{"id":28035,"date":"2019-11-22T15:59:46","date_gmt":"2019-11-22T15:59:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/fass\/?post_type=cu_story&p=28035"},"modified":"2025-02-03T11:30:17","modified_gmt":"2025-02-03T16:30:17","slug":"fashioning-a-future-student-leader-couples-politics-with-material-history","status":"publish","type":"cu_story","link":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/fass\/story\/fashioning-a-future-student-leader-couples-politics-with-material-history\/","title":{"rendered":"Fashioning a Future: Student Leader Couples Politics with Material History"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\n Fashioning a Future: Student Leader Couples Politics with Material History\n <\/h1>\n \n <\/header>\n <\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n\n \n\n <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n

The goal of the groundbreaking Daughters of the Vote<\/a> initiative is to inspire and equip young women with the skills to help them become community advocates and future political leaders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To achieve this, Daughters of the Vote invites 338 diverse and\u00a0dynamic women ages 18-23 to represent their federal riding\u00a0at a national event. In the Spring of 2019, fourth-year BA\u00a0Combined Honours student in History<\/a> and Political Science<\/a>,\u00a0Emilie Lanthier, was a delegate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cA friend of mine encouraged me to apply to be a delegate for my small, northern community,\u201d says Lanthier. \u201cI come from a place that doesn\u2019t wield the same political clout or visibility as larger southern ridings, so I was eager to use this opportunity to give prominence to my community on a national stage.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Daughters of the Vote 2019, Lanthier proudly represented her hometown riding of Timmins-James Bay, occupied by Member of Parliament, the New Democratic Party of Canada\u2019s Charlie Angus<\/a>. As part of the initiative, she attended seminars and workshops led by influential women and activists from across the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the workshops, these trailblazing women from all across the political spectrum were invited to speak about their unique journeys to becoming leaders in Canada. Discussion topics ranged from grassroots volunteer advocacy to the highs and lows of running for federal office.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cExposure to positive female role models in politics and in our national community empower young women, like myself, to recognize and harness our ability to affect political and social change,\u201d explains Lanthier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe dealt with an array of important issues, including Indigenous politics, media, and anti-oppression training. This experience prepared delegates with the tools to influence politics once Daughters of the Vote wrapped.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This training and discussion further opened Lanthier\u2019s eyes to the degree of which many Canadian girls and women feel disenfranchised and marginalized.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere are so many valid grievances women have towards the overall structure of Canadian society that I wasn\u2019t aware of.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDaughters of the Vote allows women the space to air their experienced injustices, to engage with other women and to discuss the long-standing histories and legacies of discrimination,\u201d says Lanthier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lanthier says that we need to hear real, lived experiences in order to make honest progress. And that\u2019s why Daughters of the Vote is so important.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a capstone for the week\u2019s events, Lanthier and the other 337 delegates took the seat of their corresponding MP in the House of Commons to speak to an issue that concerned them in their communities. Lanthier chose to focus on systems of homelessness in Timmins-James Bay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI used my speech to address the troubling correlation between the hidden and more covert forms of homelessness, and racial and gendered forms of marginalization and vulnerability,\u201d says Lanthier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI wanted to bring to the fore the lack of funding for social assistance resources and programs in Northern Ontario, and the systemic problems that underlie and perpetuate this issue.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a moment of protest sure to go down in Canada\u2019s national history, many of the Daughters of the Vote ambassadors made a powerful statement on Canadian politics in 2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While occupying the seats of their MPs, the delegates were addressed by each federal party leader. Approximately 25 to 40 delegates chose to walk out of the House of Commons as Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer rose to speak and about the same number turned their backs to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as he began his statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSome of the delegates chose to make this protest in response to the government\u2019s actions towards Indigenous communities, and others did it as a method of expressing their solidarity with former cabinet ministers Jody Wilson-Raybould<\/a> and Jane Philpott<\/a>,\u201d explains Lanthier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt was an exciting moment and indeed, the dinner conversations that evening were very lively. I did not participate in these acts of protest because I felt more inclined to listen to what was being said regardless of whether those views aligned with my own personal and political views.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lanthier reflects on her Daughters of the Vote experience as one of the most enriching and rewarding of her life. \u201cI had the opportunity to meet many intelligent, ambitious young women who I know will make a positive impact on our political landscape and institutions,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Exposure to positive female role models in politics and in our national community empower young women, like myself, to recognize and harness our ability to affect political and social change.<\/p>Emilie Lanthier<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

\u201cIt has been an absolute pleasure to have had the chance to listen and share our personal and lived experiences as young women, and more importantly, sharpen our skills and refine our goals in contributing to a brighter future for Canadian women in politics.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Emilie
Emilie in front of the entrance to the Department of History, Paterson Hall<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

From Classroom to House of Commons<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Lanthier\u2019s foray into Canadian politics through Daughters of the Vote is but one of her many accomplishments. At Carleton University, she is a successful and engaged student, and she credits a lot of her growth to the meaningful relationships she cultivated as an undergrad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy experience at Carleton has been stellar. Carleton has offered me a superb academic experience \u2013 one that was also tempered by a personal aspect that you can\u2019t always get at bigger universities. There\u2019s a warm, encouraging, community vibe,\u201d says Lanthier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe History Department, in particular, has always been tremendously helpful and supportive, which goes a long way as you deal with the daily pressure of being a university student.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI often speak with my friends who attend other universities, and the fruitful personal relationships I\u2019ve made with faculty seem like a feature mostly unique to Carleton.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Carleton\u2019s First-Year Seminars Uncovered her Love of Fashion<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Another feature mostly unique to Carleton is the First- Year Seminar<\/a> (FYSM) courses \u2014 small classes devised to allow first-year students the opportunity to discuss and research topics of interest in a particular subject area. While most university students are not afforded this collaborative and intimate setting until third or fourth-year, Carleton BA students get this chance as soon as they begin post-secondary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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