“One of the things that prevents women from getting into politics is their ability to fundraise and their ability to network, so by raising the bar on both of those, that may have prevented other women from getting in,” she said.
The rules do require both money and wide support, and fast: applicants must pay a total of $300,000 — with $100,000 of it eventually refundable — and get the signatures of 3,000 people, one-third of whom must live in 30 different ridings across seven provinces and territories.