Yesterday we provided a condensed history of the suffrage movement in Alberta, which was the third province in Canada to achieve women’s enfranchisement. The achievement dates in Manitoba and Saskatchewan will be discussed on their upcoming anniversaries, and the peculiar history in Quebec will also be reviewed in a future post. Today, we will provide an abbreviated history of the suffrage movements in the other provinces of Canada. The dates when political equality was achieved provincially and the enabling statutes are as follows:
- Manitoba – January 28, 1916 – An Act to amend The Manitoba Election Act
- Saskatchewan – March 14, 1916 – An Act to amend the Statute Law
- Alberta – April 19, 1916 – An Act to provide for Equal Suffrage
- British Columbia – April 5, 1917 – An Act to amend the Provincial Elections Act
- Ontario – April 12, 1918 – An Act to amend the Ontario Election Act
- Nova Scotia – April 26, 1918 – An Act to amend and consolidate the Acts in respect to the Electoral Franchise
- New Brunswick – April 17, 1919 – An Act to extend the electoral franchise to women, and to amend the New Brunswick Electors Act
- Prince Edward Island – May 3, 1922 – The Election Act
- Newfoundland – April 13, 1925 – An Act to amend Chap 3 of the Consolidated Statutes of Newfoundland (Third Series) entitled “Of the Election of Members of the House of Assembly”
- Quebec – April 25, 1940 – An Act granting women the right to vote and to be eligible as candidates
As evidenced by the list above, British Columbia and Ontario’s attainment was a full year after the first 3 provinces’, and only a week apart from one another. Despite their close proximity in time, British Columbia and Ontario have a very different history leading up to the attainment of suffrage. This morning will be an overview of British Columbia’s suffrage chronicle, and we will return this afternoon to review Ontario’s pioneering efforts.
British Columbia’s suffrage movement is considered “isolationist” in approach, as the movements on the west coast had little effect on the rest of Canada. As far back as 1873, women were given the right to vote in municipal affairs in British Columbia, and the suffrage movement began shortly thereafter, in the mid 1880s. [1] Between 1884 and 1899, eleven bills were introduced in the legislature in attempt to give women more political privileges - none of which survived past the second reading. However, during that time women in BC were successful in attaining equality in local school elections, where they could vote for and be elected as school trustees.[2]
Although the first decade of the 20th century was relatively quiet, 1912 saw several events which bolstered the suffrage campaign. At a labour convention in Kamloops, a resolution for women’s suffrage was drafted and subsequently endorsed by the British Columbia Federation of Labour. In addition, the Local Option League declared itself in favor of equal rights for women. Most significantly, the Bar Act of British Columbia was re-introduced to allow women to practice law within the province. [3] During this time, suffrage groups were active in petitioning for equal rights. One of the most notable suffragists in BC was Mrs Gordon H Grant, who was active in one of the main suffrage organizations (the Women’s Christian Temperance Union) for over 30 years and also led the Political Equality League (PEL). The PEL was responsible for organizing delegations, holding public meetings, and bringing petitions containing ten thousand signatures to the legislature. [4]
World War I meant a reprioritization of concerns and suffrage was put on the backburner to deal with war matters. Women’s efforts during the war were recognized by the conservative Premier William John Bowser, who announced his willingness to support women’s suffrage so long as a majority of the voters of the time approved via a special referendum. Premier Bowser was met with considerable scorn because of his arguably unjust and contradictory change of heart, but the bill was nonetheless pushed through and received royal assent in May 1916. [5] The referendum was held on Election Day – September 14, 1916 – and won by more than two to one. However, yet after the controversy and corruption surrounding the Bowser administration, the Liberal Brewster government was voted into power in the election. Due to a technicality, the Bowser Suffrage Act was never proclaimed into force, so the new Liberal party introduced a bill to amend to the Provincial Elections Act on March 27 1917, which effortlessly passed its third reading and received royal assent on April 5th, 1917.[6]
In BC, like other provinces, the press had a large role in advancing the movement. In the early years, the province’s two leading (and politically polar) newspapers, the Liberal Victoria Daily Times and the Conservative Weekly British Colonist, gave attention to the debates through editorials and new reports. The Daily Times continued their coverage into the 1910s and, unlike the rest of Canada, had a tendency to spotlight the radical (and sometimes violent) stories arising from British suffrage campaigns. [7] During the war, the Federationist ran a weekly column dedicated specifically to suffrage topics. However, the editorial ceased to report on the suffrage controversy after its April 14 1916 column, which asserted that women’s movement into the labour field meant capitalists would support suffrage in effort to continue to exploit cheap labour. [8] The press continued to give attention to the referendum question during the 1916 election campaign, but it was other matters (such as natural resource development, corruption, and railroad policies) which received the greatest attention.[9]
Check back this afternoon for Ontario's suffrage history!
[1] Cleverdon, Catherine L & Ramsay Cook. The Woman Suffrage Movement in Canada, 2d ed (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1974) at 84-87 [Cleverdon].
[2] Cleverdon, page 88
[3] Cleverdon, pages 90-91
[4] Freeland, Gregory. "Canadian Women Gain The Vote." Salem Press Encyclopedia (2015): Research Starters.
[5] Cleverdon, pages 94-98
[6] Cleverdon, pages 99-100
[7] Cleverdon, pages 84-87
[8] Cleverdon, page 97
[9] Cleverdon, page 99
