With Manitoba poised to make election history, front-runners contend with sexism, racism
Province expected to elect either a woman or a First Nations person as premier for the 1st time on Oct. 3
While Progressive Conservative Leader Heather Stefanson already became Manitoba's first female premier when she won her party's leadership race in 2021, a victory for her party on Oct. 3 would make her the first woman to ever win the role in a general election.
Meanwhile, if NDP Leader Wab Kinew wins, he would become the only First Nations person to ever hold the title of premier in Manitoba.
With polls suggesting the two leading parties are tied in popularity, all eyes are now on their leaders — a level of scrutiny that's heightened because neither candidate is what people may think of as a stereotypical politician, says an expert who studies perceptions of politicians who belong to marginalized groups.
Joanie Bouchard, an assistant professor at Quebec's Sherbrooke University, said those kinds of leaders often become representative of their identities, whether they want to or not.
In Stefanson and Kinew's case, both say they're running campaigns for all Manitobans and don't appear to want to speak openly about what unique challenges they may face because of who they are.
WATCH | Manitoba election front-runners contend with sexism, racism:
But that doesn't mean those obstacles don't exist. Bouchard said voters often have an image of someone in their head based on stereotypes and can be surprised when a candidate acts in a way that doesn't match that preconceived idea — reacting with anything from interest to disappointment.
And while some people may not believe those stereotypes, those ideas may still colour their view of a candidate, she said.
"We can have the conscious thoughts that come in and say, 'wait … that's not appropriate.' But often the first things that will come to mind, very sadly, are stereotypical," Bouchard said.
Conflicting expectations, personal attacks
In many ways, politics is still seen as a man's game — meaning there are often extra expectations for women running for office, said Kelly Saunders, an associate political science professor at southwestern Manitoba's Brandon University.
In Stefanson's case, those expectations have at times been conflicting — she was expected to bring a more conciliatory approach than her predecessor, Brian Pallister, but to still prove she's tough enough to be premier, said Saunders. That's made the PC leader, whose party is vying for a third consecutive term, an easy target for criticism, she said.
"We often say it's a little bit of the 'Cinderella syndrome' when you're a woman in politics — that you're never quite good enough," said Saunders.
One example, she said, is in a recent video — posted just after a Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries strike ended and a strike by Manitoba Public Insurance workers began — in which Stefanson told Manitoba's largest public service union that while she'd like to say yes to everything, "sometimes the answer has to be no."
WATCH | 'Sometimes the answer has to be no,' Stefanson says in video posted Aug. 28:
That comes off as an attempt to make the premier seem tough on the labour issue in response to gendered expectations for politicians, said Saunders.
There's also the idea that because of her gender, Stefanson should act a certain way — more compassionate and aligned with women — said Jacqueline Romanow, an associate professor in the University of Winnipeg's Indigenous studies department with expertise in politics.
That comes through in things like "Heartless Heather," the name Stefanson was given after refusing to help fund a search a Manitoba landfill for the remains of two First Nations homicide victims, Romanow said.
While she doesn't agree with the premier's decision on the search, Romanow said if a man had made the decision, he would have been perceived as realistic, not uncaring.
The reaction to Stefanson, said Romanow, was not "'well, she's very rational.… She's thinking about her role as the premier of a province that has, you know, budget issues, that has health-care issues, that has all these other things that she has to balance."
Rather, Stefanson was "attacked at a very personal level," Romanow said.
When asked this week what hurdles she faces as a woman running to become premier, Stefanson said there are lots of challenges on the campaign trail every day, "but we keep getting up, putting one foot in front of the other — and it's fine."
Whether Stefanson will speak to it or not, there are specific challenges female politicians face just because they're women — something former Ontario premier Kathleen Wynne, who was the first woman and the first openly gay person in the role, knows first-hand.
In Wynne's case, those issues included being told Ontario would never elect a lesbian premier, having a meeting room full of men address her male chief of staff instead of her, and consistently having to find ways to disarm people who were uncomfortable with the idea of a female leader.
"You have to demonstrate that you're able to be part of a conversation that women are not necessarily always part of. That's just a reality of life," Wynne said.
"And I am quite sure that every woman in a leadership position in the country has had those same challenges."
Racist stereotypes, double standards
Romanow said the racist undertones against Wab Kinew this election are largely coming from his opponents, pointing to ads on bus benches across Winnipeg that claim rates of violent crime would rise under his leadership.
"They're looking to try to equate him with sort of the common racist stereotype about Indigenous people," she said.
"Unfortunately, politics often goes to the lowest common denominator, right? They just want quick sound bites so that … [voters'] automatic reaction, even without thinking, is going to be mistrust."
Romanow said the ads bring to mind Kinew's own past legal troubles: convictions related to impaired driving and an assault on a taxi driver, for which he later received a pardon, and two domestic assault charges involving a former girlfriend, which were later stayed and which Kinew has consistently denied.
That strategy draws on the idea of "good" and "bad" Indigenous people, which forces candidates to go to extra lengths to prove they're professional and qualified for their roles — or in Kinew's case, that he's a good candidate "despite his Indigeneity," said Romanow.
In an emailed statement attributed to PC spokesperson Shannon Martin, the Tories said "the only ones talking about racism are the NDP" and their party will "continue to discuss and promote issues of concern to Manitobans."
Brandon University's Saunders said Kinew's past is also a redemption story that, instead of being celebrated, is being used as an example of something that should disqualify him as a leader — an example of a double standard that wouldn't be applied to a non-Indigenous candidate, she said.
"If someone's able to rise above their past and to become a better person, we would say, 'Isn't that fantastic?' and really celebrate and elevate that person," said Saunders.
But with Kinew, "it's seen to be something that should negate him as being a potential leader."
Kinew has addressed the issue before, accusing the PCs last month of making his past run-ins with the law a campaign issue because of his race.
When asked this week how being Indigenous has affected him this election period, Kinew said he was grateful to get "a fair hearing" from Manitobans and added he doesn't want to be the First Nations premier of Manitoba, but "the best premier of Manitoba."
No matter who ends up claiming that title next month, experts say electing either a woman or a First Nations person as premier for the first time would be a positive step forward for the province.
Wynne said it's a chance for Manitoba to become a model for provinces like hers to look to.
"We need people to be working together, so let's hope Manitoba can actually push us down that road — rather than pull us backwards."
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