{The Vote:
Suffragists were relentless campaigners, lecturers, demonstrators and
petitioners. They bravely faced politicians' ire and the aggressive opposition
of public opinion. By 1918, some women were granted the right to vote
and to have a say in the political future of Canada. For many other women,
their race, ethnicity and religion still barred them from the vote and, for
them, the fight continued for almost 50 years. It wasn't until the
introduction of the Universal Right to Vote in 1963 and the
addition of the equality clause in the Canadian Charter of Rights and
Freedoms in 1985 that the right to vote could not be denied on the
basis of race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, age, mental or
physical disability, or gender.}
The "Famous Five" and the Persons Case:
Early
activists challenge conventional views to change Canadian history ==è The Famous Five achieved not only the
right for women to serve in the Senate, but they and their many contributions
paved the way for women to participate in other aspects of public life and the
assertion of women's rights ==è Emily Murphy,
Louise McKinney, Irene Parlby, Nellie McClung, Henrietta Muir Edwards
…
"We want women leaders today as never before. Leaders who are not afraid to be called names and who are willing to go out and fight. I think women can save civilization. Women are persons."
-
Emily Murphy - 1931
The
early 20th century and the courageous women who challenged the existing
status of women are now part of the historic landscape of Canada. Five women
created legal history in women's rights by contesting the notion that legal
definitions of persons excluded females. If women were not legally persons,
then they had no rights.
The
women who pursued the petition were journalists, magistrates or politicians.
Their legal quest reached the highest level of appeals, the British Privy
Council, which ultimately pronounced women "persons". It is a
notable victory for equal rights.
The
determination and dedication of these remarkable women is honored by The
Governor General's Awards in Commemoration of the Persons Case. In 1979 on the
50th anniversary of the decree that women were 'persons' the Canadian
government struck the first medal. It is the only tribute to those who work to
promote gender equality and the full participation of women in the economic
fabric of the country.
The
early 1900s in the Canadian west were turbulent and rapidly changing times. In
Alberta, the population began to shift from a strictly rural to an increasing
urban one. Men outnumbered women three to two. These situations combined to
create what some perceived as significant social problems of alcohol abuse and
prostitution.
Women
began to organize and support those organizations dedidated to 'cleaning up
society'. At the same time, women began to seek a larger role in politics. In
1916, the Alberta legislature passed legislation granting women the right to
vote.
The
British North America Act of 1867 set out the powers and responsibilities of
the provinces and of the federal government. This federal act used the word
"persons" when it referred to more than one person and the word
"he" when it referred to one person. Therefore, many argued, the Act
was really saying that only a man could be a person, thus preventing women from
participating fully in politics or affairs of state.
This
situation was of concern to Canada's Emily Murphy, the first woman magistrate
in the British Empire. Judge Murphy was the magistrate of a newly
created Women's Court operating in Edmonton. On her first day a defendant's
lawyer challenged a ruling, because she was not a "person" and
therefore, not qualified to perform the duties of a magistrate.
Magistrate
Alice Jamieson of Calgary found herself similarly challenged. In 1917 one of her rulings
was appealed to the Alberta Supreme Court, which deemed that there was no legal
disqualification for holding public office in the government based on sex.
At
the same time, women's groups began pressuring the federal government to
appoint a woman to the Senate. Despite the support of Prime Ministers Arthur
Meighen and William Lyon MacKenzie King, no appointments materialized. Governments
used the persons argument as the excuse used to keep women out of important
positions, like the Senate. If only a man could be a person, then when the Act
also said only "qualified persons" could be appointed to the Senate
of Canada, then only men could be appointed to the Senate.
In 1927 Emily Murphy and four other prominent Canadian women - Nellie McClung, Irene Parlby, Louise McKinney and Henrietta Muir Edwards - asked the Supreme Court of Canada to answer the question, "Does the word "person" in Section 24 of the B.N.A. Act include female persons?" After five weeks of debate and argument the Supreme Court of Canada decided that the word "person" did not include women.
The
five women, nicknamed "The Famous Five", were shocked by the Supreme
Court decision but did not give up the fight. Instead they refused to accept
the decision and took the Persons Case to the Privy Council in England which in
those days was Canada's highest court.
On October 18, 1929, Lord Sankey, Lord Chancellor of
the Privy council, announced the decision of the five Lords. The decision
stated "that the exclusion of women from all public offices is a relic
of days more barbarous than ours. And to those who would ask why the word
"person" should include females, the obvious answer is, why should it
not?"
The Famous Five achieved not only the right for women to serve in the Senate, but they and their many contributions paved the way for women to participate in other aspects of public life and the assertion of women's rights is now honoured by the Governor General's Awards in Commemoration of the Persons Case.
The
"Famous Five":
Emily
Murphy, Louise McKinney, Irene Parlby, Nellie McClung, Henrietta Muir Edwards
Emily
Murphy
(1868-1933)
"Whenever
I don't know whether to fight or not, I fight."
Born
in Cookstown, Ontario, Emily (Ferguson) Murphy was already an accomplished
author by the time she arrived in Edmonton in 1907. A mother of two, she
spearheaded campaigns for women's property rights, and in 1916 she was the
first woman in the British Empire to be appointed as a police magistrate.
During this time, a lawyer repeatedly challenged her rulings, claiming that she
was not legally a "person." In 1927 she led the legal challenge now
known as the Persons Case.
Louise
McKinney
(1868-1931)
"The
purpose of a woman's life is just the same as the purpose of a man's life: that
she may make the best possible contribution to her generation."
Louise
(Crummy) McKinney raged against the evils of alcohol and the "disabilities
laid on women" and played a leading role in bringing Alberta women the
right to vote in 1916. She was the first woman sworn in to the Alberta
Legislature and the first in any Legislature in the British Empire. As an MLA,
elected in 1917 to represent Claresholm, she worked to inititate social
assistance measures for widows and immigrants and, along with Emily Murphy,
helped establish the Dower Act, allowing women property rights in marriage.
(1868-1965)
"Evolution
cannot be brought about by the use of dynamite."
Born in London, England, Irene (Marryat) Parlby came to Alberta in 1896, married a rancher, and settled in the Lacombe area. She was elected to the Alberta Legislature in 1921 under the United Farmers of Alberta banner and helped push through 18 bills to improve the plight of women and children. She was named to cabinet as a minister without portfolio in 1921, only the second woman cabinet minister in the British Empire. She was president of the United Farm Women of Alberta and a staunch advocate for rural Alberta women.
Nellie
McClung
(1873-1951)
"Never
retract, never explain, never apologize - get things done and let them
howl."
Novelist, legislator, prohibitionist, and suffragette, Nellie (Mooney) McClung's influence was felt across the prairies. The Chatsworth, Ontario-born school teacher helped Manitoba women win the right to vote and continued the battle in Alberta after arriving in Edmonton in 1914. She was elected to the Alberta Legislature as an opposition Liberal in 1921, was the first woman on the CBC Board of Governors, a representative to the League of Nations, a Sunday school teacher, and a mother of five.
Henrietta
Muir Edwards
(1849-1931)
"We
sought to establish the individuality of women... It was an uphill fight."
Henrietta
(Muir) Edwards was active in prison reform, organized the forerunner to the
YWCA in Montreal in 1875 to provide vocational training for impoverished
working women, and published and financed the first Canadian magazine for
working women. A student of law, she helped establish the National Council of
Women in 1890 and served for decades as its convenor of laws. She wrote several
books on the legal status of women and compiled a list of provincial laws
affecting women and children across Canada at the request of the federal
government.