Both contenders vying to be Alberta's premier are women. Nobody's making a big deal of it

As voters head to the polls, no one seems to be batting an eye about the fact that both front-runners for Alberta's top job are women. 

Either Danielle Smith, leader of the United Conservative Party, or Rachel Notley, leader of the Alberta New Democrats, will be elected premier on May 29.

"I think it's pretty exciting that regardless of what happens, a woman's going to win," said Kristin Raworth, chair of Parity YEG, a non-profit group aiming for gender equality in politics.

"And it's nice that that's actually just not even a discussion point."

Having two women contending for the premier's job isn't common in Canadian politics, but it has happened before in Alberta. The current campaign marks the second time two women have gone head to head in a general election.

The 2012 provincial election pitted Alison Redford against Danielle Smith, then leader of the Wildrose party. Months earlier, Redford had become Alberta's first female premier when she won the leadership of the Progressive Conservative party. 

Alberta's second female premier? That was Notley, in 2015, when her New Democrats formed government.

Smith became the province's third female premier last October when she won the leadership of the UCP, which was created in 2017 with the merger of the Wildrose and PCs.

In the current election campaign, gender isn't playing as big a role as it did in 2012. 

Deborah Grey remembers herself sticking out when she went to Ottawa in 1989 as the first Reform Party member of Parliament. She was 36 when she won a byelection in the northeastern Alberta riding of Beaver River.

"That was pretty avant-garde, because all the folks in Ottawa thought that this new Reform Party was just a bunch of old, white, white-haired guys," Grey said.

Grey said the fact that they're women has nothing to do with why Notley and Smith are leading their respective parties.

"Rachel's been around forever ... Danielle Smith has been around forever, too," Grey said.

"[Smith is] a very capable, bright woman. And then she had her radio show. So neither of these women is a surprise or 'Oh my goodness, look, we have two women leaders.' I think we've left that behind."