Christy Clark expresses admiration for Margaret Thatcher on International Women's Day

    1 of 1 2 of 1

      B.C.'s premier says there's a shortage of elected female politicians because many women don't want to run.

      "I think a lot of women look at it and think that it's so personally bruising that they don't want to have anything to do with it," Clark said today on CTV Question Period. "I think that's been the way in the past, anyway."

      At one point, the show's host, Robert Fife, asked Clark who inspired her to enter politics.

      She replied that there were many women before naming former U.S. secretary of state Madeleine Albright and British prime minister Margaret Thatcher.

      The B.C. premier described each of them as "very strong, determined, and purposeful".

      "In Margaret Thatcher's case, here she was a woman who refused to be defined by her sex, period," Clark told Fife. "She was going to do what she needed to do and felt was right for Britain. I didn't agree with everything she did, but as a study in character for women, I think she was a very good one."

      The interview was broadcast on International Women's Day.

      Clark also told Fife that political parties have a tendency not to run women in ridings where they have a good chance of winning.

      "That's changing," Clark added. "For me, 50 percent of my cabinet are women."

      In fact, eight of Clark's 19 cabinet ministers are female. One of them, Naomi Yamamoto, is the minister of state for tourism and small business.

      This means that seven female B.C. Liberal MLAs and 11 male B.C. Liberal MLAs oversee ministries and have deputy ministers report to them.

      "I did not set out with a quota I'm going to have 50 percent women," Clark told CTV Question Period. "It's just that I had all these qualified women and they were the best at the job. So half the cabinet is female. It's kind of escaped most people's attention."

      Comments

      9 Comments

      Love Maggie

      Mar 8, 2015 at 8:18pm

      The tone of the headline and the outlet indicate would see to indicate that the author doesn't like the Premier expressing admiration for Thatcher. Sadly those on the left who are upset by the success of a Conservative woman have no idea what a basket case England was before Thatcher thanks to the socialism of labour and the weakness of Heath. Labour wasn't working and GB was well on its way to becoming a second world nation like other victims of "socialism." The only problem with Thatcher was that she stuck around one term too long but even so she is the best postwar PM her country has had.

      Wil

      Mar 9, 2015 at 8:22am

      Thatcher, as recent revelations demonstrate, helped to protect and hide pedophiles and their actions through out her career. She also did serious damage to the UK and World economy.
      You can make it a left-right thing all you want, but history is showing the trickle down economic ideals, pro-military industrial complex, anti civil liberty positions of Thatcher and her cronies are the great shame of a generation of Brits.

      ursa minor

      Mar 9, 2015 at 8:27am

      The lapdog mentality of the B.C. Media when it comes to Christy Clark is more than evident when no one bothers, after she states that "I didn't agree with everything she did", no one can be bothered to press her on what things Thatcher did that the Premier found agreeable or disagreeable.

      The perpetual free pass that Keith Baldrey, Michael Smyth and Vaughn Palmer give to someone intent on chaining BC's economy to an LNG Ponzi Scheme and wiping out Public Education is ludicrous, disgusting and unacceptable. Why is it that the only politicians who get asked the tough questions are members of the NDP, the OPPOSITION Party who's charged with holding Ms. Clark and her government to account, the SAME job the media's supposed to be doing?

      Shepsil,

      Mar 9, 2015 at 9:41am

      Christy Clark is right, Maggie Thatcher was a strong women. She was a punishingly conservative politician who believed, like all conservative politicians, that only by punishment do people learn to be disciplined. Thatcher, like all conservative politicians, did not have an empathetic bone in her body and neither does Christy Clark.

      In fact, modern cognitive science has made a solid case for the fact that political values are much the same as moral values, that they are opposite values. In other words, in our minds there are two sets of moral political values, conservative and progressive. The next time you hear a conservative monster eschewing the values of Maggie Thatcher, remember that on the other side of the coin are progressives like US Senator Elizabeth Warren or Canada's <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gtMwPCCug7o">Tommy Douglas</a>.

      Ps. <a href="http://georgelakoff.com/">George Lakoff</a> is the scientist most responsible for bringing to light our new understanding of how our politics is a reflection of our moral values.

      Strong Women

      Mar 9, 2015 at 12:17pm

      @Shepsil and all of the other leftwing Sour Grapers:

      Clark beat the snot out of your politicians and has stood up to the extreme hysteria from the left. She is a strong woman regardless of her politics or personal moral beliefs. It doesn't matter what side she is on, it will take the same fortitude and hard work to lead a party and get elected, so young women would be wise to not write her off. Do you think that Mother Theresa was effective just because she had compassion? No! She was also a very hard task masker and did not suffer fools gladly.

      pacific

      Mar 9, 2015 at 2:18pm

      christie is too obvious here to bang the thatcherite bankers podium: thatcher's economics (plus reagonomics) directly set the stage for the present theatrics of taxpayer's paying out for banks corrupting global economies. 'austerity' is a great keynesian example of hijacking our collective wealth.
      thatcher's destruction of britain is vast, deep, and they're still struggling out. thanks for the tip, christie, on whom you most admire..women are ashamed by thatcher, being of the same gender: she totalled her nation with wrong direction keynesian failed economics: even princess Di worked hard against thatchers deplorable actions against her own countrymen.

      Maggie The Cat

      Mar 9, 2015 at 2:52pm

      A 2009 study from the Scottish government found that, “…if just 10 per cent of UK tax receipts from the North Sea had been put into an oil fund starting in 1980 and continuing until 2008, and if the nominal return had been 3 per cent, the value of the fund would be £24bn per annum.” (New Statesman April 15 2013)

      Beatnuck

      Mar 9, 2015 at 4:04pm

      It is not appropriate to honour Margaret Thatcher on International Women's Day, a leftist, feminist event. Honouring Thatcher on International Capitalism Day would be far more appropriate. And please don't compare Thatcher to Mother Teresa. That's like comparing Stephen Harper to Ghandi!

      marysaid

      Mar 9, 2015 at 8:46pm

      Yeah pffft. Take the money away from the people who provide it in the first place and shovel it into big business. Just because it creates poverty and need is no reason to discontinue that practice. It isn't like anyone's going to do anything about it, like join her idiot party just to have say.