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Canada had six female premiers, and now only two remain: What happened?

Premiers on the final day of the Council of the Federation Friday, July 26, 2013. (CP)
Premiers on the final day of the Council of the Federation Friday, July 26, 2013. (CP)

Rewind the movie of political leadership in Canada all the way back to July 2013: It’s the Conference of the Federation in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont., and six provincial leaders are women. It’s a moment that many called historic, speaking of new possibilities and a shift in the old boys’ club mentality of politics.

At the time, most of Canada was governed by women, with female premiers in Ontario, Quebec, Newfoundland and Labrador, Alberta, British Columbia and Nunavut.

“It makes it historic and I’m aware of that,” Ontario premier Kathleen Wynne, the host of the annual gathering of provincial leaders, told the Toronto Star at the time.

But fast-forward back to present day and the picture is a very different one. Only Wynne and Christy Clark, B.C.’s premier, remain in power.

What happened to that historic moment? Was 2013 a fluke?

“What happened was politics,” said Clare Beckton, executive director of the Carleton University Centre for Women in Politics and Public Leadership.

Beckton told Yahoo Canada News that that snapshot in time, with most  Canadians having female provincial leaders, was an indication that things are indeed changing.

“The electorate is willing to elect a male or female premier,” she said. “The biggest challenge for women is getting the nomination and after that, as far as the electorate goes… they will vote for male or female [leaders]. At least that’s what [the] evidence shows from research.”

The situation for every premier who’s left the political world since 2013 was different.

“In Nunavut, they choose their leader after they have an election and [Eva Ariak] had served a first term,” Beckton said. “Pauline Marois…misjudged the population in Quebec when she made her electoral pitch.”

In Newfoundland, Kathy Dunderdale had been in politics for quite a while and “as is wont with politics,” her support dissipated and she decided not to stick around.

“If you look at Alison Redford, there were things that happened that the voters couldn’t live with,” Beckton added. “That’s the name of the game.”

Alice Funke, author of political blog Pundit’s Guide, recently crunched some numbers and made a few conclusions that should come as good news for those who’d like to see more women in politics, and more women winning nominations.

According to Funke’s data, women stand a pretty good chance of getting those nominations — if they run.

But politics is a tough environment and there are many reasons why women simply don’t.

“Women often have to be asked to run. It is more challenging,” Beckton admitted.

Redford stepped down a year ago amid scandal. She’d been accused of entitlement after bringing her daughter and friends on government trips. A Tory MLA left caucus because, he said, Redford isn’t a “nice lady” and was difficult to work with.

The province’s first female premier, who served the third shortest term for a leader in Alberta, was profiled in Friday’s Globe and Mail. It was the first interview since Redford left politics in 2014 and in the piece, she admits she’s a “polarizing figure,” and suggested politics played a role in her downfall.

“You go back to the ’70s and ’80s, if the man is tough he’s strong and if the woman is tough she’s a “b” – it’s just always been like that,” Redford said.

“I’m not saying everybody liked me,” she continued. “That’s certainly not the case. Or had to like me. Then I ask the question: Do they like every male politician? Why is like or not like part of it. It’s a complicated issue and I don’t think we’ve sorted it out.”

Beckton, though, isn’t quick to call gender the reason for the complications in Redford’s political career.

“Certainly she did have more struggles, being a female leader in Alberta. There was no question about that,” Beckton said. But “I would not say that [gender] is the reason for Alison Redford’s downfall…We have to look at her behaviours.”

Good leadership can come from men and from women, just as scandal can come from men and women as well, Beckton suggested.

And although the picture of the six female premiers in Niagara, at the Conference of the Federation in 2013, is something Canada won’t see again — at least in that iteration — it wasn’t exactly a fluke. What’s most important in casting a vote, Beckton said, is what the leaders are offering the electorate, policy-wise.

Beckton added that there’s some good happening at the federal level, too, noting that the campaign, for the federal election in 2015, of all three major political parties are being run by women.

“That’s a very positive thing,” she said.

Follow Laura on Twitter: @laurabeaulne