4 women on why they're running in this election for the first time
These candidates are juggling kids and careers to contest local races
For women pondering a run at elected office in Ontario, the year 2022 has not been a welcoming one so far.
Last month, a female city councillor in Kincardine had to endure a hateful, misogynist insult from a male colleague during a recorded council meeting.
You can read about that incident here, but Coun. Laura Haight — who was the target of that insult — said more troubling than the comment itself was the fear it might dissuade other women from entering the political arena at any level.
As Ontario gears up for the June 2 provincial election, CBC News spoke with four women from four different parties about why they decided to seek provincial office as first-time candidates.
Here's some of what they had to share.
Vanessa Benoit | NDP | Lambton-Kent-Middlesex
A self-described working mom who lives in the small farming community of Alvinston in Lambton County, Vanessa Benoit knows she's chosen a difficult path in taking on PC incumbent Monte McNaughton, a cabinet minister first elected in 2011.
"It's a bit of a David and Goliath thing for sure," she said. "But you know, somebody has to stand up to him. Even though I'm just a working mom from Alvinston, somebody has to do it, and so that may as well be me."
Benoit, 43, is taking a leave from her job at Lambton Public Library to run. The Liberals have yet to nominate a candidate in the riding.
Benoit says she expects affordability and child care to be front-and-centre issues in the campaign.
"There is a serious child care crisis for parents across the province, but it's a big deal in our riding; it's very hard to find a child care spot here," she said. "Those issues really matter to me as a working mom."
She also cites housing and the minimum wage as other top-of-mind issues for voters.
"A lot of the issues I don't feel are being addressed by the Ford PC government are issues for other working moms," she said.
Benoit admits getting face time with voters will be a challenge due to the quirky geography of the riding.
"I want to cover as much of that ground as possible, and it's a huge riding," said Benoit.
Cynthia Workman | Ontario Party | London West
As a self-described born-again Christian, Workman entered the race in part because she feels the Doug Ford PCs have little to offer voters like her: Small-c conservatives who are anti-abortion and who believe COVID-19 mandates have done more harm than good.
The social conservative Ontario Party platform and its leader Derek Sloan, who was expelled from the federal Conservative caucus last year, are the only option in this election that appeal to Workman.
"Really, I don't see a lot of difference between the PCs and Liberals and NDP anymore," she said. "Our freedoms are in jeopardy under the three legacy parties."
Workman, 50, is a single mother of three with a full-time job as an addictions and mental health therapist (she didn't want to name her employer). More than any insult women might face while running for office, Workman said juggling a campaign while caring for kids poses the biggest barrier for women interested in politics.
"For me, it was more 'Can I fit this into my life being a single mom and juggling it all?'" she said. "And I think that's really what women face today. I think women today are stronger than we give them credit for."
Colleen McCauley | Green | London West
As a first-time candidate, Colleen McCauley is ready for any verbal arrows that may be fired her way on the campaign trail.
The 47-year-old runs a home-based communications company, so she knows that entering the race may expose her to trolls.
But McCauley had to develop a thick skin at a young age, something she feels will help her now. In Kindergarten, she was diagnosed with strabismus, the clinical term for misaligned eyes. That meant she had to wear heavy prescription glasses, an eye patch and worst of all, endure mean comments from other kids.
"I've been that person on the outside who's experienced harassment and experienced bullying," she said.
Forced to scale back client work for the campaign, McCauley says she felt supported by her party's commitment to running a gender-balanced slate of candidates. She said there was also considerable support from the party to overcome the steep learning curve first-time candidates face.
On the issues, McCauley said affordability and the environment will be prominent. She's confident the Greens can sell their campaign as a platform that will help the environment, without adding to the financial pinch of the rising cost of everything from fuel to food.
She points to the Green Party plan to include a $10,000 provincial rebate for the purchase of a fully electric vehicle (other Ontario parties are offering rebates as well, you can read about those here).
"There is an impression that green initiatives are more expensive, but that's not true of all things," said McCauley.
Vanessa Lalonde | Liberal | London West
An Indigenous candidate from Oneida Nation of the Thames, Lalonde already had a busy life before stepping in to run for the Liberals in London West.
She co-runs a business called Tammy Lynn Subscription Box, where customers receive regular deliveries of items made by Indigenous creators. She also has three children.
Lalonde said she was drawn to provincial politics by watching the Ontario Liberal Party leadership race in 2020. She liked that as the party worked to rebuild from its drubbing of 2018, the candidates were able to debate their ideas in a respectful way.
"It was civil," she said. "It was nice that it wasn't this divisive, toxic debate. It was very positive the way everyone was building on each other's ideas. I felt like that was a team I wanted to be a part of."