Judy LaMarsh, Veteran and MP
Photo Credit: Government of Canada
Esprit de Corps Magazine March 2022 // Volume 29 Issue 2
Let's Talk About Women in the Military – Column 36
by Military Woman
Question:
How many military Veterans have sat in Parliament as an MP or Senator?
Answer:
Statistics are always challenging to confirm but “Parlinfo” is the Parliament of Canada’s database. By selecting the “military service” filter you will find that 990 of the over 5,000 listed Parliamentarians have “military service” annotations. Add the “female” filter to this same search and the number found plummets to 14. To be clear, a search through the over 155 years of Canadian parliamentary history, finds there to be a grand total of 14 women Parliamentarians who have had “military service”.
As it turns out, even this surprisingly low number appears to be misleadingly high.
Let’s take a closer look at those 14 names.
Nurse, Army WWI 1914-18, MP for Edmonton, AB, 1941-45, LPC
2. Joan Neiman
LCdr, WRNS WWII 1942-46, Senator for ON, 1972-95, LPC
Sgt Int, CWAC WWII 1943-45, MP for Niagara Falls, ON, 1960-68, LPC
4. Eloise Jones
Capt Medical Officer, CWAC WWII 1943-46, MP for Saskatoon, SK, 1964-65, CPC
President, Central Volunteer Bureau WWII , MP for Winnipeg, MB, 1963-65, LPC
Cpl (UK), WRAF 1948-50, MP for York South, ON, 1974-84, LPC
Div Officer (Reserves), WRCNS 1952-58, Senator for PEI, 1995-97, LPC
(Reserves), Black Watch Reg, CF 1970, MP for Notre-Dame, PQ, 1997-2011, LPC
MCpl (Reserves), Windsor Reg, CF 1975-80 then LCol Navigator, RCAF, CAF 1980-2006, MP for Kanata, ON, 2015–21, LPC
10. Leona Alleslev
Capt Logistics, RCAF, CAF 1987-97, MP for Aurora, ON, 2015-19, LPC/CPC
11. Djaouida Sellah
Volunteer for Gulf War 1990-91, MP for Saint Bruno, PQ, 2011-15, NDP
12. Joyce Fairbairn
HCol, 18th Air Defence Reg, CAF, Senator for AB, 1984-2013, LPC
13. Christine Moore
Cpl Medic (Reserves), 52nd Field Ambulance, 2002-5 then OCdt Armour, 2005, CAF,
MP for Abitibi, PQ, 2011-19, NDP
14. Pamela Wallin
HCol, RCAF 2009- , Senator for SK, 2009 - present, CPC
On review, the above list is likely to generate some questions amongst savvy military readers.
What is Parlinfo’s definition of “military service” especially given the lack of guidance from Termium Plus – the government terminology data bank?
Should military service from other countries count (e.g., Appolloni served with the Women’s Royal Air Force in the UK while still a British citizen)?
Should important volunteer work in wars or conflict zones count (e.g., Konantz was with the Women’s Voluntary Services, and Sellah was a volunteer doctor with the Red Crescent Association)?
Should RCMP service count (e.g., Senator Busson served with the RCMP 1974-2006)?
Should Honorary Colonel (HCol) appointments count (e.g., Fairbairn and Wallin)?
Who is responsible to update the Parlinfo data? For example, Loreena McKennitt took over Senator Wallin’s HCol duties in 2014, yet Wallin is still listed here as serving.
Regardless, why should anyone care that you can count on two hands the total number of women Parliamentarians that were also military Veterans?
We know that every sitting of Parliament has serious and diverse defence-related issues to be discussed and decided on. For example, this Parliament needs to discuss everything from the defence budget, to major military equipment procurements, to military sexual misconduct, to Veteran mental health and homelessness issues, to when to use the military in foreign (e.g., Ukraine) and domestic (e.g., Ottawa) settings. These important Parliamentary decisions will be better informed when made with the input from a diversity of voices.
The present 44th Parliament has, for the very first time in Canada’s history, less than 20 Parliamentarians total sitting with “military service” (18 to be exact and not one being a military woman Veteran).
If you agree it’s important for Parliament to benefit from having a diversity of lived experiences represented within it, consider encouraging women Veterans to become a MP or Senator!
Update:
2022. We add a new name to the above list – Rebecca Patterson – Rear Admiral (Retired), Nursing /Health Care Officer, CFHS, CAF 1989-2022, and now Senator for Ontario.
2023. Karen McCrimmon moves from federal MP to Ontario MPP for Kanata-Carleton.
2024. Senator Pamela Wallin’s 2014 completion of her Honorary Colonel (HCol) duties for the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) has now been updated as such in her military service section of her parliament bio. Of interest, Senator Wallin’s HCol for the RCAF successor, Loreena McKennitt, just completed her tour of duty, being replaced by Toronto based lawyer Rennee van Kessel.
Future. Parliament still needs more Veterans so please consider getting involved! If not at the federal level, then what about provincial or municipal?
