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Women as speakers in Canada

by Maurice Y. Michaud (he/him)

Nancy Hodges (1888–1969)
© Photo British Columbia Archives via Parlinfo — Public domain

As with the premiership, British Columbia stands out for having had the first women speaker: Nancy Hodges, in 1950. But the record for total number of women speakers does not belong to that province, but to Prince Edward Island, which has had six so far.

What stands out, however, is how more jurisdictions have not yet had a woman speaker than have had a woman premier. Particularly peculiar is Alberta, which so far has had three women premiers but no woman yet as speaker. Saskatchewan stands out even more for not having had either so far, although Ontario only had its first woman speaker in 2025. Newfoundland and Labrador and Nuvanut have each had a woman premier but not yet a woman speaker, and there has only been one federally and her term ended in 1984.

So far, of the 448 persons who have reached this position, 24 were women, and 4 are in office right now.

The first ones, by jurisdiction

Who	Details
Jeanne Sauvé (1922–1993)		Canada Party Liberal Party of Canada Rank 29th Age at start of mandate 57 years 9 months Dates 18 February 1980 — 15 January 1984
Nancy Hodges (1888–1969)		British Columbia Party BC Liberal-Conservative Coalition British Columbia Liberal Party Rank 20th (1st woman of 4) Age at start of mandate 61 years 3 months Dates 14 February 1950 — 10 April 1952
None		Alberta
None		Saskatchewan
Thelma Forbes (1910–2012)		Manitoba Party Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba Rank 19th (1st woman of 4) Age at start of mandate 52 years 5 months Dates 28 February 1963 — 22 June 1966
Donna Skelly (1961– )		Ontario Party Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario Rank 43rd Age at start of mandate 63 years 5 months Dates 14 April 2025 — present
Louise Harel (1946– )		Québec Party Parti Québécois Rank 41st (1st woman of 2) Age at start of mandate 55 years 10 months Dates 12 March 2002 — 13 April 2003
Shirley Dysart (1928–2016)		New Brunswick Party New Brunswick Liberal Party Rank 38th (1st woman of 2) Age at start of mandate 63 years 7 months Dates 8 October 1991 — 1 May 1994 1 December 1994 — 10 September 1995
Karla MacFarlane (1969– )		Nova Scotia Party Nova Scotia Progressive Conservative Party Rank 41st (1st woman of 2) Age at start of mandate 54 years 5 months Dates 12 October 2023 — 12 April 2024
Marion Reid (1929–2023)		Prince Edward Island Party Progressive Conservative Party of Prince Edward Island Rank 33rd (1st woman of 6) Age at start of mandate 53 years 8 months Dates 27 September 1982 — 20 April 1986
None		Newfoundland and Labrador
Patti McLeod		Yukon Party Yukon Party Rank 11th Age at start of mandate Age unknown Dates 11 May — 6 November 2016
Jeannie Marie-Jewell (1961– )		Northwest Territories Party Independent (Elected) Rank 11th Age at start of mandate 32 years 1 month Dates 13 November 1993 — 14 December 1994
None		Nunavut

All the women, in chronological order

Who	Details
1 Nancy Hodges (1888–1969)		British Columbia (1st of 4) Party BC Liberal-Conservative Coalition British Columbia Liberal Party Rank 20th (British Columbia) Age at start of mandate 63 years 2 months Dates 14 February 1950 — 10 April 1952
2 Thelma Forbes (1910–2012)		Manitoba (1st of 4) Party Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba Rank 19th (Manitoba) Age at start of mandate 52 years 5 months Dates 28 February 1963 — 22 June 1966
3 Jeanne Sauvé (1922–1993)		Canada Party Liberal Party of Canada Rank 29th (Canada) Age at start of mandate 57 years 9 months Dates 18 February 1980 — 15 January 1984
4 Marion Reid (1929–2023)		Prince Edward Island (1st of 6) Party Progressive Conservative Party of Prince Edward Island Rank 33rd (Prince Edward Island) Age at start of mandate 53 years 8 months Dates 27 September 1982 — 20 April 1986
5 Myrna Phillips (1942– )		Manitoba (2nd of 4) Party New Democratic Party of Manitoba Rank 25th (Manitoba) Age at start of mandate 43 years Dates 8 May 1986 — 9 March 1988
6 Shirley Dysart (1928–2016)		New Brunswick (1st of 2) Party New Brunswick Liberal Party Rank 38th (New Brunswick) Age at start of mandate 66 years 9 months Dates 8 October 1991 — 1 May 1994 1 December 1994 — 10 September 1995
7 Joan Sawicki (1945– )		British Columbia (2nd of 4) Party BC New Democratic Party Rank 30th (British Columbia) Age at start of mandate 46 years Dates 17 October 1991 — 21 March 1994
8 Nancy Guptill (1941–2020)		Prince Edward Island (2nd of 6) Party Liberal Party of Prince Edward Island Rank 35th (Prince Edward Island) Age at start of mandate 51 years 11 months Dates 29 March 1993 — 17 November 1996
9 Jeannie Marie-Jewell (1961– )		Northwest Territories Party Independent (Elected) Rank 11th (Northwest Territories) Age at start of mandate 32 years 1 month Dates 13 November 1993 — 14 December 1994
10 Louise Dacquay (1940– )		Manitoba (3rd of 4) Party Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba Rank 27th (Manitoba) Age at start of mandate 54 years 10 months Dates 25 April 1995 — 17 August 1999
11 Gretchen Brewin (1938– )		British Columbia (3rd of 4) Party BC New Democratic Party Rank 33rd (British Columbia) Age at start of mandate 59 years 3 months Dates 26 March 1998 — 29 February 2000
12 Mildred Dover (1941– )		Prince Edward Island (3rd of 6) Party Progressive Conservative Party of Prince Edward Island Rank 37th (Prince Edward Island) Age at start of mandate 59 years Dates 17 April 2000 — 28 September 2003
13 Louise Harel (1946– )		Québec (1st of 2) Party Parti Québécois Rank 41st (Québec) Age at start of mandate 55 years 10 months Dates 12 March 2002 — 13 April 2003
14 Kathleen Casey (1961– )		Prince Edward Island (4th of 6) Party Liberal Party of Prince Edward Island Rank 39th (Prince Edward Island) Age at start of mandate 45 years 6 months Dates 28 May 2007 — 2 October 2011
15 Carolyn Bertram (1976– )		Prince Edward Island (5th of 6) Party Liberal Party of Prince Edward Island Rank 40th (Prince Edward Island) Age at start of mandate 35 years 5 months Dates 3 October 2011 — 3 May 2015
16 Linda Reid (1959– )		British Columbia (4th of 4) Party BC Liberals Rank 37th (British Columbia) Age at start of mandate 53 years 10 months Dates 14 May 2013 — 8 May 2017
17 Patti McLeod		Yukon Party Yukon Party Rank 11th (Yukon) Age at start of mandate Age unknown Dates 11 May — 6 November 2016
18 Myrna Driedger (1952– )		Manitoba (4th of 4) Party Progressive Conservative Party of Manitoba Rank 30th (Manitoba) Age at start of mandate 64 years Dates 18 May 2016 — 8 November 2023
19 Nathalie Roy (1964– )		Québec (2nd of 2) Party Coalition Avenir Québec Rank 47th (Québec) Age at start of mandate 58 years 6 months Dates 29 November 2022 — present
20 Darlene Compton (1961– )		Prince Edward Island (6th of 6) Party Progressive Conservative Party of Prince Edward Island Rank 43rd (Prince Edward Island) Age at start of mandate 62 years 3 months Dates 12 May 2023 — 27 February 2025
21 Karla MacFarlane (1969– )		Nova Scotia (1st of 2) Party Nova Scotia Progressive Conservative Party Rank 41st (Nova Scotia) Age at start of mandate 54 years 5 months Dates 12 October 2023 — 12 April 2024
22 Danielle Barkhouse (1976– )		Nova Scotia (2nd of 2) Party Nova Scotia Progressive Conservative Party Rank 42nd (Nova Scotia) Age at start of mandate 47 years 11 months Dates 5 September 2024 — present
23 Francine Landry (1958– )		New Brunswick (2nd of 2) Party New Brunswick Liberal Party Rank 50th (New Brunswick) Age at start of mandate 66 years 5 months Dates 19 November 2024 — present
24 Donna Skelly (1961– )		Ontario Party Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario Rank 43rd (Ontario) Age at start of mandate 63 years 5 months Dates 14 April 2025 — present