Good morning, Mr. Chair, vice-chairs and members of the committee. Thank you for the invitation to appear today on behalf of the Equal Voice Foundation.
We are Canada's only national, multipartisan organization dedicated to strengthening women's participation and leadership in political life. We work across party lines, across the country and at all levels of government to help build a more representative, inclusive and resilient democracy.
Today's study on civic resilience is both timely and important. At its core, civic resilience is about whether Canadians continue to believe that our democratic institutions are open, responsive and worth participating in. It's about trust, belonging and confidence that individuals can contribute meaningfully to public life.
One of the clearest ways to strengthen this trust is to ensure that Canadians see themselves reflected in leadership and the decisions they make. According to our national research, Canadians in general do not think politics is very accessible. Less than half believe there are opportunities for Canadians to run or even get involved in politics, and eight out of 10 say that politics are not very welcoming to those who are new to the sector.
When people believe that politics are only for a narrow group of insiders, participation declines. This is why representation matters—not only as a question of fairness but as a matter of democratic strength.
At Equal Voice, we often see barriers arise long before someone even considers becoming a candidate or getting involved. Many talented women are interested in serving their communities but hesitate because politics continues to appear inaccessible, adversarial, financially difficult and incompatible with caregiving and professional responsibilities. Others face harassment, online abuse or simply a lack of encouragement or pathways into public life.
As a result, many capable people self-select before they even reach the starting line. This is a loss not only for individuals but also for Canada as a whole. A resilient democracy depends on drawing leaders from the broadest and strongest possible talent pool. Women are 50% of the talent pool.
We are also increasingly focused, at Equal Voice, on research and evidence. Strong institutions and good training programs need to be evidence-based and need to use real and evolving information. If Canada wants to improve participation, we already know most of the barriers that exist and who is being left out. We also know there are solutions and actions that are effective in addressing many of these barriers. At Equal Voice, we tackle some of these barriers in the quiet time between elections, when the real work needs to happen. This is where Equal Voice continues to show up.
We are also known for our multipartisan model, and support for this approach is only growing. We heard this over the almost 18 months of consultations that went into our new strategic plan: lead, connect, compete and govern.
At a time when many democracies are experiencing polarization, Equal Voice brings women together across political affiliations to build relationships, share experiences and support one another in public life. This unique type of bridge-building is valuable. It reminds us that participation in democratic renewal can rise above partisan divides.
In our experience and research, there are also areas of hope. There's a great deal of untapped interest in getting involved in politics in a volunteer capacity. In our polling, 58% of women are interested in getting into politics at a municipal level. Young women would be more likely to get involved or run if they knew more about the opportunities and process for involvement.
As the committee considers recommendations, we would respectfully offer three areas for consideration.
First, continue supporting public life leadership development initiatives, in the long term, that prepare more Canadians for public life, with both civics training and political literacy training.
Second, recognize harassment and intimidation, particularly online, as real barriers to democratic participation.
Third, continue improving research and data collection on representation, participation trends and the pathways into leadership, so future policy is evidence-based.
Canada's democracy is strong, but strong democracies still require regular reflection. Equal Voice is proud to contribute to this work.
Thank you. I look forward to your questions.