Women | The Canadian Encyclopedia

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  • List

    10 Interesting Facts About Queen Elizabeth II

    In 2022, Queen Elizabeth II celebrated her Platinum Jubilee, the 70th anniversary of her accession to the throne. Over the course of her record-breaking reign, the Queen witnessed unprecedented social, cultural and political change and travelled extensively throughout the United Kingdom, Canada and the wider Commonwealth. Here are 10 interesting facts about the long and eventful life and reign of Queen Elizabeth II.

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    https://d2ttikhf7xbzbs.cloudfront.net/media/media/cf73c041-2522-4a4f-b70e-e20ce5ad64a4.jpg 10 Interesting Facts About Queen Elizabeth II
  • Article

    Adelaide Sinclair

    Adelaide Sinclair, OC, OBE, naval officer and public servant (born 16 January 1900 in Toronto, ON; died 19 November 1982 in Ottawa, ON). Adelaide Sinclair was the first Canadian director of the Women’s Royal Canadian Naval Service (1943–46). Following the Second World War, she became Canada’s delegate to UNICEF. She was UNICEF’s deputy executive director of programs from 1957 to 1967.

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    https://d2ttikhf7xbzbs.cloudfront.net/!feature-img-thumbnails/Adelaide-Sinclair-tweet.jpg Adelaide Sinclair
  • Article

    Agnes Macphail

    Agnes Campbell Macphail, politician, reformer (born 24 March 1890 in Proton Township, Grey County, ON; died 13 February 1954 in Toronto, ON). Agnes Macphail was the first woman elected to the House of Commons (1921–40) and was one of the first two women elected to the Ontario legislature (1943–45, 1948–51). She was also the first female member of a Canadian delegation to the League of Nations. Macphail was a founding member of the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (the forerunner of the New Democratic Party). She was a noted pacifist and an advocate for prison reform. As a member of the Ontario legislature, she championed Ontario’s first equal pay legislation (1951).

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    https://d2ttikhf7xbzbs.cloudfront.net/media/media/c3d35c24-444d-43df-822d-8170c2e3086b.jpg Agnes Macphail
  • Article

    Alexa McDonough

    Alexa Ann McDonough (née Shaw), OC, ONS, social worker, former Nova Scotia New Democratic Party leader, federal NDP leader (born 11 August 1944 in Ottawa, ON; died 15 January 2022 in Halifax, NS). A former Halifax social worker, Alexa McDonough became the first woman to lead a major political party in Canada when she was elected leader of the Nova Scotia New Democratic Party (NDP) in 1980. She served as leader until 1994 and also led the federal NDP from 1995 until 2003. She was the Member of Parliament for Halifax from 1997 to 2008. In 2009, she served as interim president of Mount Saint Vincent University and was made an Officer of the Order of Canada.

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    https://development.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/images/tce_placeholder.jpg Alexa McDonough
  • Article

    Andromache Karakatsanis

    Andromache Karakatsanis, justice of the Supreme Court of Canada, judge of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, justice of the Court of Appeal for Ontario, public servant, lawyer (born 3 October 1955 in Toronto, ON). Andromache Karakatsanis practiced criminal, civil and family litigation in Toronto before becoming the first woman to head the Liquor Licence Board of Ontario (LLBO). She then served as assistant deputy attorney general and deputy attorney general of Ontario before being appointed head of Ontario’s public service. She was then named to the bench of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice and the Court of Appeal for Ontario. In 2011, she became the first Greek Canadian to be appointed to the Supreme Court of Canada. Karakatsanis is known as an apolitical pragmatist who is dedicated to making the justice system more accessible. She is currently the longest-serving justice on the Court.

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    https://d2ttikhf7xbzbs.cloudfront.net/andromache-karakatsanis-bn-hr.jpg Andromache Karakatsanis
  • Article

    Annie Buller

    Annie Buller (married name Guralnick), political activist, union organizer (born 9 December 1895 in Ukraine; died 19 January 1973 in Toronto, ON).

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    https://d2ttikhf7xbzbs.cloudfront.net/media/media/39a8a973-c75a-47c0-8833-41c7aebe54c2.jpg Annie Buller
  • Article

    Barbara Hanley

    Barbara McCallum Hanley (née Smith), teacher, politician, Canada’s first female mayor (born 2 March 1882 in Magnetawan, ON; died 26 January 1959 in Sudbury, ON). Hanley was elected mayor of Webbwood on 6 January 1936, becoming the country’s first female mayor. Trained as a teacher, she decided to enter municipal politics in an attempt to improve conditions for the town, which had been hard hit by the Great Depression. Hanley won annual re-election campaigns from 1936 to 1943, and retired as mayor in 1944. A true servant of the public, she sat on many boards and committees throughout her life, including the town ration board during the Second World War.

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    https://d2ttikhf7xbzbs.cloudfront.net/media/media/c3404b14-2378-46fa-a6ca-653731e3e715.jpg Barbara Hanley
  • Article

    Becky Buhay

    Rebecca (Becky) Buhay, political activist, educator (born 11 February 1896 in London, England; died 16 December 1953 in Toronto, ON).

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    https://d2ttikhf7xbzbs.cloudfront.net/media/Categories_Placeholders/Dreamstime/dreamstimemaximum_84050459215.jpg Becky Buhay
  • Article

    Cairine Wilson

    Cairine Reay Wilson (née Mackay), senator, diplomat, philanthropist (born 4 February 1885 in Montreal, QC; died 3 March 1962 in Ottawa, ON). In 1930, the year after the success of the Persons Case, Wilson was the first woman appointed to the Senate of Canada. She helped found and run political organizations that encouraged women and youth to get involved in politics. From the 1930s onwards, Wilson advocated for the admission of European refugees to Canada.

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    https://d2ttikhf7xbzbs.cloudfront.net/media/homepage_features/Cairine Wilson 3 - featured.jpg Cairine Wilson
  • Article

    Carla Qualtrough

    Carla Qualtrough, politician, athlete, lawyer (born 15 October 1971 in Calgary, AB). Carla Qualtrough is the Liberal member of Parliament for Delta, a suburban constituency south of Vancouver. She has served as Minister of Sport and Persons with Disabilities and is currently Minister of Public Services and Procurement and Accessibility. Prior to entering politics, she worked in human rights law and in sports administration. Qualtrough, who is legally blind, was the first Paralympian elected to the House of Commons. She won three bronze medals in swimming at the Paralympic Games and four medals at the world championships.

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    https://d2ttikhf7xbzbs.cloudfront.net/media/new_article_images/CarlaQualtrough/Carla_Qualtrough_MP.jpg Carla Qualtrough
  • Article

    Caroline Cochrane

    Caroline Cochrane, Métis politician, social worker, premier of the Northwest Territories (born 5 December 1960 in Flin Flon, MB). Cochrane became the MLA for Range Lake, Yellowknife, Northwest Territories (NWT) in 2015. In October 2019, she became the second female premier of the NWT. As of 2019, she is Canada’s only female premier.

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    https://d2ttikhf7xbzbs.cloudfront.net/media/Categories_Placeholders/Flickr/4892749341_a5c8b85f32---resized.jpg Caroline Cochrane
  • Article

    Chrystia Freeland

    Christina Alexandra “Chrystia” Freeland, politician, journalist, editor and writer, Deputy Prime Minister of Canada, 2019–present (born 2 August 1968 in Peace River, Alberta). Chrystia Freeland is the Liberal member of Parliament (MP) for University-Rosedale. She currently serves as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance. She is the first woman in Canada to hold the latter role. She has also served as Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of International Trade. Notably, she handled the negotiation of the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA), as well as difficult diplomatic situations with Ukraine, Russia, Saudi Arabia and China. Freeland is also an award-winning journalist, editor and author of such books as Plutocrats: The Rise of the New Global Super Rich and the Fall of Everyone Else (2012).

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    https://d2ttikhf7xbzbs.cloudfront.net/media/new_article_images/ChrystiaFreeland/360px-Chrystia_Freeland_MSC_2018_(cropped).jpg Chrystia Freeland
  • Article

    Claire Kirkland-Casgrain

    Marie-Claire Kirkland-Casgrain, CM, CQ, first female member of Québec’s National Assembly (born 8 September 1924 in Palmer, Massachusetts; died 24 March 2016). A lawyer by training, Kirkland-Casgrain became the first female member of the National Assembly of Québec on 14 December 1961. She left her mark on Québec’s political history in 1964 by spearheading the passage of Bill 16, which improved the legal status of married women (see Women’s Movement). For more than 12 years, she was the only woman to sit as a member of the National Assembly among some 100 male colleagues. Throughout her career, she dedicated herself to improving the political, economic and social status of women in Québec.

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    https://d2ttikhf7xbzbs.cloudfront.net/media/media/26cf09fc-e503-45c3-ae5a-f30684869e3c.jpg Claire Kirkland-Casgrain
  • Article

    Clara Brett Martin

    Martin finally achieved her goal on 2 February 1897, becoming the first woman lawyer in the British Empire. She went on to earn Bachelor of Civil Law (1897) and LLB (1899) degrees and to establish a successful Toronto practice.

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    https://d2ttikhf7xbzbs.cloudfront.net/media/media/9fc740ed-105c-401a-a70b-bd77c8f53390.jpg Clara Brett Martin
  • Interview

    In Conversation with Marcia McClung

    Special projects editor Eli Yarhi interviews Marcia McClung, granddaughter of suffragist, reformer, legislator and author Nellie McClung, for The Canadian Encyclopedia.

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    https://d2ttikhf7xbzbs.cloudfront.net/media/media/6aa02b16-992b-4a58-a982-82de598aa6ce.mp3 In Conversation with Marcia McClung

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