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The Senate of Canada is the upper house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Crown and the House of Commons, they comprise the bicameral legislature of Canada.
The Famous Five, also known as The Valiant Five, and initially as The Alberta Five, were five prominent Canadian suffragists who advocated for women and children: Henrietta Muir Edwards, Nellie McClung, Louise McKinney, Emily Murphy, and Irene Parlby. On August 27, 1927, they petitioned the federal government to refer the issue of the eligibility of women to be senators to the Supreme Court of Canada. This petition was the foundation of the Persons Case, a leading constitutional decision. Although most Canadian women had the vote in federal elections and all provinces but Quebec by 1927, the case was part of a larger drive for political equality. This was the first step towards equality for women in Canada and was the start to the first wave of feminism.
Iva Campbell Fallis was the second female Canadian Senator.
Mary Irene Parlby was a Canadian women's farm leader, activist and politician. She served as Minister without portfolio in the Cabinet of Alberta from 1921 to 1935, working to implement social reforms that helped farm women and children. As a member of the Famous Five, she was one of five women who took the Persons Case first to the Supreme Court of Canada, and then to the British Judicial Committee of the Privy Council for the right of women to serve in the Senate of Canada. From 1930 to 1934, she was one of three Canadian representatives at the League of Nations in Geneva, Switzerland.
There have been 153 women in the Australian House of Representatives since the establishment of the Parliament of Australia. Women have had the right to both vote and sit in parliament since 1902. The first woman to run for the House of Representatives was Selina Anderson at the 1903 election for Dalley, but the first woman elected to the House was Dame Enid Lyons at the 1943 election for Darwin. At that election, the first woman member of the Senate was also elected, and there have been women members of the Senate continuously ever since. By contrast, the House of Representatives has had women members continuously only since 1980.
Gender representation has been a significant issue in Canadian politics.
Robert Mackay was a Canadian businessman and statesman.
Cairine Reay Mackay Wilson was Canada's first woman to become senator. She served as a Senator for Quebec from 1930 until her death.
Upon the dissolution of the 39th Canadian Parliament, 65 of the 308 seats were held by women. Canada ranks 45th in the world in representation of women in the national lower house.
Norman Frank Wilson was an Ontario farmer and political figure.
Women were first allowed to vote at the federal level in Canada in the 1917 general election in connection with military service, and were allowed to vote under the same conditions as men beginning on May 24, 1918. The next four elections saw only one woman elected: Agnes Macphail. The 1936 election saw two women in the House together for the first time. A by-election in 1941 saw a woman elected to the governing caucus for the first time. The 22nd federal election in 1953 was a slight breakthrough, electing four women, which was 1.5% of the House. Every Parliament thenafter would have at least two women at a time, except for the 28th Parliament from 1968 to 1972, in which Grace MacInnis was the only woman. Then 30th Parliament, elected in 1974, was another breakthrough, containing nine women MPs following the general election and rising to ten due to a by-election in 1976. The number of women in the House would not fall below ten again.
During the 17th Canadian Parliament, the number of sitting women senators increased. Ten women ran for seats in the Canadian House of Commons in the 1930 federal election but Agnes Macphail, first elected in 1921, continued to be the only woman elected. Cairine Wilson continued to sit as a member of the Senate.
During the 18th Canadian Parliament, two women sat in the House of Commons for the first time. Sixteen women ran for seats in the Canadian House of Commons in the 1935 federal election. Agnes Macphail, first elected in 1921, was reelected in the newly created riding of Grey—Bruce. Martha Black, running in the place of her sick husband George Black as an independent Conservative, was elected for the Yukon riding, becoming the second woman to be elected to the House of Commons. Cairine Wilson and Iva Campbell Fallis continued to sit as members of the Senate.
During the 19th Canadian Parliament, for the first time, a woman sat as a member of the party holding the majority in the House of Commons. Nine women ran for seats in the Canadian House of Commons in the 1940 federal election. Dorise Nielsen was elected in the North Battleford riding as a Unity member; she was the third woman and the first Communist to sit in the House of Commons. Agnes Macphail, first elected in 1921, was defeated. Martha Black chose to step aside to allow her husband George Black to run for reelection. Cairine Wilson and Iva Campbell Fallis continued to sit as members of the Senate.
During the 20th Canadian Parliament, women continued to sit as members of both the House of Commons and the Senate. Nineteen women ran for seats in the Canadian House of Commons in the 1945 federal election. Gladys Strum was elected in the Qu'Appelle riding as a Co-operative Commonwealth Federation member; she was the fourth woman to sit in the House of Commons and the first woman to serve as president of a Canadian political party. Cairine Wilson and Iva Campbell Fallis continued to sit as members of the Senate.
During the 21st Canadian Parliament, the number of sitting women senators increased. Eleven women ran for seats in the Canadian House of Commons in the 1949 federal election; none were elected. However, Ellen Fairclough, who had run unsuccessfully in the Hamilton West riding as a Progressive Conservative, was elected in a May 1950 by-election held after the incumbent was appointed to the Ontario Supreme Court.
The number of women sitting in the House of Commons increased to five during the 24th Canadian Parliament; the number of women senators increased to seven. 21 women ran for seats in the Canadian House of Commons in the 1958 federal election; the two women incumbents were reelected. Three more women were elected in by-elections held following the general election: Jean Casselman Wadds in September 1958, Judy LaMarsh in October 1960, and Margaret Mary Macdonald in May 1961.
The number of women sitting in the House of Commons increased to six during the 26th Canadian Parliament; the number of women senators remained at six. 40 women ran for seats in the Canadian House of Commons in the 1963 federal election; two women out of five incumbents were reelected. Ellen Fairclough, Isabel Hardie and Margaret Mary Macdonald were defeated when they ran for reelection. Pauline Jewett and Margaret Konantz were elected to the House of Commons in the general election; Eloise Jones and Margaret Rideout were elected in by-elections held in June 1964.
The number of women sitting in the House of Commons decreased to four during the 27th Canadian Parliament; the number of women senators returned to six. 37 women ran for seats in the Canadian House of Commons in the 1965 federal election; three women out of six incumbents were reelected. Pauline Jewett and Margaret Konantz were defeated when they ran for reelection; Eloise Jones did not run for reelection. Grace MacInnis was also elected to the House of Commons in the general election, becoming the first woman elected to the House of Commons from British Columbia.