Mary Walker-Sawka

Who is Mary Walker-Sawka?

Mary Walker-Sawka was the first woman ever to seek the leadership of a major political party in Canada. She was a surprise last-minute candidate at the 1967 leadership convention of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada, a centre-right party that formed the official opposition in the Canadian House of Commons at the time. She was a movie producer and freelance writer. The convention had been called after a revolt by party members against the leadership of John Diefenbaker. The party was badly divided between supporters and opponents of the former prime minister.

Walker-Sawka said that she was a Diefenbaker supporter, but was running because she felt she could “add a few things” to Diefenbaker’s program. She gave a short speech setting out her ideas for PC party policy:

Canada should withdraw from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and North American Aerospace Defense Command;

Canada should closely supervise its foreign aid programs to ensure that aid does not end up on the black market;

all houses more than 20 or 30 years old should be torn down and re-built;

Old Age Security payments should be increased to $100 per month;