Women of New Brunswick, our time is now

On June 19, I won the nomination as the Liberal candidate for the riding of Fredericton-York. In my life, I have been a daughter, a wife, a mother, an opera singer, a teacher and, most recently, the principal of school bustling with students; but that was a night like no other I have ever experienced.
Not because of the vote, but because of what came immediately afterwards. I can still remember the looks on the faces of my supporters in the minutes and hours after the nomination. They wanted to get down to work, and I wasn’t sure what to tell them. At the time, I was just wrapping up my school year as a principal in Anglophone School District West and I was having trouble making the leap from school administer to political candidate in one night.
I smiled. I shook hands. I told everyone to go home and encourage their friends to come join us. Then I walked back to my car, and that’s when the size of all of this hit me.
I chose to get involved because I love New Brunswick and want to help our province keep moving in the right direction. I want to have the opportunity to make a difference and help people in a different way. I want to be a voice for education, for social development, for child poverty and for equality. But the reality is that only eight of the 49 MLA’s in our province are women. Only four female members currently sit in government. Those are not encouraging numbers.
What did I know about running political campaigns? What did I know fund-raising, marketing, or turn-out-operations? Was this really something I could do?
Ten days later I was invited to meet Premier Brian Gallant, who was due to address the Fredericton Chamber of Commerce. Everyone listened as Premier Gallant discussed his government’s strategy to deal with our province’s aging population. He talked about economic growth and job creation. He explained how more young people than ever were now getting access to affordable post-secondary education, and how the province had begun integrating coding into New Brunswick’s classrooms. It was a heartening reminder of why I wanted to get involved in the first place; it was a reminder of how government can be a force for positive change.
And then something incredible happened. Premier Gallant turned to this room full of New Brunswick business leaders and told them that they had his firm support, but that he wanted a few things from them as well. Premier Gallant said he wanted the business community’s support in the fight against gender and income inequality in the workplace; he told them he wanted their help in employing more New Brunswickers with disabilities, and he wanted their support in the fight against climate change.

I knew, then and there, that I had chosen the right party, but had the party chosen the right candidate? I wanted to believe they had.
Then came my meeting with the Premier. I sat across a table from him; the two of us with one of his aids taking notes. All of the feelings I had been experiencing came welling up again — and so I told him. I told him my hopes and my fears. I told him the challenges I saw lying ahead in my campaign, and I told him what I thought I needed if I was going to be successful.
He listened to every word I had to say. He answered every one of my questions and then, at the end, he turned to his aid, went over every single issue I had raised and said, “Ok. We’ll make it happen.”.
I left feeling like a weight had been taken off my shoulders. Instead of feeling overwhelmed by the opportunity ahead of me, I felt as though I was being lifted-up to meet it. I felt valued. I felt supported, and most importantly I felt heard. I’m now more motivated than ever to help women across our province feel the same way. Since then, my phone hasn’t stopped ringing with messages of support. It is truly amazing!
So, now I have a message of my own I’d like to share. Women of Fredericton, women of New Brunswick, this is our time!

Finally, we have a leader who has the courage to help make our province’s legislature look more like the face of our province itself. Finally, we have a champion! Finally, we have our chance! And if that idea excites you then, like Premier Gallant, I want to challenge you to do something to help.
There are no less than four outstanding women running as liberal candidates in the greater Fredericton region in the upcoming provincial election. If elected, these women could double the number of female MLA’s in government, and do much to change the culture in New Brunswick’s legislature. We here in the Capital region have it within ourselves to make this happen.
I already see the pride my daughter is wearing as we go door to door. I see the excitement in her friends as they ask me questions and engage in the process. I want to be sure every girl, young lady and woman in New Brunswick knows that we can make a difference; that we can help strengthen our government and give strength to each other at the same time.
This September’s election could be a tipping point for women and New Brunswick’s government. The time has come to stop knocking government and start knocking on doors. The time has come for us to believe in ourselves and in our ability to shake-up the status quo.
Here is to the women who took the step before us, here is to the women who are in the race for September and here is to all of you who will follow us.
I feel like something very special might just be happening this September, and I’m very excited to be a part of that.
