Kim Campbell Biography

Superior Essays
The 1990’s in Canada proved to be a relatively quiet and peaceful time in Canadian History. With this era, came the new, or sometimes already known, historical figures to shape the economy, government and the well being of the people during the time. From 1993-2003 came the rule of Prime Minister Jean Chretien, a leader from who was born in the small town of Shawinigan, Quebec. He proved to be a strong leader with his determination and strive to be “‘“a fighter. He must win.’” as his friend Jean Pelletier described him (Bothwell, Marshall & Koch, 2015). Under him, came Paul Martin who after rivaling against him in the fight for liberal leadership, was appointed Finance minister. He too seemed to have quite the influence of the people and proved …show more content…
She was the first and only woman to ever make it into the role of Prime Minister of Canada therefore, breaking the unidentified yet recognized stereotype of males only being leaders. In 1990, she was appointed Justice Minister and Attorney General until 1992, during which time she embarked and succeeded on many new reforms, including strengthening Canadian-gun Laws (which would make a huge impact in the future as seen today with recent event), passing a tough law on sexual assault accusations and also introduced reform legislation on a number of issues, including abortion. In January 1993, Campbell was appointed Defence Minister by then current Canadian Prime Minister, Brian Mulroney. When Mulroney announced his retirement a month later, Campbell was appointed head of their party, the Progressive Conservatives, and therefore took over Mulroney’s role on June 25, 1993. While on this journey to leadership, Campbell became known as the ‘Woman of Firsts’ as she never payed attention to stereotypes and strived for her goals no matter the scrutiny she may have endured ("Woman of Firsts," n.d.). Some of those firsts she broke included: “First female Minister of National Defence of Canada and of any NATO country, first female Minister of Veterans Affairs, first female Leader of the PC Party” ("Woman of Firsts," n.d.). Even …show more content…
Kim Campbell’s entry into parliament and office may have been the cause of some patterns that are visible in our society, political and otherwise, today. Campbell broke the standard of men in power, she showed the females of the time that it was possible to strive and succeed the same way a man could. This influential statement very well could be the cause of women from this point in history and forward, entering into more powerful roles, and creating what we now know as feminism. This cause led to the consequences of a increase in women in parliament, in other industries, and in jobs that may be known as typically ‘male roles’. If you look at the consequences we can see today, just recently we have seen globally that women are taking on larger roles, running for presidency in the USA and leading organizations with the strength of an iron fist. Another consequence can be found in our current premier, Kathleen Wynne, and how she came in to power since 2013 and has been leading since then. Perhaps, if not for Campbell's cause (breaking a standard and becoming Prime Minister), Wynne today may not have felt as though she could take on such a role in politics as a consequence. When comparing points from the past to now, there has definitely been a continuity in the fact that there are still women in parliament, but the change can be found in the percentage of female representation in today. In the 1990’s,

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