Having women hold the most powerful elected positions, including premiers, big-city mayors and the most important cabinet positions in the country, is no longer a novelty in Canada. Women made up 33 percent of candidates in the last federal election. And, yet, women in power must still navigate a political and media world that operates around deeply entrenched stereotypes and expectations for behavior.

This feature series scrutinizes some of the media narratives around women in politics, and some of the obstacles thrown up in their way when they reach the corridors of power. This series has been developed in collaboration with the Gender and Politics Lab at Memorial University.

Photo: Valerie Plante is surrounded by family members, sons Gale (second left) and Emile and husband Pierre-Antoine Harvey (right) after being sworn in as the city’s new mayor in Montreal on Nov. 16, 2017. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz

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