Canadian Women and Representation in the Early 20th Century
Before 1916, women in Canada had no rights whatsoever to represent the people, or hold a position in any elected office. In 1916, women in Alberta were able to run in provincial elections, thanks to the Political Equality League of Manitoba. This law spread to Saskatchewan, Alberta, BC, and Ontario in the next two years. [1] Although this allowed women to run for provincial elections, women could still not hold a position in any other elected office, including the Senate. This was not made very clear in the law, since only 'persons' were allowed to run for Senate, but the definition of 'persons' in that part of the law was not very well defined. In 1928, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that women were not 'persons,' after being asked by a group of five influential women activists in Alberta. [2] However, in 1929, the British Privy Council, on an even higher order of authority, declared that women were considered 'persons' in 1929, allowing women to run for any elected office in all of Canada. [3] Two years later, Cairine Wilson became the first woman to be appointed to Canada's Senate. [4]