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The Constitutional Act Was Created
The Constitutional Act of 1791, affecting Upper and Lower Canada (now Quebec and Ontario), extended the right to vote to those that were over the age of twenty-one, had never been convicted of a criminal offence, and owned property. However, there is no evidence of women voting in Upper Canada; English common law dictated that women did not exercise the franchise. -
The Right Of Women To Vote Was Restricted
The British North America Act stated that, “every Male British Subject, aged Twenty-one Years or upwards, being a Householder, shall have a Vote”. Other criteria for voting were under provincial jurisdiction, and all of the five provinces at the time had excluded women. As the political geography of Canada changed, new provinces continued to disenfranchise women. -
The Toronto Women's Literary Club Was Founded
Dr. Emily Stowe, a noted women’s right activist, organized the country’s first suffrage organization after attending a meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Women. Initially known as the Toronto Women’s Literary Club, the group provided space for women to follow intellectual pursuits (the most central of which being enfranchisement) and later became the Canadian Woman's Suffrage Association in 1883. The CWSA was a crucial vehicle for the suffrage movement in Canada. -
A Motion for Women’s Suffrage Was Introduced
MP Nicholas Flood Davin (representing Assiniboia West) introduced a motion to allow women to vote. In the discussion that followed, it was argued that a woman’s “proper sphere” was the home and that, “it [would] take away from the real charm and womanliness of women if they were given the franchise and allowed to mix in politics.” Davin’s motion was eventually defeated, 105 votes to 47. -
The Coloured Women's Club Of Montréal Was Founded
The first and oldest Black women’s organization in Canada, The Coloured Women’s Club of Montréal, was formed by seven American women whose husbands worked for the railway. The group grew and was active in providing financial, educational, religious, and health-related services to Montréal’s Black communities. -
Black And White Women In Canada Gained The Right To Vote
Women were given the right to vote in Manitoba in 1916. Eventually the notion spread to other provinces until all had joined in by 1918. This excluded Indigenous women and Japanese women. -
Women Gained The Right To Hold Office
Women became eligible to stand for office in the House of Commons. -
The Indian Act Amendment Allowed For Forced Enfranchisement Of Status Indians
The Indian Act was amended to allow for the forced enfranchisement of First Nations whom the government thought should be removed from band lists. Enfranchisement was the most common of the legal processes by which Indigenous people lost their Indian Status under the Indian Act. -
Women Were Ruled To Be Persons Legally
The Imperial Privy Council ruled that women were legally "persons" and therefore could hold seats in the Canadian Senate. -
Japanese Canadians Gained The Right To Vote
Japanese Canadians requested franchise in 1936. However, this right was denied until 1949, at which time both men and women of this ethnicity were given the franchise, and the legal restrictions used to control the movement of Japanese Canadians were removed. Chinese and South Asian Canadians were given the right to vote in 1947, and with the extension of the federal franchise to Japanese Canadians, the last statutory disenfranchisement of Asians was removed. -
The First Woman Was Elected To Parliament
Ellen Louks Fairclough was the first woman to be appointed to the federal Cabinet. Judy LaMarsh became the second female cabinet minister, and later established the Royal Commission on the Status of Women in Canada as secretary of state. Women of colour were not elected to parliament for another three decades. -
Indigenous Women Gained The Right To Vote
Indigenous women gained the right to vote in federal elections in 1960, after gaining the right to vote for band councils in 1951. Indigenous women were the final racial/gender demographic given the right to vote in Canada. -
The First Indigenous Woman Was Elected To Parliament
Ethel Dorothy Blondin-Andrew, a member of the Dene Nation, became the first Indigenous woman elected to the House of Commons. -
The First Black Woman Was Elected To Parliament
Jean Augustine became the first Black woman elected to the Parliament of Canada. Augustine was born in Grenada, and before her entry into politics, she was an elementary school principal and chair of the Metro Toronto Housing Authority. Augustine sponsored the bill that officially recognized Black History Month at the federal level in 1996. -
The First Chinese Canadian Woman Was Elected To Parliament
Liberal candidate Sophia Leung was elected to the House of Commons to represent the riding of Vancouver Kingsway, making her the first Chinese Canadian woman to win federal office.
