Today, we celebrate the 1929 Persons Case on the anniversary of a ground-breaking case which the Supreme Court of Canada declared women to be "persons" under the law. Well, not all women.
October 18 is now celebrated as Persons Day, and the Governor General's Awards in Commemoration of the Persons Case are awarded each year to mark the historic decision. The Famous five women whose courage culminated in earning the right to vote and the right to run for federal office from the British Privy Council, the highest level for legal appeals in Canada at the time, was a milestone victory that did not extend to all.
Let us take a leisurely stroll through the vestiges of suffrage in Canada.
The woman suffrage movement in Canada had its beginning in 1878 under the leadership of Dr. Emily Howard Stowe, who co-founded the Dominion Women's Enfranchisement Association. During the decade 1890-1900, bills for the provincial enfranchisement of women were introduced into the legislatures of Ontario, Nova Scotia, Manitoba, and Québec. They were all defeated.
In 1910 Alberta granted municipal franchise to widows and spinsters, but not to married women. The Keystone Province, Manitoba, was the first to afford women the right to vote in provincial elections in 1916, spurred in part by the absence of soldiers during the First World War. The question was put to a referendum of the electors of British Columbia in 1916, and female suffrage was passed by a large majority. New Brunswick and Nova Scotia soon followed. Curiously, Québec women were granted suffrage in federal elections thanks to Ottawa's overreaching, but their provincial rights were denied successively in 1918 and 1920.
Despite the exclamation point that Status of Women Canada has placed on this 1929 ruling for women's voting rights, the struggle for equality was not over yet.
Only in 1940 would the women of Québec be able to cast a vote in their own province.
Racial exclusions against Chinese and Indo-Canadians were lifted in 1947. Japanese-Canadians had to wait another year.
The last Canadians to be afforded the right to vote were its first inhabitants. The right to vote was extended unconditionally to First Nations people in 1960 (for federal elections). Their provincial suffrage was only recognized a decade later -- notably in Alberta (1967) and Québec (1969).
The Governor General's Awards in Commemoration of the Persons Case, which were created 100 years after the movement started, will be awarded today to five fabulous Canadians who have lived up to the commitment and strength of the Famous five before them. This is a feat worth celebrating -- in commemorative awards, on Canadian bank notes, and in statues on Parliament Hill.
It is also worth giving credence to the struggles that continued for 40 long years after this 1929 monochromatic victory. It is noble to celebrate the start of women's suffrage, but it would be more appropriate and inclusive to celebrate the date voting rights were afforded to all members of the fairer sex. The women (and men) who kept the fight for fairness going deserve not only to be recognized but feted in the same decadence as the Famous five, in order to fully demonstrate the value of equality they stood for.
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I'm actually surprised that Native Canadians got the right to vote federally so early (1960): I had thought it was much later. Did you know that the women of Switzerland didn't get the right to vote until 1971?
Of course, none of it is early enough, when you think about how the lack of rights as persons and citizens hindered women: you couldn't own property; you couldn't get bank loans in your own name; children were "owned" by the father. The effects linger on today in debates like we see in the US, about who controls a woman's biological decisions.
Saudi Arabian women don't have the right to drive, so there is always a woman in the world who's equality is trampled by the ruling class. Instead of comparing ourselves to the poor examples of equality, I prefer to look towards the best examples for guidance and inspiration.
Canada is behind Rwanda, Cuba, Algeria and Nicaragua in terms of percentage of elected women.
And, of course, the equality struggle isn't over in far too many nations on the planet.
Even more sadly the struggle continues in our own backyard as attested to recent 'honour' killings, cultural value issues, economic & career glass ceiling issues, and the narrow minded comments appearing on this article.
this flies in the face of reality.
not only do women out number men at almost every campus in this country.
women also get ridiculous benefits and perks in the forms of quotas, scholarships and reduced standards that men (white men, black men, asian men and everyone in between) don't get.
If my sister assaults me physically with a weapon, and then calls the cops and say's I hit her once, I will get arrested.
it's then up to me to prove that I didn't harm her, rather than her proving I did.
it's the same in American states like California and NY.
Women have government - both provincial and federal, sponsored advantages over men in this country, and you can pretend like they don't exist all you want, but they do.
Your bigotry comes full circle.
I'm an 18 year old Muslim student of Persian ethnic origin, born and raised in Canada and the grandson of a WW1 and WW2 pilot who fought for this country, actually.
it's nice to know that there is something wrong with being white male and old though, you seem like a real open minded, tolerant woman.
In the interest of fostering critical thought, I would ask the following questions: from what do these "ridiculous benefits" issue? Some would say they are meant to compensate for inherent inequality in job opportunity/salary.
I have female family members, I don't want them paid less, but I don't want them to get ahead of me based on nothing more than superficial nonsense (gender, race, religion)
Simple solution.