Women make up a third of candidates in P.E.I. election

For the first time in P.E.I.'s history,a third of the candidates running in the provincial election are women.

In the 2015 provincial election 31 of 105 candidates were women, representing 29.5 per cent.

Now, for the 2019 provincial election that number has risen to 33.3 per cent 35 of 109 candidates said the P.E.I. Coalition for Women in Government.

"It is a modest increase, but it's still significant in the fact we have reached that one-third mark," said Dawn Wilson, executive director of the coalition.

"It's a positive sign to see more women running this election and in past elections, the number of women elected tracked closely with the number of women nominated, so we're very hopeful."

Party breakdown

The amount of women nominated varies between the parties.

"The NDP has confirmed 11 women candidates for a total of 46 per cent. The Green Party follows with nine women nominated at 33 per cent and the Liberal Party has nominated eight women candidates at 30 per cent which is an all-time high for the party,"said Wilson.

The PCs have 7 women running whichmake up 26 per cent of candidates for the party.

No women are runningas Independents this year.

Tough run ahead

Forty-six per cent of menare running in districts where their party either won or came close to winning in 2015, she said.

"The same is true for far fewer women," she added, saying that just 31 per cent of women are running in districts where their party won or came close to winning in 2015.

Wilson said thedata was analysedby a political scientist from the University of Victoria in B.C.

The coalition is encouraging Islanders to consider supporting women candidates who share their values.

Other ways to support women candidates over the next week, she said,include volunteering on a candidate's team, displaying a lawn sign, or making a financial donation, said Wilson.

"We thank all women for putting their names on the ballot, and the party members that supported their nominations."

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