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Mary Fix (née McNulty), politician, lawyer, businesswoman (born 1895 or 1896; died 29 April 1972 in Mississauga, ON). After graduating from Osgoode Hall Law School in 1918, Mary Fix made history as Ottawa's first female lawyer. She later became the first female politician and the first woman to hold public office in Toronto Township (now Mississauga). Fix championed community-led development and civic historical preservation that continue to influence Toronto today. Her contributions were vital in guiding the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) through development, growth and the preservation of its history. In 2025, the Museum of Toronto named Fix one of 52 women who shaped the city.
This article was created in collaboration with Museum of Toronto.
Early Life and Education
Mary McNulty grew up Roman Catholic in a family that was Irish and French. She attended the Ottawa Collegiate Institute, where she received an award for “general proficiency” in 1909. When she was 16, she and a group of friends founded the Equal Franchise Association, a women’s suffrage group.
Strong-willed and quick-witted, McNulty attended Osgoode Hall Law School, where she was the first woman on the debating team. After graduating in 1918 at the age of 23, she made history as Ottawa's first female lawyer. However, after becoming disappointed by the limited opportunities for women in the field, she left law and worked as a clothing buyer for Eaton’s. (It was not until 1950 that Ottawa had its second female lawyer.) In 1931, she married Alphonse Fix, a renowned pianist. The couple settled in Port Credit (now part of Mississauga), where Fix eventually opened a dress shop.
Politics
As a businesswoman, Mary Fix protested a huge local tax increase by lobbying for a provincial investigation into the management practices of Toronto Township. This led Fix to enter politics in 1953, becoming the first female politician in the township. When she was elected, she became the first woman in the township to hold public office.
Fix took on a range of positions throughout her tenure. She was a reeve (a district official, similar to a mayor) in 1955, 1957, 1958 and 1961, and she became the first female warden of Peel County in 1959. Her primary concern in politics was to ensure a healthy balance between the township’s industrial, commercial and suburban development.
Organizational Involvement
Mary Fix was very active in her community. She was the founding president of the Toronto Township Historical Foundation (now the Mississauga Heritage Foundation) in 1960 and helped create the township’s first museum, the Bradley Museum in Mississauga. She was also a member of the Victorian Order of Nurses and the Mississauga Library Board. Mary Fix Park, a natural woodland area in Mississauga, is named in her honour.
