Women Winning the Vote in Canada

Commemorations

In 1997, the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada(HSMBC) recommended Canadian women winning the vote to be an event of national historic significance. It is one of several designations commemorating the status, achievements and contributions of women in Canadian history. The plaque commemorating women winning the vote in Canada, along with a banner and two-panel interpretive exhibit, is located outside the Walker Theatre, at 364 Smith Street, in downtown Winnipeg, Manitoba.

Related to the theme of women winning the vote are the following people, places and events, all of which were also recommended to be of national historic significance by the HSMBC, under the National Historic Site program of Parks Canada.

Edith Archibald -- Designated a person of national historic significance for her role in helping Nova Scotian women obtain the vote.

Martha Louise Black -- Designated a person of national historic significance as the second woman elected to the House of Commons and a prominent figure from the Yukon.

Canadian Woman's Christian Temperance Union -- Designated of national historic significance as the largest non-denominational Canadian women's organization in the late-19th century.

Henrietta Muir Edwards -- Designated a person of national historic significance as a social and legislative reformer who fought for the rights of women and children. Edwards was one of the "Group of Five" appellants in the Persons Case.

E. Cora Hind -- Designated a person of national historic significance as a leading advocate of women's rights and suffrage in Manitoba, and because she won an international reputation as an agricultural journalist.

Agnes Campbell Macphail -- Designated a person of national historic significance as the first woman elected to the House of Commons (1921).

Marie Gérin-Lajoie -- Designated a person of national historic significance as a crusader for women's rights in the Province of Quebec. She co-founded the Fédération nationale Saint-Jean Baptiste and campaigned for women's suffrage.

Nellie McClung © Provincial Archives of Manitoba/ N7694

Nellie Mooney McClung -- Designated a person of national historic significance as a writer, social reformer, appellant in the Persons Case and the first woman member of the Canadian Broadcasting Company Board 1936-42.

Louise McKinney -- Designated a person of national historic significance because of her work for temperance and women's rights, as an appellant in the Persons Case and as a member of the legislature from 1917-21.

Violet McNaughton -- Designated a person of national historic significance because she organized the Women Grain Growers, instigated publically funded medical care programs, and led the fight for women's suffrage in Saskatchewan.

Lillian Benyon Thomas © Provincial Archives of Manitoba/ N19359

Emily Ferguson ("Janey Canuck") Murphy -- Designated a person of national historic significance as the first woman judge in the British Commonwealth. She fought for women's rights and was an appellant in the Persons Case.

Mary Irene Parlby -- Designated a person of national historic significance as a legislator who fought for admission of women to the Senate (she was an appellant in the Persons Case).

National Council of Women -- Designated of national historic significance for its role in promoting women's suffrage, in improving community life and contributing to the development of the social welfare state.

Persons Case -- Designated of national historic significance because it cleared the way for the appointment of women to the Senate, and established that Canadian women were full persons, equal to men.

Idola St. Jean -- Designated a person of national historic significance because she was a leader in the fight for women's suffrage in Quebec and for reform of the civil code in the 1920s and 1930s.

Emily Stowe -- Designated a person of national historic significance for her role in opening the medical profession to women and in the championing of women's suffrage.

The Walker Theatre, Winnipeg, Manitoba © Provincial Archives of Manitoba/ N13272

Walker Theatre -- Designated a national historic site because of its architectural and historical significance. The Walker Theatre, built in 1906, is an excellent example of an early Canadian theatre and was the site of labour and women's movement meetings.

Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) -- Designated of national historic significance because it supported an enlarged role for women in employment, higher education and public service.