Blog: The Joys of Running

By Karen Vanthuyne

On September 17, we held our third Count Women In panel event, The Joys of Running.

Ask Her YYC’s President, Gillian Hynes, with baby Franklin in tow, opened the event by welcoming attendees and honouring the traditional territories we were (virtually) gathered on. Gillian provided an update on the success of our Prepare Her program, which had completed its first cohort and recently launched the second intake. She also noted the next Mentor Her program, also in it’s second run this fall.

The event moderator was Tonie Minhas, one of Ask Her’s newest board members. Tonie is an inclusion and accessibility consultant supporting unemployed and under-employed Albertans. She welcomed our three panelists:

Pearl Calahasen - Progressive Conservative MLA from 1989 to 2015, for the Lesser Slave Lake electoral district.
Janice Irwin - Current MLA for Edmonton-Highlands-Norwood. Elected in 2019 she is part of the Official Opposition, serving as Deputy Whip, Women, and LGBTQ issues.
Rajan Sawheny - MLA for the Calgary-North East riding and the Minister of Community & Social Services. She was elected in 2019 under the United Conservative Party.

Our previous Count Women In events have tackled the very important obstacles women face when seeking office. But for this event, we wanted to highlight all the joys that can come from the experience.

The conversation was wide reaching with our panelists speaking to their motivations for entering the race, the joys and drawbacks while in office, and seeing the impact of their work.

Weren’t able to attend? Watch the session here!

Entering The Race

Pearl Calahasen was an MLA for 26 years, as well as the first Metis woman elected to office in Alberta. The opportunity to represent those who had never been represented before was what kept her going, saying “for us to be able to break that glass ceiling, we need to be part of the conversations that impact our people’s lives.”

It was housing concerns in her community that originally motivated Janis Irwin to run for federal office in 2015. Despite an unsuccessful campaign, Janis (who insisted “just call me Janis!”) emphasized the value of that experience - “even if you're not successful, it's not a reflection of the work effort you put in.” Her love for her community meant it didn’t take much convincing when deciding to run again. She stayed involved with the NDP party until her successful run at the provincial level in 2019.

Minister Sawheny addressed a question from the audience about not having the “right resume”. Her response being “what is the right resume?” The Minister expands on this saying we often convince ourselves we’re not enough, but the key to success in politics is not a perfect resume, it’s passon. Knowing why you are getting into this line of work is foundational, and will set you up well. She noted that she had more transferable skills coming into the race than she realized, and a strong campaign team helped to fill any gaps.

While In Office

Minister Sawheny spoke to her experience as a woman of colour, how through racist or discriminatory encounters she developed resilience, patience and a work ethic that have helped her succeed in government. Her cultural background and strong connection to the Sikh community also give her a different perspective that she can bring to the legislature.

Pearl Calahasen also noted the high expectations that come with being a young Indigenous woman in the legislature. Undeterred by those expectations, she rose to the challenge and learned a lot about herself along the way. She learned she is cool under pressure, good at delegating, a great listener, and a strong negotiator. For better or worse, she also learned that she could go without sleep for a long, long time.

For Janis Irwin, maintaining her authenticity while in office has been pivotal in finding joy in this role. She explains that there will be pieces in your party’s platform that you struggle with, or votes you’re conflicted on, but you need to be true to yourself. This will help you to “avoid saying one thing to one person, and something else to another.” Being unequivocal to her values, but also appreciating the value of listening, are ways that Janis stays connected to her purpose in this work.

All our panelists admitted to not always practicing sufficient self-care while in office.

“Did I have chips for dinner last night? Maybe.”

However, they are each working towards more balance and say that having people in your life to look out for you and remind you to take breaks is key. Keeping your people close and taking care of those relationships will only enhance the joy found at work. And as Janis noted, all you need to run for office is “a dream and a good friend.”

Seeing The Impact

We asked our panelist to reflect on the big and small moments where they’ve seen hard work pay off. Janis goes back to her connection to the LGBTQ2S+ community as, currently, the only openly gay MLA. She shared a conversation she had with a young trans person during pride month this June. That young person thanked Janis and her colleagues for all they have done for that community and making them feel safe and welcome. Janis also recognized the important symbolism of her position, as a role model for what’s achievable for LGBTQ2S+ youth.

For Pearl, she cites her first year in office in 1989 and the passing of the Metis Settlements Act. This act had a huge impact on the community as it allowed Metis people to govern themselves. In the coming years, Pearl saw growth for people in her constituency as many learned the political system and saw increased representation across not just political office but other boards and influential bodies as well. She notes this also led to rises in economic parity for her community.

Minister Sawheny has had the great challenge of leading through a global pandemic, no simple feat. When asked about the impactful moments that stand out to her, she talks about her role right after the pandemic was announced. She was tasked with quickly distributing Covid-19 funding to vulnerable populations across the province. Minister Sawheny credits the resilience and persistence of her team who made things happen quickly and worked across party lines. She felt her office was effective in handling the immediate crisis and it’s work she’s proud of.

In their closing remarks, our panelist gave a few last pieces of advice:

Janis Irwin: “It’s never going to be the perfect time to run, why not now?”

Minister Sawheny: “When venturing into something new or uncomfortable, there are so many reasons to say no. Don’t let that hold you back.”

Pearl Calahasen: “You have to believe in yourself. People will believe in you when you believe in yourself.”

They all echoed the importance of mentorship - which Ask Her can help with through our Mentor Her program - and staying connected with potential supporters as you navigate this exciting journey!

We are hosting our final Count Women In event for the year on October 22.

EventsAsk HerOctober 20, 2020Count Women In