Woman power could decide Tory fate; Green leader hopes for Liberal shift as her party takes on Tory cabinet minister Peter MacKay
The Daily News (Kamloops)
September 20, 2008
By: Maria Babbage

Zoe the granola cruncher and Fiona the married urbanite were persona non grata when the Conservatives came calling in the last federal election.

Figuring they'd never stand a chance with childless career women and organic-food munching city dwellers, the Tories stayed far away from the demographic groups they'd nicknamed "Fiona" and "Zoe," while the Liberals and NDP reaped the benefits.

This time around, Prime Minister Stephen Harper -- sweater vest and all -- will have to court urban women if he wants a majority government, pollsters say.

"Urban women under 35, call it 40 -- I think those are the most important segments in terms of achieving a breakthrough for the Conservatives," said Bruce Anderson, president of polling firm Harris-Decima.

"And conversely, I guess, for the Liberals, holding their ground with those groups and perhaps encroaching upon the Conservative support among older women."

…. The early Tory advantage puzzled some experts, who expected more blowback over the scrapping of Liberal plans for national child care, the cancellation of the court challenges program, and funding cuts that forced most regional Status of Women Canada offices to close.

Others weren't surprised, given that most voters -- women or men -- tend to have short memories.

…. "Women are much more likely to vote Conservative in this country than NDP," she said.

However, the latest polls suggest women are swinging back to the Liberals and New Democrats at the expense of the Conservatives.

… Part of the gain could be attributed to the large number of women candidates running in the Oct. 14 election.

Armed with 106 women candidates and a promise to put equality issues back on the national agenda, Liberal Leader Stephane Dion appears to be winning many female voters back after a slow start.

NDP Leader Jack Layton has assembled his own impressive slate of female candidates and managed to keep his women-friendly image intact, despite an ill-fated attempt to keep the Green party's Elizabeth May out of the televised leaders debates.

While the Liberals have more female candidates nominated so far than any other party, multipartisan group Equal Votes notes that the NDP are running more women in winnable ridings.

It's hard to tell if the Conservatives are equal to the task. Campaign co-chair Senator Marjory LeBreton says there's no specific strategy to target women voters. Back in the war room, staffers can't even provide an accurate list of the party's women candidates.

The roster of 63 ridings where the Tories claimed they were running female candidates included three ridings where the party's candidate was male.

Rather than make a blatant pitch to younger women, the Harper camp seems to be taking a more subtle approach.

The "sweater vest" television ads -- depicting Harper as a sensitive, piano-playing family man -- have softened his image as a right-wing control freak who sees his children off to school with a solemn handshake.

Harper has also taken aim at women's pocketbooks with promises of parental leave benefits for the self-employed, tax breaks for small business owners and tax credits for first-time homebuyers.

That could score points among women, who tend to be more concerned about issues like the economy and child care.

"For women to have good jobs, we need to have a strong economy, and I think women are quite attuned to that," said Jane Arscott, an Athabasca University professor who has written extensively on women in politics….