The Sharon Carstairs Fund

A smiling Sharon Carstairs wearing a striking purple jacket with gold brooch.

helps support women candidates of

the Manitoba Liberal Party.

Since 1916, when then-governing Manitoba Liberal Party passed a law to give women the vote, Manitoba Liberals have taken the lead in advocating for women as voters and as candidates. Edith McTavish Rogers was the first woman elected MLA in 1920, and she was also Métis.

To carry on this tradition, the Sharon Carstairs Fund was created by the party in honour of Senator Sharon Carstairs, who made history in 1984 as the first woman in Canada to lead a political party. She was also the first woman to sit as Leader of the Official Opposition after the 1988 Manitoba election. She was subsequently named to the Canadian Senate in 1994.

Senator Carstairs is representative of the strength of women candidates who have stood for the Manitoba Liberals over the years, including party leaders Ginny Hasselfield, Rana Bokhari, interim party leader and first woman First Nations leader Judy Klassen, and current two-term MLA, Cindy Lamoureux.

On March 8, 2021, Manitoba Liberals held the 1st Annual Sharon Carstairs Fund #AskHer Fundraiser, to show how important it is to support women candidates with our time, our money, and our work.

Women make up half of the population, but are less likely to run for office – so our goal as the Manitoba Liberal Women’s Association and as a party is to encourage women-identified candidates to run, and remove barriers to their participation.

By donating to the Sharon Carstairs Fund, you will be helping to provide a better financial base for women to run for provincial office here in Manitoba.

Thank you for your support!