Stefanson had triumphs, missteps, but above all, persistence

Opinion

“While I may be the first woman to hold this office, I take this oath confident in the knowledge that I will not be the last.”

Those words, spoken by Heather Stefanson on her swearing-in as Manitoba’s first female premier on Nov. 2, 2021, were indicative of the woman I’d known for more than 15 years: demure yet grounded in confidence.

I remember feeling a swirl of emotion as I sat in the front row of the palatial Room 200 in the legislative building as she took the oath that would transform her into our province’s first female premier. Proud, for sure. Perhaps even invigorated after a long and difficult season of unsettled ease. Yet there was also an unmistakable fear accompanying any renewed sense of hope I felt on that day.

Fear, not for myself, or even in any of the ways you may imagine. I wasn’t afraid that Heather didn’t have the competence or abilities to do the job well, as I knew her to be a capable, knowledgeable and experienced politician. It wasn’t even about our collective political fortunes, be they what they may.

What I feared most on that afternoon sitting in Room 200 was about her personal transformation, and how the job would necessitate it. I wanted her to succeed, not just for herself and our province, but also for the collective legacy of women leaders in our country. To date, Canada’s only woman prime minister, Kim Campbell, arrived at the opportunity to govern during a freefall when turning the political fortunes of her party were virtually impossible, prompting many people to harrumph and say, “See! Women aren’t cut out for the job.”

Those biases, conscious or otherwise, still existed, and I knew many people would view Heather through those lenses. She would need to undergo a transformation strong enough to combat that narrative, and I wasn’t sure what she’d make of it.

Underneath it all was the troubling knowledge that politics was not a particularly kind profession, least of all to women leaders who experience a very specific type of unkindness. There was a required knack in countering it, and it all came down to brand management.

In fact, more than ever, we see politics becoming less about policy and governance and more about brand management, with good brand ambassadors easily mistaken for competent leaders. Heather’s strengths were not overly abundant in this arena.

Sure enough, it wasn’t long before Heather’s personal PR challenges took over, and her confidence eroded. It’s hard to imagine staying on top of your game when harsh memes about your appearance and personality become a focal point for criticism day after day and even the smallest of blunders are blown up to be life-sized and unforgivable. Yet, she persisted.

In this persistence, there were mistakes, yes, but also triumphs. She restructured Treasury Board to provide for a more collaborative approach, resulting in the expansion of our province’s social safety net with supports for vulnerable people and those who work in those sectors, a much-needed financial boost to economic growth and investment in the arts, and new dollars for health care, including a $1.5-billion capital expansion for Health Sciences Centre.

My most memorable moment with the premier came one day when I brought to her attention a crisis happening with an interruption of service provided to survivors of sexual assault. She listened with empathy, asked me to find a solution, and promised to clear a pathway. Less than a month later, a first-of-its-kind, community-led sexual assault nurse examination program launched. It was no small feat, and one example of her unheralded leadership.

Undoubtedly, missteps occurred during her two-year tenure — all of them written and spoken about and reflected in her sagging popularity. The campaign was disastrous and many, including myself, were swift in delivering harsh judgment and criticism. Manitoba’s first woman premier left the province’s highest office the way many unpopular leaders do, in turmoil.

Now she is making her final departure from the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba after more than two decades of public service. The constituents of Tuxedo who elected her seven times in a row will bid farewell as she exits public life as quietly as she’d once entered.

With her leadership receding into the background, the good work she has done for our province is worthy of reflection. I wish her all the best in her new chapter.

Thank you, Heather, for your service.

Rochelle Squires is a recovering politician after 7 1/2 years in the Manitoba legislature. She is a political and social commentator whose column usually appears Tuesdays

rochelle@rochellesquires.ca