By John Cairns

BEDEQUE, PEI, Canada -- The first woman elected to lead a provincial government in Canada offers a simple explanation to how she broke through the glass ceilings that too often block women in politics.

Senator Catherine Callbeck attributes many of her successes in a long political career to a single factor – her penchant for hard work. “There’s no question that through my life, I’ve been a workaholic,” she said. “When I was in business, it consumed nearly all my time. When I got into politics, it was the same way.

“Of course, I enjoyed it too. I like a challenge, grabbing onto something and seeing it through to completion. You need to have the drive and a desire to make things better. You have to like working with people.”

In 1993, Catherine led the Liberal party to an election victory, winning 31 of 32 legislature seats in Prince Edward Island, the smallest of Canada’s 10 provinces. Ironically, the victory came against another woman, Pat Mella, who led the rival Conservative party.

“That’s my greatest achievement – being sworn in as the premier,” Catherine said. “Sure, it’s a source of pride. But I had a great campaign team. The people around me were fantastic and worked hard, so I owe it to them.”

Catherine spoke to Cairns Media Magazine at the family home where she grew up and still lives. For generations, her family operated one of PEI’s foremost stores, Callbeck’s in Central Bedeque.

“My government concentrated a lot on economic development,” she said. “In 1995, we were the number-one province in economic growth. In 1996, we stood second. We really had things going. Lots of plants opened. The blueberry industry started to develop. A big fish plant was built in Tignish.”

But PEI’s budget haunted her. “When I came in, we faced the biggest deficit in the province’s history. We had to get things in order. I’d campaigned on controlling the deficit. Once in office, I realized that the problem was much bigger even than I anticipated.

“In the first year, we succeeded in getting the deficit down. The cabinet spent days looking at every department and program to see where we could cut spending. In the second year, we were in line for a balanced budget. Then the federal government cut transfer payments to provinces. That left us in a desperate situation because we’d already made deep cuts. It was a tough time.”

To cope, Catherine’s government imposed a 7.5-per-cent salary cut on provincial employees, infuriating almost everyone affected. “We did what we felt we had to do,” she said. “It would have been much easier to sit there and let the deficit pile up. But I don’t know where the province would be by now.”

Facing bleak re-election prospects, Catherine resigned in 1996. Her successor, Keith Milligan, lost at the polls (with the Liberals reduced to eight seats), and the Conservatives ruled until mid 2007.

“A lot of young women come to me wanting to know how to get involved in politics,” Catherine said. “Recently, I ran into a gal in Charlottetown who wants to be a senator. There’s a young girl who called me up not long ago who aims to become the prime minister. Many women want to talk to me about politics. I enjoy that because I like to see young people take an interest.

“Roughly a third of Canada’s senators are women, but that’s because we’re appointed. The House of Commons (in Ottawa) has only about 20 per cent women. Why the numbers in the Commons haven’t moved more surprises me as more women are coming out of universities and more are prominent in professions.

“However, women still face significant challenges. One thing is that men tend to do more social networking. They play golf, join Rotary Clubs and belong to chambers of commerce. Women are getting into these things too, but a lot of the men are better known. When political parties set up nominating committees, the members are mostly men who focus on people they know from Rotary, the Chamber or elsewhere.”

Catherine’s political achievements came at a price. She never married, nor had a family of her own.

“For women who are married and have children, entering politics is a difficult step,” she said. “Many women are considered the primary caregivers in their families. Their first priority’s the family, and in politics, a lot of meetings happen at night. It’s very demanding of time.”

Born in 1939, Catherine, the daughter of Ralph and Ruth Callbeck, has fond childhood memories of Central Bedeque. She (starting at age 12) and her brother Bill worked at the family’s store.

Much later, Callbeck’s moved to Summerside and then sold. “The only business our family operates now is Leon’s (a furniture store) in Charlottetown,” Catherine said.

“My grandfather, William Callbeck, founded the Callbeck’s store in 1899,” she said. “He had a tailor shop first. About a dozen tailors worked for him. Twice a year, he’d go to Western Canada, or send someone, to measure men for coats and suits. They’d return to PEI, make the garments and ship them.

“Growing up in a family that was very active in the community and in church gave me a sense of responsibility,” Catherine said. “The values instilled in me mean a lot.”

But “I wasn’t drawn to politics. At the time, it was considered ill-advised for business people to enter politics. At home, we discussed politics very little. At mealtimes, we usually talked about business, family and community or church events.

“On Sundays, my extended family gathered. A lot of politics came up then, and I always listened very intently to the discussions. Then I had a teacher, Dorothy Webster at Central Bedeque School, who always talked about certain articles in the local newspaper. I remember being extremely interested in that.”

After high school, Catherine studied business, often the only female in her commerce classes, at Mount Allison University in New Brunswick, a neighboring province. “In 1960, I became only the second woman to graduate from Mount Allison with a Bachelor of Commerce degree. Gradually, I got used to dealing mostly with men.”

At university, “there was a model parliament. You could run from a residence to sit in the model parliament. I did and really enjoyed the experience. Mind you, I had to be pushed because I was a very shy child growing up.”

In 1963, Catherine received an education degree from Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Next, she did more business studies, this time at Syracuse University. For a time, she taught business in New Brunswick and then Ontario.

“I never intended to run for premier,” Catherine said. “Some people leave university or grow up knowing they want to get into politics. But I hadn't considered that path.”

In 1968, “I returned home for a summer and got involved in the family business. That was it. I loved it. The community was active, and I participated in a lot of things within the community too.

“One thing led to another. Soon I was asked by some people I really respected, both by the Liberals and the Conservatives, to run for office. After thinking about it, I decided to run for the Liberals.

“In that first election (in 1974), I was reminded by many people that politics wasn’t for women. I distinctly remember going to a Liberal poll chairman in the area, a man who went to my church and with whom I’d worked on committees, and he said to me, ‘Look, I know you’ve been successful at many things, and I have great regard for your family. But I can’t support you because you’re a woman.’ During the campaign, several more people told me the same.”

But Catherine won and entered the provincial legislature. “An experienced politician named Frank Jardine, well known and well respected, was my running mate. He was a big help in getting me elected. Plus I had a great campaign team. Eric Robinson from Albany was my campaign manager. He ran the show, and I stayed out on the road from early morning to late night.”

Premier Alex Campbell promptly named Catherine to his cabinet as the minister responsible for health issues, social services, the disabled and non-status Aboriginal peoples. “So I had a full plate,” she said. “But really, at the time, I didn’t know much about how governments functioned. It was a fast-learning experience.”

Four years later, Catherine declined to run again and rejoined the family business. “Even after I got out of politics, people would come and ask me about problems and issues,” she said.

So in 1988, Catherine switched to federal politics, winning an election and entering the House of Commons to represent PEI’s Malpeque constituency. With the Conservatives of Prime Minister Brian Mulroney in power, she became a prominent opposition critic.

Her second stint in provincial politics began just before the historic 1993 election. In 1997, a year after she left the premier’s office, Catherine received a Senate appointment and returned to Ottawa. There, she participates on various Senate committees, including those seeking ways to ease rural poverty and to improve public health.

“The perception and the reality of the Senate are completely different," Catherine said. "The Senate is perceived as a group of older people who don’t work too hard or get too involved in the issues. I've worked with a lot of people over the years, and I can honestly say that the percentage of workaholics in the Senate is as high, or higher, than in any other group.”

“I don’t think the public realizes that the Senate plays a big part in public policy. We’re not elected so we can take the long-term view. Governments tend to think from one election to the next. The Senate’s view is completely different.”

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