The word wasn't used but there was a lot about there relative merits and experience in that article. Balancing regional , gender and cultural factors is a fact of life in Canadian government. Maybe we should ask Trump for advice. Turpel-Lafond did a fine job as children's advocate in BC. That's all I know about any of them.
No, there was nothing about merit. The discussion about the 'qualifications' centred on race, gender and bilingualism.
There was nothing about so and so was famous as an outstanding constitutional scholar, or so and so is noted for their brilliant decision writing, or so and so was responsible for ground breaking decisions. Nothing like that. One line was especially pertinent. It mentioned a lawyer, but said he was qualified presuming the Liberals were looking for a white guy, but that was considered unlikely.
Now let's examine the reality of senior lawyers and judges in Canada. Probably 75% of them are white men. It stands to reason, then, that ignoring them ignores 75% of the best candidates.
Now let's look at bilingualism. probably no more than 4% of Canadians are functionally bilingual, and most are in Quebec. Eliminate the white guys and eliminate the unilingual Anglos and how big a pool does that leave you to choose from, especially in western Canada?
Instead of choosing the best from among thousands of lawyers and judges you're left scrambling to try and find someone from among a few dozen who might be able to do the job. And odds are none of them are the best.