Mary Walker-Sawka (born c. 1916)[1] was a Canadian film producer,[2] who was the first woman ever to seek the leadership of a major federal political party in Canada.
Unlike other leadership candidates, who had spent months campaigning, announcing policy positions and travelling across the country to meet delegates, Walker-Sawka announced and filed her candidacy just a few days before the convention began.
[8] She was one of only three candidates, along with Michael Starr and Wallace McCutcheon, who did not include any French language comments in their speeches.
[5] Some time passed before Barbara Wheeler, a delegate for George Hees, seconded Walker-Sawka's nomination in order to save her the embarrassment.
[3][10] In November 1967 Walker-Sawka sent a telegram to federal cabinet minister Judy LaMarsh, lobbying to be appointed as head of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation on the grounds that she had experience in film and television production, and was willing to do the job for "half the price" of outgoing president Alphonse Ouimet.