I was an exchange student living in France when Kim Campbell was running for the leadership of the Progressive Conservatives back in 1993.

Since my stay overseas predated the internet, my parents would mail me newspaper clippings so I could keep track of the race that would ultimately determine the first woman to serve as Canada’s prime minister.

As a 16-year-old, I was inspired by Campbell’s historical feat, which for me transcended party affiliation and seemed long overdue. But nearly 33 years later, no one has managed a repeat.

It’s a reality Campbell herself reflected on when I interviewed her in 2019.

“I don’t overstate my importance to Canadian history, but as the years go by and no other woman is elected leader of a governing party, I say, ‘You know, it’s harder than it looks,’ ” she said then. “It’s not that I try to exaggerate what I did, but if I denigrate it or minimize it, I’m cheating all the other women who need to have examples to encourage them and who also deserve to be taken seriously.”

Campbell’s words resonate this week as another woman makes political history. Christine Féchette will be sworn in Wednesday as Quebec’s next premier, only the second woman to hold the job after Pauline Marois in 2012.

Her accomplishment is both an important milestone on the long road to equality — and a reminder that the progress can be fleeting.

In many ways, Fréchette’s........

© Montreal Gazette