021 election, there is significant political pressure to increase the number of women representatives in government.
Canadian provinces and territories come much closer to achieving gender parity in their Legislative Assemblies than their federal counterparts. Similar to the rest of Canada in the province of Ontario women make up a little over half of the population at 50.7% but unlike the rest of Canada 35.5% of Ontario Members of the Legislative Assembly are women. In Quebec, a province where women make up 50.4% of the population, gender parity is even closer to being achieved with women making up 42.4% of the National Assembly. The Northwest Territory has come the closest to achieving gender parity with women making up 48.3% of the population and 47.3% of the Legislative Assembly. Caroline Cochrane served as Northwest Territory premiere until December 8, 2023. Alberta is currently the only province or territory in Canada that has a female Premier, Danielle Smith.