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Women as official opposition leaders in Canada

by Maurice Y. Michaud (he/him)

Shirley Theresa Dysart (1928–2016)
© Photo Legislative Assembly, New Brunswick — Fair use

New Brunswick only got its first female premier in 2024, but when Shirley Dysart became the leader of the official opposition in 1985, she was the first woman in Canada to hold that position, although it was for only three months on an interim basis.

Unlike the position of head of government, every partisan assembly in Canada has had a least one woman as leader of the opposition. However, it is peculiar that the province that had the first one had to wait 38 years before getting its second one — and she became premier the next year!

So far, of the 482 persons who have reached this position, 40 were women, and 3 are in office right now.

The first ones, by jurisdiction

Who	Details
Deborah Grey (1952– )		Canada Party Conservative Reform Alliance Rank 34th (1st woman of 4) (interim) Age at start of mandate 47 years 8 months Dates 27 March — 10 September 2000
Joy MacPhail (1952– )		British Columbia Party BC New Democratic Party Rank 27th (1st woman of 5) Age at start of mandate 49 years 2 months Dates 16 May 2001 — 16 May 2005
Nancy MacBeth (1948– )		Alberta Party Alberta Liberal Party Rank 27th (1st woman of 5) Age at start of mandate 49 years 6 months Dates 7 July 1998 — 11 March 2001
Lynda Haverstock (1948– )		Saskatchewan Party Liberal Party of Saskatchewan Rank 26th (1st woman of 3) Age at start of mandate 46 years 9 months Dates 21 June — 11 November 1995
Sharon Carstairs (1942– )		Manitoba Party Manitoba Liberal Party Rank 26th (1st woman of 4) Age at start of mandate 46 years 2 months Dates 21 July 1988 — 7 August 1990
Lyn McLeod (1942– )		Ontario Party Ontario Liberal Party Rank 29th (1st woman of 3) Age at start of mandate 50 years Dates 9 February 1992 — 30 November 1996
Monique Gagnon-Tremblay (1940– )		Québec Party Quebec Liberal Party Rank 33rd (1st woman of 5) (interim) Age at start of mandate 57 years 11 months Dates 13 May — 29 November 1998
Shirley Dysart (1928–2016)		New Brunswick Party New Brunswick Liberal Party Rank 26th (1st woman of 2) (interim) Age at start of mandate 56 years 11 months Dates 1 February — 3 May 1985
Karla MacFarlane (1969– )		Nova Scotia Party Nova Scotia Progressive Conservative Party Rank 41st (1st woman of 2) (interim) Age at start of mandate 48 years 8 months Dates 25 January — 26 October 2018
Leone Bagnall (1933–2017)		Prince Edward Island Party Progressive Conservative Party of Prince Edward Island Rank 23rd (1st woman of 3) Age at start of mandate 52 years 9 months Dates 21 April 1986 — 28 March 1993
Lynn Verge (1951– )		Newfoundland and Labrador Party Progressive Conservative Party of Newfoundland Rank 37th (1st woman of 2) Age at start of mandate 44 years Dates 29 April 1995 — 21 February 1996
Pat Duncan (1960– )		Yukon Party Yukon Liberal Party Rank 8th (1st woman of 2) Age at start of mandate 39 years 6 months Dates 26 October 1999 — 16 April 2000

All the women, in chronological order

Who	Details
1 Shirley Dysart (1928–2016)		New Brunswick (1st of 2) Party New Brunswick Liberal Party Rank 26th (New Brunswick) (interim) Age at start of mandate 56 years 11 months Dates 1 February — 3 May 1985
2 Leone Bagnall (1933–2017)		Prince Edward Island (1st of 3) Party Progressive Conservative Party of Prince Edward Island Rank 23rd (Prince Edward Island) Age at start of mandate 52 years 9 months Dates 21 April 1986 — 28 March 1993
3 Sharon Carstairs (1942– )		Manitoba (1st of 4) Party Manitoba Liberal Party Rank 26th (Manitoba) Age at start of mandate 46 years 2 months Dates 21 July 1988 — 7 August 1990
4 Lyn McLeod (1942– )		Ontario (1st of 3) Party Ontario Liberal Party Rank 29th (Ontario) Age at start of mandate 50 years Dates 9 February 1992 — 30 November 1996
5 Pat Mella (1943– )		Prince Edward Island (2nd of 3) Party Progressive Conservative Party of Prince Edward Island Rank 24th (Prince Edward Island) Age at start of mandate 49 years 7 months Dates 29 March 1993 — 17 November 1996
6 Lynn Verge (1951– )		Newfoundland and Labrador (1st of 2) Party Progressive Conservative Party of Newfoundland Rank 37th (Newfoundland and Labrador) Age at start of mandate 44 years Dates 29 April 1995 — 21 February 1996
7 Lynda Haverstock (1948– )		Saskatchewan (1st of 3) Party Liberal Party of Saskatchewan Rank 26th (Saskatchewan) Age at start of mandate 46 years 9 months Dates 21 June — 11 November 1995
8 Monique Gagnon-Tremblay (1940– )		Québec (1st of 5) Party Quebec Liberal Party Rank 33rd (Québec) (interim) Age at start of mandate 57 years 11 months Dates 13 May — 29 November 1998
9 Nancy MacBeth (1948– )		Alberta (1st of 5) Party Alberta Liberal Party Rank 27th (Alberta) Age at start of mandate 49 years 6 months Dates 7 July 1998 — 11 March 2001
10 Pat Duncan (1960– )		Yukon (1st of 2) Party Yukon Liberal Party Rank 8th (Yukon) Age at start of mandate 39 years 6 months Dates 26 October 1999 — 16 April 2000
11 Deborah Grey (1952– )		Canada (1st of 4) Party Conservative Reform Alliance Rank 34th (Canada) Age at start of mandate 48 years Dates 27 March — 10 September 2000
12 Bonnie Mitchelson (1947– )		Manitoba (2nd of 4) Party Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba Rank 28th (Manitoba) (interim) Age at start of mandate 52 years 6 months Dates 29 May 2000 — 21 November 2003
13 Joy MacPhail (1952– )		British Columbia (1st of 5) Party BC New Democratic Party Rank 27th (British Columbia) Age at start of mandate 49 years 2 months Dates 16 May 2001 — 16 May 2005
14 Carole James (1957– )		British Columbia (2nd of 5) Party BC New Democratic Party Rank 28th (British Columbia) Age at start of mandate 47 years 4 months Dates 17 May 2005 — 6 December 2010
15 Louise Harel (1946– )		Québec (2nd of 5) Party Parti Québécois Rank 36th (Québec) (interim) Age at start of mandate 59 years 1 month Dates 5 June 2005 — 20 August 2006
16 Olive Crane (1957– )		Prince Edward Island (3rd of 3) Party Progressive Conservative Party of Prince Edward Island Rank 30th (Prince Edward Island) Age at start of mandate 52 years 11 months Dates 4 September 2007 — 25 May 2010 (Int.) 2 October 2010 — 30 January 2013
17 Yvonne Jones (1968– )		Newfoundland and Labrador (2nd of 2) Party Liberal Party of Newfoundland and Labrador Rank 43rd (Newfoundland and Labrador) Age at start of mandate 43 years 2 months Dates 15 October 2007 — 1 November 2010 (Int.) 28 May 2011 — 2 January 2012
18 Pauline Marois (1949– )		Québec (3rd of 5) Party Parti Québécois Rank 39th (Québec) Age at start of mandate 59 years 8 months Dates 8 December 2008 — 3 September 2012
19 Dawn Black (1943– )		British Columbia (3rd of 5) Party BC New Democratic Party Rank 30th (British Columbia) (interim) Age at start of mandate 67 years 9 months Dates 20 January — 16 April 2011
20 Nycole Turmel (1942– )		Canada (2nd of 4) Party New Democratic Party of Canada Rank 43rd (Canada) (interim) Age at start of mandate 68 years 11 months Dates 23 August 2011 — 23 March 2012
21 Liz Hanson (1951– )		Yukon (2nd of 2) Party Yukon New Democratic Party Rank 13th (Yukon) Age at start of mandate 60 years Dates 11 October 2011 — 6 November 2016
22 Danielle Smith (1971– )		Alberta (2nd of 5) Party Wildrose Alliance Party Rank 32nd (Alberta) Age at start of mandate 41 years Dates 23 April 2012 — 17 December 2014
23 Heather Forsyth (1950– )		Alberta (3rd of 5) Party Wildrose Alliance Party Rank 33rd (Alberta) (interim) Age at start of mandate 64 years 4 months Dates 22 December 2014 — 4 May 2015
24 Rona Ambrose (1969– )		Canada (3rd of 4) Party Conservative Party of Canada Rank 45th (Canada) (interim) Age at start of mandate 46 years 7 months Dates 5 November 2015 — 26 May 2017
25 Flor Marcelino (1951– )		Manitoba (3rd of 4) Party New Democratic Party of Manitoba Rank 32nd (Manitoba) (interim) Age at start of mandate 64 years 7 months Dates 16 May 2016 — 15 September 2017
26 Nicole Sarauer (1986– )		Saskatchewan (2nd of 3) Party Saskatchewan New Democratic Party Rank 37th (Saskatchewan) (interim) Age at start of mandate 31 years Dates 20 June 2017 — 2 March 2018
27 Christy Clark (1965– )		British Columbia (4th of 5) Party BC Liberals Rank 32nd (British Columbia) Age at start of mandate 51 years 8 months Dates 18 July — 4 August 2017
28 Karla MacFarlane (1969– )		Nova Scotia (1st of 2) Party Nova Scotia Progressive Conservative Party Rank 41st (Nova Scotia) (interim) Age at start of mandate 48 years 8 months Dates 25 January — 26 October 2018
29 Andrea Horwath (1962– )		Ontario (2nd of 3) Party Ontario New Democrats Rank 38th (Ontario) Age at start of mandate 55 years 7 months Dates 7 June 2018 — 27 June 2022
30 Rachel Notley (1964– )		Alberta (4th of 5) Party Alberta New Democrats Rank 37th (Alberta) Age at start of mandate 55 years Dates 30 April 2019 — 23 June 2024
31 Dominique Anglade (1974– )		Québec (4th of 5) Party Quebec Liberal Party Rank 47th (Québec) Age at start of mandate 46 years 3 months Dates 11 May 2020 — 7 November 2022
32 Shirley Bond (1956– )		British Columbia (5th of 5) Party BC Liberals Rank 35th (British Columbia) (interim) Age at start of mandate 64 years Dates 23 November 2020 — 15 May 2022
33 Candice Bergen Harris (1964– )		Canada (4th of 4) Party Conservative Party of Canada Rank 48th (Canada) (interim) Age at start of mandate 57 years 4 months Dates 3 February — 9 September 2022
34 Carla Beck (1973– )		Saskatchewan (3rd of 3) Party Saskatchewan New Democratic Party Rank 39th (Saskatchewan) Age at start of mandate 48 years 8 months Dates 26 June 2022 — present
35 Marit Stiles (1969– )		Ontario (3rd of 3) Party Ontario New Democrats Rank 40th (Ontario) Age at start of mandate 53 years 4 months Dates 4 February 2023 — present
36 Susan Holt (1977– )		New Brunswick (2nd of 2) Party New Brunswick Liberal Party Rank 46th (New Brunswick) Age at start of mandate 46 years Dates 25 April 2023 — 20 October 2024
37 Heather Stefanson (1970– )		Manitoba (4th of 4) Party Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba Rank 34th (Manitoba) Age at start of mandate 53 years 4 months Dates 3 October 2023 — 16 January 2024
38 Christina Gray (1978– )		Alberta (5th of 5) Party Alberta New Democrats Rank 38th (Alberta) Age at start of mandate 45 years 7 months Dates 24 June 2024 — 23 June 2025
39 Claudia Chender (1976– )		Nova Scotia (2nd of 2) Party Nova Scotia New Democratic Party Rank 45th (Nova Scotia) Age at start of mandate 48 years 4 months Dates 10 December 2024 — present
40 Marwah Rizqy (1985– )		Québec (5th of 5) Party Quebec Liberal Party Rank 49th (Québec) Age at start of mandate 40 years 1 month Dates 19 June — 17 November 2025