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Nancy Hodges was a Canadian journalist and politician. Over her career, she served as a Member of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, as the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, and as a member of the Senate of Canada. She was the first woman in the Commonwealth of Nations to become Speaker, and was known as a powerful women's rights activist in the Commonwealth.
Florence Elsie Inman was a long–serving member of the Senate of Canada. A Liberal, she was appointed to the Senate 28 July 1955 on the recommendation of Louis St-Laurent, and represented the senatorial division of Murray Harbour, Prince Edward Island until her death. She was the first female Senator from Prince Edward Island.
Representation by women has been a significant issue in Canadian politics since 1900.
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.
Founded in 2001 by Rosemary Speirs, Donna Dasko, Libby Burnham and Christina McCall. Equal Voice is a national, bilingual, multi-partisan, non-governmental, non-profit organization that promotes the election of more women to all levels of Canadian politics. Through public awareness campaigns, campaign schools, research, election tracking, and lobbying political parties, Equal Voice seeks to increase the numbers of women elected to public office federally, provincially and municipally.
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 remained at five during the 25th Canadian Parliament; the number of women senators remained at six. 26 women ran for seats in the Canadian House of Commons in the 1962 federal election; four women out of five incumbents were reelected. Margaret Aitken was defeated when she ran for reelection; Isabel Hardie became the first woman elected to the House of Commons from the Northwest Territories.
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 43rd Canadian Parliament once again set a record number of female Members of Parliament, with 98 women elected to the 338-member House of Commons of Canada (28.9%) in the 2019 election. Of those 98 women, 31 were elected for the first time in the 2019 election. 2 more women were elected in by-elections in October 2020, reaching the historic milestone of 100 women in the House of Commons for the first time. This represents a gain of twelve seats over the previous record of 88 women in the 42nd Canadian Parliament. By contrast, the 116th United States Congress had 102 women sitting in the 435-seat United States House of Representatives (23.4%).
The 44th Canadian Parliament includes a record number of female Members of Parliament, with 103 women elected to the 338-member House of Commons of Canada (30.5%) in the 2021 election. Of those 103 women, 22 were elected for the first time in the 2021 election. This represents a gain of five seats over the previous record of 98 women elected at the beginning of the 43rd Canadian Parliament, and a gain of three seats from the record high of 100 women during the previous parliamentary session following by-elections.
References
- ↑ "Nancy Hodges: Speaker and Trailblazer". Canadian Parliamentary Review.
- ↑ "Senator Elsie Inman fonds". Memory PEI.
- ↑ Iva Campbell Fallis – Parliament of Canada biography
- ↑ Parliament of Canada: Women Candidates in General Elections