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The Ballot's Reach

Tracing the historical journey of enfranchisement and the fight for equality across the Canadian provinces.

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A Multifaceted Struggle for Suffrage

Early Milestones and Disparities

Women's suffrage in Canada was not a monolithic event but a gradual process, unfolding differently across jurisdictions and for various demographics. The prairie provinces led the way, with Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta granting suffrage in 1916. Federally, limited wartime suffrage was introduced in 1917, followed by full federal suffrage in 1918, though certain racial and status groups remained excluded until much later.

By 1922, most provinces had granted full suffrage to White and Black women. However, Asian and Indigenous women continued to face disenfranchisement. Newfoundland, then a separate dominion, granted suffrage in 1925 under similar exclusionary terms. Quebec lagged behind, granting full suffrage only in 1940.

Municipal Rights and Early Advocacy

The journey began earlier with municipal suffrage. In 1884, property-owning widows and spinsters in Quebec and Ontario gained the right to vote in municipal matters. This was extended in New Brunswick in 1886 to property-owning women (excluding those whose husbands voted) and similarly in Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island.

The organized movement gained momentum in the late 19th century, with figures like Dr. Emily Stowe in Toronto playing a pivotal role. Initially, advocacy groups focused on broader social reforms, gradually shifting towards direct suffrage demands.

Racial and Indigenous Disenfranchisement

The suffrage movement's progress was marked by significant racial and ethnic barriers. Asian Canadians were denied the vote until after World War II, with full enfranchisement occurring in 1948. Inuit women and men gained suffrage in 1950. First Nations women (and men) were not granted the federal vote until 1960, and even then, only if they relinquished their treaty status. This complex history highlights the intersection of gender, race, and citizenship in the fight for democratic rights.

The Toronto Nexus: Early Organizing

Dr. Emily Stowe and the Literary Club

Dr. Emily Stowe, a pioneering physician, arrived in Toronto in 1876 and became a central figure in early women's rights advocacy. Recognizing the need for organized action, she co-founded the Toronto Woman's Literary Club (TWLC) in 1877. This club served as a crucial, albeit indirect, platform for promoting suffrage, fostering public discourse on women's rights, and laying the groundwork for more direct suffrage organizations.

Evolution to the Suffrage Association

The TWLC's efforts contributed to significant advancements, including the opening of the University of Toronto to women. By 1883, the club evolved into the Toronto Women's Suffrage Association, marking a more focused commitment to the cause. This transition was solidified by the formal inauguration of the Canadian Woman Suffrage Association later that year, attracting initial members and setting a clear agenda for legislative change.

Municipal Victories and Legislative Push

A key early success was the amendment of the Ontario Municipal Act in 1884, granting municipal voting rights to widows and unmarried women. The Association actively lobbied Premier Oliver Mowat, advocating for the inclusion of married women in this franchise, demonstrating strategic engagement with political bodies.

Formalizing the Movement

Dominion Women's Enfranchisement Association

In 1889, the Toronto-based organization was renamed the Dominion Women's Enfranchisement Association (DWEA), signaling a broader national ambition. This rebranding coincided with increased national and international engagement, including lectures by prominent American suffragists like Susan B. Anthony and Anna Howard Shaw, which galvanized support and led to the re-organization and expansion of suffrage clubs across Ontario and beyond.

National Conventions and Symbolism

The DWEA organized a significant convention in Toronto in June 1890, attracting delegates from across Canada and the United States. This event adopted yellow, the color of gold and a symbol of wisdom, as the badge for equal suffragists. Mottoes like "Canada's Daughters Should be Free" and "No Sex in Citizenship" underscored the movement's core principles.

The 1890s: Expanding Influence

Regional Activism and Key Figures

The 1890s saw continued activism across various provinces. In Manitoba, Dr. Amelia Yeomans led the W.C.T.U.'s suffrage efforts. British Columbia had statutes allowing married women municipal votes since 1872. Quebec women exercised municipal franchise, often voting from home via notaries. Prince Edward Island remained the only province without any form of woman suffrage legislation.

In New Brunswick, Sarah Manning led the W.E.A., while Edith Archibald was a prominent suffragist in Nova Scotia. These regional leaders and organizations were instrumental in pushing for legislative change.

Legislative Debates and Partial Reforms

During the 1892 deliberations on Prince Edward Island's "Bill respecting the Legislature," opposition leader Neil McLeod attempted to extend provincial suffrage to unmarried women, arguing for their equal capacity to vote. However, the motion was largely dismissed by the government, highlighting the political resistance faced by the movement.

Timeline of Enfranchisement

Key Legislative Milestones

The following table outlines the progression of women's suffrage across Canadian jurisdictions, noting the specific statutes and the scope of rights granted. It is important to recognize the varying dates and conditions under which different groups of women achieved suffrage.

Timeline: Women and the Right to Vote in Canada
Date Jurisdiction Statute Effect First Minister and Party
1916: January 28 Manitoba An Act to amend The Manitoba Election Act, Statutes of Manitoba 1916, c. 36 For women who were not Asian or Indigenous: full voting equality[17] Tobias Norris: Liberal
1916: March 14 Saskatchewan An Act to amend the Statute Law, Statutes of Saskatchewan 1916, c. 37 For women who were not Asian or Indigenous: full voting equality[18] Walter Scott: Liberal
1916: April 19 Alberta Equal Suffrage Statutory Law Amendment Act, 1916, Statutes of Alberta 1916, c. 5 For women who were not Asian or Indigenous: full voting equality[19] Arthur Sifton: Liberal
1917: April 5 British Columbia Provincial Elections Act Amendment Act, 1917, Statutes of British Columbia 1917, c. 23 For women who were not Asian or Indigenous: full voting equality[20] Harlan Carey Brewster: Liberal
1917: April 12 Ontario Election Law Amendment Act, 1917, Statutes of Ontario 1917, c. 6 For women who were not Asian or Indigenous: full voting equality[21] Sir William Howard Hearst: Conservative
1917: September 20 Federal War-time Elections Act, Statutes of Canada 1917, c. 39 Vote given to women, who were Asian or Indigenous,[22] and were the wives, widows, mothers, sisters or daughters of men serving with the Canadian or British military, until demobilisation Sir Robert Borden: Unionist
1917: September 20 Federal Military Voters Act, Statutes of Canada 1917, c. 34 Vote given to women serving actively for Canada or Britain, not Asian or Indigenous,[23] until demobilisation Sir Robert Borden: Unionist
1918: April 26 Nova Scotia Nova Scotia Franchise Act, Statutes of Nova Scotia 1918, c. 2 For women who were not Asian or Indigenous: full voting equality with men, conditional on property ownership[24] George Henry Murray: Liberal
1918: May 24 Federal An Act to confer the Electoral Franchise upon Women, Statutes of Canada 1918, c. 20 For women who were not Asian or Indigenous: full voting equality for men and women, effective January 1, 1919[25] Sir Robert Borden: Unionist
1919: April 17 New Brunswick An Act to extend the electoral franchise to women, and to amend the New Brunswick Electors Act, Statutes of New Brunswick 1919, c. 63 For women who were not Asian or Indigenous: full voting equality, but women ineligible for Legislative Assembly[26] Walter Edward Foster: Liberal
1919: May 20 Yukon An Ordinance respecting Elections, Ordinances of the Yukon Territory 1919, c. 7 For women who were not Asian or Indigenous: full voting equality[27] George P. MacKenzie: Commissioner of Yukon[note 1]
1922: May 3 Prince Edward Island Election Act, 1922, Statutes of Prince Edward Island 1922, c. 5 For women who were not Asian or Indigenous: full voting equality[28] John Howatt Bell: Liberal
1925: April 3 Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly Amendment Act, Statutes of Newfoundland 1925, c. 7 For women who were not Asian or Indigenous: women aged 25+ granted vote; men aged 21+ (not Asian or Indigenous) had vote[29][30] Walter Stanley Monroe: Liberal-Conservative-Progressive Party
1940: April 25 Quebec An Act granting to women the right to vote and to be eligible as candidates, Statutes of Quebec 1940, c. 7 For women who were not Asian or Indigenous: full voting equality[31] Adélard Godbout: Liberal
1951: June 12 Northwest Territories Elections Ordinance, Ordinances of the Northwest Territories 1951, c. 18 Voting equality since Council members first elected in 1951 Hugh Andrew Young: Commissioner of the Northwest Territories[note 2]
1999: April 1 Nunavut Nunavut Elections Act, Statutes of Nunavut 2002, c. 17 Voting equality since Nunavut's creation. Prior, women had full rights in NWT since 1951. N/A
Source: Library of Parliament Parl Info: Women's Right to Vote in Canada[32]

Note: The term "women" in the table generally refers to those aged 21 and older. The federal voting age for women was lowered to 18 in 1970.[33]

Related Movements and Figures

Key Individuals

The suffrage movement was propelled by numerous dedicated individuals. Notable figures include Dr. Emily Stowe, a physician and early organizer; Sarah Anne Curzon, an associate editor and advocate; Jessie Turnbull McEwen, president of the Toronto Woman's Suffrage Association; and Dr. Amelia Yeomans, a leader in Manitoba. These women, alongside many others, tirelessly campaigned for legislative change.

Associated Movements

The fight for suffrage was intertwined with broader social reform movements, including the temperance movement and early feminist organizations. The Canadian Women's Suffrage Association itself evolved from the Toronto Woman's Literary Club, demonstrating a progression from general women's advancement to specific political rights.

Scholarly Foundations

Primary and Secondary Sources

The historical understanding of women's suffrage in Canada is built upon a foundation of primary documents and extensive scholarly analysis. These sources detail the legislative processes, the strategies employed by suffragists, and the societal context in which these changes occurred.

  • The Canadian Encyclopedia. "Right to Vote in Canada." thecanadianencyclopedia.ca.
  • Discover Canada - The Rights and Responsibilities of Citizenship. 2012.
  • Kalbfleisch, John. "Quebec, 1944: Finally, women earned the right to vote." Montreal Gazette. Retrieved 17 June 2018.
  • Finley, Falconer & Newbolt (1920). Nelson's Perpetual Loose-leaf Encyclopaedia. Vol. 12.
  • Stanton, Anthony & Gage (1886). History of Woman Suffrage. Vol. 3.
  • The Canadian Encyclopedia. "Women's Suffrage in Canada." www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca. Retrieved 2018-11-21.
  • Canadian Magazine (1895). Canadian Magazine. Vol. 5. Toronto: The Ontario Publishing Co., Ltd.
  • The Ottawa Journal. "Election of William Holmes Howland as Mayor of Toronto". 5 January 1886. Retrieved 19 February 2019.
  • Crosskill, William (1892). The Parliamentary Reporter, or Debates and Proceedings of the House of Assembly, of Prince Edward Island, for the Year 1892. George Gardiner, Steam Printer.
  • Operation Black Vote Canada. "Canadian Black Political Timeline". Retrieved 2021-02-04.
  • The Canadian Encyclopedia. "Right to Vote in Canada". www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca. Retrieved 2021-02-04.
  • Jacobs, Lesley. "Mapping the Legal Consciousness of First Nations Voters: Understanding Voting Rights Mobilization". Canadian Electronic Library (Firm).
  • The Canadian Encyclopedia. "Women and the Indian Act". May 22, 2020. Retrieved 2021-02-27.
  • Library of Parliament Parl Info: Women's Right to Vote in Canada.
  • Elections Canada. "First-Time Electors – Youth". 24 September 2021.
  • Agnew, Vijay. (1993). "Canadian Feminism and Women of Color." Women’s Studies International Forum 16(3).
  • Bacchi, C.L. (1983). Liberation Deferred? The Ideas of the English-Canadian Suffragists, 1877–1918. University of Toronto Press.
  • Backhouse, Constance, and David H. Flaherty, eds. (1992). Challenging times: The women's movement in Canada and the United States. McGill-Queen's Press-MQUP.
  • Baillargeon, D. (2019). To Be Equals in Our Own Country: Women and the Vote in Quebec. UBC Press.
  • Brent, Gail. (1975). "The Development of the Law Relating to the Participation of Canadian Women in Public Life." University of Toronto Law Journal 25(4). doi.org/10.2307/825645.
  • Cleverdon, Catherine L. (1974). The Woman Suffrage Movement in Canada (2nd ed.). U of Toronto Press.
  • Fletcher, Ian Christopher, Philippa Levine, and Laura E. Nym Mayhall, eds. (2012). Women's suffrage in the British empire: citizenship, nation and race. Routledge.
  • Forestell, Nancy, and Maureen Moynagh. (2005). "Mrs. Canada Goes Global: Canadian First Wave Feminism Revisited." Atlantis: Critical Studies in Gender, Culture & Social Justice 30(1).
  • Glassford, Larry. (1997). "'The Presence of So Many Ladies': A Study of the Conservative Party's Response to Female Suffrage in Canada, 1918-1939." Atlantis: Critical Studies in Gender, Culture & Social Justice 22(1).
  • Janovicek, Nancy, and Melanee Thomas. (2019). "Canada: Uneven Paths to Suffrage and Women's Electoral Participation." In The Palgrave Handbook of Women's Political Rights. Palgrave Macmillan.
  • Kinahan, Anne-Marie. (2008). "Transcendent Citizenship: Suffrage, the National Council of Women of Canada, and the Politics of Organized Womanhood." Journal of Canadian Studies 42(3).
  • Sangster, Joan. (2018). One hundred years of struggle: The history of women and the vote in Canada. UBC Press.
  • Strong-Boag, Veronica. (2016). "Women's Suffrage in Canada." The Canadian Encyclopedia. Historica Canada.
  • Tremblay, Manon; Trimble, Linda (2003). Women and Electoral Politics in Canada. Oxford University Press.
  • Chemartin, Pierre, and Louis Pelletier (2018). "Clubs, Axes, and Umbrellas: The Woman Suffrage Movement as Seen by Montreal Cartoonists (1910–1914)". In Hardy Dominic, Gérin Annie, and Carney Lora Senechal, ed. Sketches from an Unquiet Country: Canadian Graphic Satire, 1840–1940. McGill-Queen's University Press.

Further Exploration

Visual and Multimedia Resources

For a deeper visual understanding of the suffrage movement, resources are available on Wikimedia Commons, featuring historical photographs, political cartoons, and documents related to women's suffrage in Canada. These materials offer a tangible connection to the era and the struggles faced.

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Navigating Suffrage History

The broader context of suffrage across North America and globally is explored in comprehensive navigational templates. These resources provide a comparative perspective on the evolution of voting rights and political participation for women worldwide.

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References

References

  1.  Library of Parliament Parl Info: Women's Right to Vote in Canada
A full list of references for this article are available at the Women's suffrage in Canada Wikipedia page

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