The Famous Five's Petition to the Supreme Court
Figure 8: 1927 petition of the Famous Five to the Supreme Court
This is the letter from the group later to be known as the Famous Five to the Supreme Court asking whether the term "persons" includes female persons. In this letter, two questions are asked, but later on they are narrowed down to one: "Does the word 'Persons' in section 24 of the British North America Act, 1867, include female persons?" If the word "persons" included female persons, they would be able to run for Senate and any other elected office, simplifying the question sent to the Supreme Court and giving a name to this case: the Persons Case.
The Negative Response
Success at Last
After the Supreme Court had made their decision to not allow women to run for Senate, the Famous Five did not give up. They appealed to the Judicial Committee of England's Privy Council, the highest Court of Appeal for Canada at that time. In 1929, the British Privy Council reversed this decision and declared that women were "persons," and could run for Senate. This is the response from the Lords of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council. In 1930, just a year after this response, Cairine Wilson became Canada's first woman Senator. [21]
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