Retail Reform: Goal of Getting More Women “Ellected”

“A woman's place is in the resistance!” Calgary retail shop owner, Sarah Elder-Chamanara pointed to one of her favourite things in her newly opened store, Madame Premier, a print emblazoned with those inspiring words.  She made the courageous decision to open a brick-and-mortar shop in the middle of a pandemic, with the store doubling as an event space.

Elder-Chamanara, a Royal Roads Bachelor of Arts in Justice Studies graduate, saw the need for a place for women to gather, explaining, “There is a very strong urge for people to connect and for capacity building and community building in the space and in Calgary. Just because of the ongoing political situations here that are evolving, there's no lack of issues to discuss or to inform people on.”

Madame Premier came about because Elder-Chamanara was on a board of a non-profit organization aiming to ask women to run for Calgary City Council. She created a design with a call to action to inspire women to enter politics and the organization declined her idea of using it for a fundraiser.

A fellow board member suggested they start a business to sell designs like it and Madame Premier was born, selling feminist political merchandise online. That partnership has since dissolved, and Sarah describes the brand as having become more activist.

When asked about her future vision for the Madame Premier brand, Elder-Chamanara said, “I think it's not so much about the brand. It's about the movement of seeing the increased participation of women in politics, and politics, meaning not just elected office, but unelected offices as well. I really want to see more women finding ways to advocate for issues that they're really passionate about outside of party politics as well.”

She explained why she wants to see more women entering politics, saying, “I think that when the people at the decision-making tables are representative of the populations they represent, better decisions will be made.”

She wants her shop to be part of that mission, reflecting, “I find it really inspiring to meet people who are getting involved in their first campaign and are just really optimistic about the change that they can make. That's very heartwarming, and it gives me hope for the future.”

As she embarks on this latest journey of brick-and-mortar retail, Elder-Chamanara reflects on her degree at Royal Roads that helped get her here. “I applied with flexible admission to the Justice Studies program. I continued working in the BC legislature while doing it. I ended up having really thoughtful and interesting conversations with people from all over the country, with really different backgrounds.”

Much like opening a store during a pandemic, Elder-Chamanara’s path to degree completion wasn’t without challenges, she recalls, “It took me longer than I had anticipated to actually finish the program, because my dad died right before I was due to work on and submit my final project. The Royal Roads system was very flexible and adaptive to my needs.”

With a passion for social change, creativity and a solid education behind her, Elder-Chamanara is creating the space she thinks her community needs. When she’s not serving customers, she’s interviewing women on her Ellected podcast, organizing activist projects like postcard campaigns and coming up with new products, like her newly launched Election Collection.

From the BC legislature to the campus of Royal Roads to a store in downtown Calgary, Elder-Chamanara’s mission to encourage women in politics is centered on her clear vision statement from her merchandise. Shirts and other swag declare, “A woman’s place is in Council chambers, the legislature, the House of Commons, the Senate” and, of course, at Madame Premier.