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The Parliament of Canada is the federal legislature of Canada, seated at Parliament Hill in Ottawa, and is composed of three parts: the King, the Senate, and the House of Commons. By constitutional convention, the House of Commons is dominant, with the Senate rarely opposing its will. The Senate reviews legislation from a less partisan standpoint and may initiate certain bills. The monarch or his representative, normally the governor general, provides royal assent to make bills into law.
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.
Ellen Louks Fairclough was a Canadian politician. A member of the House of Commons of Canada from 1950 to 1963, she was the first woman ever to serve in the Canadian Cabinet.
This article covers the history of women in the United States Senate and various milestones achieved by female senators. It includes a list of all women who have served in the Senate, a list of current female senators, and a list of states represented by women in the Senate. The first female U.S. senator, Rebecca Latimer Felton, represented Georgia for a single day in 1922, and the first woman elected to the Senate, Hattie Caraway, was elected from Arkansas in 1932. Fifty-nine women have served in the upper house of the United States Congress since its establishment in 1789. As of January 3, 2023, there are 25 women serving as U.S. senators.
Muriel McQueen Fergusson, was a Canadian activist, judge and politician. Fergusson served in the Senate of Canada and the first woman Speaker of the Senate. She is known for a long career of advocating for the less privileged, most often women.
An independent or non-partisan politician is a politician not affiliated with any political party or bureaucratic association. There are numerous reasons why someone may stand for office as an independent.
Gender representation has been a significant issue in Canadian politics.
The Canadian Senate Page Program is a student internship program for the Senate of Canada. Each year, 15 undergraduate students are chosen through a national competition to work as a page for the Senate. Pages are primarily responsible for assisting senators and table officers throughout sittings of the Senate by fulfilling various requests as well as those of various dignitaries, Supreme Court justices, the prime minister, and the governor general when visiting the Senate. Pages are responsible for numerous tasks in relation to chamber and committee duties, such as distribution of files and documents, relaying messages, and administrative and procedural duties. Pages attend to and assist with the proceedings of notable events such as royal assent, speech from the throne, and state visits. They also share their experiences with youth participating in various national outreach programs such as Forum for Young Canadians and Encounters With Canada, and work to improve the Senate Page Program itself.
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.
Margaret Isabel Rideout was a Canadian politician, who represented the electoral district of Westmorland in the House of Commons of Canada from 1964 to 1968. She was the first woman elected to the House of Commons from New Brunswick.
Widow's succession was a political practice prominent in some countries in the early part of the 20th century, by which a politician who died in office was directly succeeded by their widow, either through election or direct appointment to the seat. Many of the earliest women to hold political office in the modern era attained their positions through this practice. It also occurred when politicians stood down from a particular office.
Marianna Beauchamp Jodoin was a Liberal party member of the Senate of Canada. She was born in Montreal, Quebec.
Fergusson is a surname. Notable people with the name include:
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.
Jodoin is a surname. Notable people with the surname include:
The number of women sitting in the House of Commons decreased to two during the 23rd Canadian Parliament; the number of women senators remained at five. 29 women ran for seats in the Canadian House of Commons in the 1957 federal election.
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.
Member of Parliament is a term typically used to describe an elected politician in the House of Commons of Canada, the lower chamber of the bicameral Parliament of Canada.
References
- ↑ "Ellen Fairclough". The Canadian Encyclopedia .
- ↑ "Honorable Muriel McQueen Fergusson". Celebrating Women's Achievements. Library and Archives Canada.
- ↑ Marianna Beauchamp Jodoin – Parliament of Canada biography
- ↑ Parliament of Canada: Women Candidates in General Elections