The Person's Case
Before 1929, women in Canada were unable to be considered people, not legally anyway. The British North America Act (BNA Act) stated that only "qualified persons" could join the Senate, and while now we interpret that as all people, it was then taken to mean only men. However, thanks to Emily Murphy and the rest of the Famous Five, this was about to change.
On August of 1927, Emily Murphy brought four intelligent women activists, along with herself, together to discuss the issue of women not being considered "persons". They banded together to create an activist group called the Famous Five that was going to help women be known as people. All five women signed a letter that would allow the Supreme Court to look into the matter of women being able to join the Senate.
On March 14, 1928 the "Persons Case" as it soon came to be known as was debated, with the Supreme Court eventually ruling that women were not considered "persons" legally, and were therefore unable to join the Senate. This put a damper on the Famous Five's attitudes, however it did not stop them. Instead, they brought the case to an even higher court. The Privy Council was soon brought into the matter, with Lord Sankey on October 18, 1929 ruling that yes, women were in fact considered persons legally.
The Famous Five
The Famous Five was a group of women activists that consisted of Emily Murphy, Nellie McClung, Irene Parlby, Henrietta Muir Edwards and Louise McKinney. Their purpose was to deliver women in Canada their proper rights.
On October 18, 1929, they acheived the goal of gaining women their much deserved right of being legally considered "persons". On this fateful day, these five women changed the course of Canadian history for the better.
Emily Murphy
Emily Murphy was born on March 14, 1868 in Cookstown, Ontario. She was one of six children in a rather large family. In 1916, Emily became the very first magistrate who was a woman in not only Canada, but the British Empire as well. However, before she acheived this success, she had been working towards allowing wives to share ownership with their husbands of their property. Emily's work helped to create The Married Women's Protective Act.
However, she did not stop there, because in 1927 Emily, along with the rest of the Famous Five (see above for more details) began working towards gaining women the right to be considered "persons" legally. Her tremendous efforts allowed women this opportunity on October 18, 1929.
Emily Murphy dreamed of becoming the first female Senator, which is why she fought so hard to gain women their proper rights, however that position went to Cairine Wilson. Still, she led a tremendously inspiring life that ended suddenly on October 17, 1933 when Emily died in her sleep at the age of 66. This phenomenally strong woman should be remembered greatly and live on in Canadian history.
Nellie McClung
Henrietta Muir Edwards
Irene Parlby
Louise McKinney
Born in Chatworth, Ontario on October 20 and raised in Manitoba, Nellie would go on to shape history. At the age of 35, she wrote "Sowing Seeds in Danny", the first and most popular of her fourteen novels. However, she was not just a novelist, she was also a suffragist. In 1911, she began her journey of winning women in Canada the right to vote. She worked so hard and even starred in a mock parliament that asked why men should have the right to vote. It showed what it would be like if the roles of men and women were reversed. Instead of women being unable to vote, it was men and women had the upper hand. This show was a hit and gained Nellie some recognition as a women's suffragist, along with her role in the Women's Christian Temperance Union.
Later in her life, 1927 to be exact, Nellie began a new mission. Her previous one, to gain women in Canada the right to vote, had already been successfully fulfilled, so now she decided to work towards allowing women to legally be considered "persons". As of 1929 she, along with the rest of the members of the Famous Five, had acheived this goal. Not only did Nellie gain women in Canada one right, but she in fact gained them two and inspired many more women to work towards getting other women in Canada the rights that we have today. Nellie McClung is an idol and a heroin in our Canadian history.
Irene was born on January 9, 1868 in England to an aristocratic family and later moved to Alberta in 1896. There, Irene led a monumental life. First of all, she created and became the first ever President of the United Farm Women's Association as of 1916. As well, she became the first female cabinet member in Alberta and the second in the entire British Empire. Irene played a major role in gaining women their rights in Canada. When she was elected to the Alberta Legislature in 1921, she pushed through 18 bills that helped to improve the difficulties in the lives of women and children. As well, Irene's hard work eventually earned women many of their rights and freedoms that we now have today. For that, Irene should be commemorated and remembered fondly, as not only an iconic suffragist, but a kind soul.
A.S.
Henrietta was born on December 18, 1949 in Montreal, Quebec. She grew up in a priveleged family, which perhaps aided in her later contributions to Canada's first women's magazine. Another contribution to Canada was later in her life when she and Lady Aberdeen established the National Council of Women, as well as when she helped Lady Aberdeen to found the Victorian Order of Nurses. Not only that, but Henrietta worked so hard to get women their rights, she even published two of her own handooks- "Legal Status of Women in Canada" and "Legal Status of Women in Alberta". In her 82 years, Henrietta Muir Edwards helped Canada to improve its treatment to women in a very great way. It was very smart of Emily Murphy to include her in the Famous Five.
From September 22, 1968 until July 10, 1931 Louise McKinney was a very strong activist who fought hard for women to gain their deserved rights. In 1893, she began organizing for the Women's Christian Temperance Union. She later ran as an independent candidate in the first election that women could run for office. She was voted in and became the first woman to sit as an elected official in the British Empire. Louise's hard work had led to the Prohibiton of alcohol in 1916 as well as the first Dower's Act in Alberta. She was a genuinely strong women who cared greatly about the independence of females in Canada. The country was lucky to have had her impact that led to such a change in its ways.