Voters’ desire for change not only swept in a new provincial government — but also sent a record-breaking influx of female MPPs to Queen’s Park.Of the 124 ridings in Ontario, 49 will be represented by women. At 39.5 per cent, that’s the highest of any provincial legislature across the country.“It’s always encouraging to see the numbers go up,” said Nancy Peckford, executive director of Equal Voice, a non-partisan organization that works to boost the number of females elected to all levels of political office.“This is a historic high for the Ontario legislature, and I believe a historic high for any legislature in Canada.”Before the election, when Ontario had 107 ridings, about 35 per cent of MPPs were women. The new percentage of 39.5 is slightly higher than British Columbia, at 38.5 per cent. Twenty of the NDP’s 40 MPPs coming to Queen’s Park are women, something Leader Andrea Horwath noted during her first meeting with them last week in Toronto.“This dynamic team truly reflects the prospects of Ontario and the amazing diversity of this province,” said Horwath, the incoming leader of the official Opposition. “We have more women than the Ontario NDP has ever elected before.”Women make up about one-third of the PC caucus (25 of 76 MPPs), and the Liberals have four female MPPs among their seven.Peckford said 30 per cent is considered an important benchmark, and with Ontario near 40 per cent she considers that “more of a tipping point.” “The difference that it makes — I think people have underestimated how important representation is,” said the NDP’s Laura Mae Lindo, elected in Kitchener Centre.“If I didn’t see the number of women that were actually running, I wouldn’t have run,” said Lindo, who credits NDP MPP Catherine Fife (Waterloo) for tapping her on the shoulder and being persistent in urging her to seek office. ...
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