Women in Canada

June 1942

History 

First Women Commissioned in Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps

The Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps began commissioning female physicians in June 1942, during the Second World War. The women received the same rank and pay as men and served as anesthetists, bacteriologists and radiologists in hospitals.

May 1951

History 

Women’s Naval Division Recreated

During the Second World War, nearly 6,800 women served in the Women's Royal Canadian Naval Service. The division was disbanded in 1946. However, it wasn’t long before a women’s division was re-constituted in 1951 during the Korean War as part of a re-organized Royal Canadian Navy (Reserve).

May 12, 1885

History 

Nurses Serve for First Time in Canadian Military Hospitals

Canadian women first answered the call to military service in 1885 during the North-West Resistance when 12 women served in military hospitals. The first, Loretta Miller, arrived at the Saskatoon Field Hospital on 12 May 1885.

August 01, 1901

History 

Canadian Army Nursing Service Established

During the South African War, Canada's nurses answered their nation's call to serve overseas. In 1901, the Canadian Army Nursing Service was established, and women were, for the first time, part of the regular Canadian military rather than part of an ad hoc organization.

January 01, 1902

Groups & Organizations 

Founding of the Coloured Women’s Club of Montreal

The first and oldest Black women’s organization in Canada, The Coloured Women’s Club of Montreal, 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.

January 01, 1903

Activists and Politicians 

Stowe-Gullen Named Dominion Women’s Enfranchisement Association President

Dedicated women’s advocate Dr. Augusta Stowe-Gullen succeeded her mother, Dr. Emily Stowe, as president of the Dominion Women’s Enfranchisement Association. A leading suffragist, she worked tirelessly for the women’s vote for many years, often alongside her mother. Stowe-Gullen was also the first woman to graduate with a medical degree in Canada.

May 01, 1907

Groups & Organizations 

First General Meeting of the Fédération nationale Saint-Jean-Baptiste

The Fédération nationale Saint-Jean-Baptiste, a francophone organization for Catholic women, held its first general meeting. The organization incorporated other Catholic women’s charitable and professional associations under the leadership of Marie Gérin-Lajoie, née Lacoste. It would be a key group in the Québec women’s movement, particularly in the advancement of the suffrage question.

January 01, 1908

History 

Victoria’s Local Council of Women Endorses Suffrage

Victoria’s Local Council of Women voted to endorse women’s suffrage. It was the first women’s council in Canada to do so. The Victoria council’s endorsement, under the presidency of Cecilia Spofford, was surprising because the National Council of Women would not do so until 1910.

March 01, 1909

History 

Suffragists Deliver Petition to Ontario Premier

Over 400 female and male suffragists delivered a petition to Ontario Premier Sir James Whitney. Suffragists considered the petition proof of the strong desire for the woman’s vote. It contained some 100,000 signatures demanding women’s suffrage. Afterwards, the Toronto Evening Telegram’s headline read: “Sir James says ‘Not Now.’”

June 24, 1909

History 

International Council of Women Holds Toronto Meeting

The International Council of Women held its meeting in Toronto. Thousands of delegates arrived from across Canada, Europe, Australia and India. Women’s advocate Lady Aberdeen chaired the proceedings. At the conference, the Council passed a resolution that called for women’s suffrage in every country with a representative government.

January 01, 1910

History 

National Council of Women Endorses Women’s Suffrage

The National Council of Women voted to endorse women’s suffrage. As the authority on women’s issues since 1893, the Council tended to stay away from controversial issues such as temperance and suffrage. With more suffragists joining the Council, members reluctantly called a vote. The resolution passed 71 to 51.

August 01, 1911

Women in STEM 

Faith Fyles Becomes First Woman Assistant Botanist at the Department of Agriculture

Faith Fyles was the first woman hired to the position of assistant botanist by the Central Experimental Farm (CEF), part of the Department of Agriculture (now Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada). In 1919, she became the department’s first botanical artist, male or female.

August 28, 1912

History 

Suffragettes Confront Prime Minister Borden

Members of the Women’s Social and Political Union confronted Prime Minister Robert Borden at the Savoy Hotel in London, England. The suffragettes lamented the status of Canadian women and threatened to bring a militant suffrage campaign to Canadian shores. Borden declared that Canadian women “were quite capable of looking after themselves.”

January 01, 1914

Groups & Organizations 

National Union of Woman Suffrage Societies of Canada Established

The push to organize women’s suffrage at the national level, and energize the movement countrywide, resulted in the creation of the National Union of Woman Suffrage Societies (NUWSS). Localized societies sent members to a Toronto meeting, where the vote was nearly unanimous. The NUWSS later became the National Equal Franchise Union.

January 01, 1914

Activists and Politicians 

Alice Jamieson, First Female Judge in Canada

Alice Jamieson became the first female judge in Canada and the British Empire when she was appointed to Calgary’s juvenile court. Jamieson, a suffragist, faced opposition to her appointment, noting “cold shoulders greeting me on every hand.” Yet she was determined, “I drew myself up and said, ‘well, I’m here and I’m going to stay.’”

July 06, 1914

Activists and Politicians 

Birth of Viola Desmond

Viola Irene Desmond (née Davis), businesswoman and civil libertarian, was born in Halifax, NS. After a 1946 incident in which Desmond was arrested for sitting in a “Whites Only” section of a theatre in New Glasgow, NS, she fought her conviction of defrauding the government of the difference in tax — one cent — between tickets in the racially-separated sections. Though the conviction was upheld, her struggle became a catalyst for change. Desmond was pardoned by Nova Scotia Lieutenant-Governor Mayann Francis in 2010.

January 28, 1916

Women's Rights 

Manitoba Women Get Vote

Manitoba was the first province in Canada to grant women the right to vote and to hold political office provincially.

March 14, 1916

Women's Rights 

Saskatchewan Women Get Vote

Saskatchewan women won the rights to vote and to hold provincial office.

April 19, 1916

Women's Rights 

Alberta Women Get Vote

Alberta women won the rights to vote and to hold provincial office.

April 05, 1917

Women's Rights 

BC Women Get Vote

British Columbia women (except Asian and Indigenous women) won the rights to vote and to hold provincial office.

April 12, 1917

Women's Rights 

Women Get Vote in Ontario

Women were granted the right to vote and hold public office in Ontario.

June 07, 1917

Activists and Politicians 

First Elected Women

Louise McKinney and Roberta MacAdams were the first women in Canada elected to a provincial legislature, in Alberta.

January 01, 1918

Groups & Organizations 

Constance Hamilton Establishes the Woman’s Party

Feminist Constance Hamilton, along with a number of Toronto members of the National Equal Franchise Union, created the Woman’s Party. The organization was established to continue the fight for women’s rights after the battle for suffrage concluded. Its reform advocacy included equal pay for equal work and equal parental rights.

January 24, 1918

Activists and Politicians 

First Woman Elected to BC legislature

Mary Ellen Smith was the first woman elected to the BC legislature; it was the first election in which women could vote in BC.

April 26, 1918

Women's Rights 

Nova Scotia Women Get Vote

Nova Scotia women won the rights to vote and to hold provincial office.

May 24, 1918

Women's Rights 

Women Granted Right to Vote in Federal Elections

Many Canadian women are granted the right to vote in federal elections, but First Nations women can only vote if they give up their status and treaty rights.

April 17, 1919

Women's Rights 

New Brunswick Women Get Vote

New Brunswick women won the right to vote but not to hold provincial office.

May 20, 1919

Women's Rights 

Yukon Women Get Vote

Yukon women won the right to vote and seek elected office.

July 01, 1919

Women's Rights 

Women Gain Right to Hold Office

Women became eligible to stand for office in the House of Commons.

July 29, 1919

Activists and Politicians 

Saskatchewan Elects First Female MLA

Sarah Ramsland, Saskatchewan’s first female Member of the Legislative Assembly, won her seat in a by-election. After her husband, MLA Max Ramsland, died in the 1918 influenza epidemic, Sarah was invited to run in the same district and won. In the first 66 years in which Saskatchewan women could hold provincial office, only 10 were elected.

June 29, 1920

Activists and Politicians 

First Woman Elected to Manitoba Legislature

Edith MacTavish Rogers became the first woman elected to the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba.

March 23, 1921

History 

Mary Ellen Smith Appointed First Female Cabinet Minister

Premier John Oliver appointed Mary Ellen Smith as minister without portfolio, making her the first female Cabinet member in the British Empire. A noted suffragist, she resigned just eight months later, stating: “a Cabinet minister without portfolio is as a fifth wheel on the political couch, a superfluity.”

July 18, 1921

History 

Parlby Elected

Irene Parlby was elected to the Alberta Legislature, representing Lacombe in the United Farmers of Alberta government. She was subsequently named to Cabinet, as minister without portfolio. Parlby was only the second woman in the British Empire to hold ministerial office. She was particularly active on issues related to public health care, improved wages for working women and married women's property rights.

May 03, 1922

Women's Rights 

PEI Women Get Vote

Prince Edward Island women won the rights to vote and to hold provincial office.

April 03, 1925

Women's Rights 

Newfoundland and Labrador Women Get Vote

Women over 25 years of age gained the right to vote and to stand for political office in Newfoundland and Labrador.

November 10, 1925

Activists and Politicians 

Birth of Doris Anderson

Editor Doris Anderson, who recasted the Chatelaine magazine as a forum for feminist ideas, was born at Calgary, Alta.

July 31, 1928

Trailblazer Athletes 

Fanny Rosenfeld Wins Olympic Silver

Fanny "Bobbie" Rosenfeld — who would be voted Canada's female athlete of the half-century by the Canadian Press in 1950 — won the silver medal in the 100 m sprint at the 1928 Summer Olympics in Amsterdam.

August 05, 1928

History 

Canadian Women Win Olympic Gold

Ethel Catherwood, Fanny Rosenfeld, Ethel Smith, Florence Bell and Myrtle Cook won the 4x100m relay at the 1928 Olympic Summer Games in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. They were the first Canadian women to win Olympic gold. Women’s track and field events debuted at the 1928 Games. Seven Canadian women (six sprinters and one swimmer) medalled at the competition, winning two gold medals, a silver and a bronze. 

October 18, 1929

Women's Rights 

Women Legally Persons

The Imperial Privy Council ruled that women were legally "persons" and therefore could hold seats in the Canadian Senate.

March 27, 1930

Trailblazer Athletes 

Edmonton Grads Triumph

The Edmonton Grads beat Seattle Ferry Lines by 59 points over two games to retain the Underwood Trophy and the women's international basketball title.

April 25, 1940

Women's Rights 

Québec Women Get Vote

Québec women were the last in Canada to earn the rights to vote and run for office in provincial elections.

July 02, 1941

History 

Women Join the Air Force

The Canadian Women’s Auxiliary Air Force was founded in July 1941 during the Second World War. On 3 February 1942 it became the RCAF Women’s Division. More than 17,000 women served in the air force during the war, both in Canada and overseas.

August 13, 1941

History 

Women Join the Army

Faced with a manpower shortage in war services and production, the Canadian government announced, on 13 August 1941, the formation of a new Canadian Women’s Army Corps. By the end of the Second World War, more than 21,000 women had served in the CWAC.

July 31, 1942

History 

Women Join the Navy

The Women's Royal Canadian Naval Service (WRCNS) was established in July 1942 during the Second World War. By the end of the war, nearly 6,800 women had served in the WRCNS in Canada, Newfoundland (then a separate Dominion), the United States and Great Britain.

January 19, 1943

History 

Princess Margriet of the Netherlands Born in Ottawa

Princess Margriet was the third of four daughters of Crown Princess Juliana of the Netherlands (who succeeded to the Dutch throne as Queen Juliana in 1948). During the Second World War, Juliana and her children took refuge in Canada. Because Juliana was expecting her third child, the maternity ward at the Ottawa Civic Hospital was declared extraterritorial for the birth. This ensured that the baby had Dutch citizenship alone.

September 18, 1943

Groups & Organizations 

Adelaide Sinclair Becomes First Canadian Director of the WRCNS

Adelaide Sinclair was appointed commander of the Women’s Royal Canadian Naval Service (WRCNS). Under her leadership, the service grew significantly. By the end of the war, more than 6,700 women had joined the WRCNS. Canadian “Wrens” served in 39 trades, from administration and signalling to coding and intelligence. Sinclair was director of the WRCNS until 1946, when the service was disbanded. She was the first Canadian director of the service as well as the first woman in the Royal Canadian Navy to earn the rank of captain.

January 01, 1944

History 

Status Indian Servicemen and their Spouses Enfranchised

During the Second World War, the federal government extended the right to vote to Status Indians who served in the war and their spouses.

November 08, 1946

History 

Viola Desmond Dragged Out of Nova Scotia Movie Theatre

Viola Desmond is dragged out of a Nova Scotia movie theatre and charged by police after she refuses to move from the main floor of the theatre to the balcony, where Black patrons were segregated. Her decision to fight her charges raises awareness of the racism experienced by Black Canadians. The Nova Scotia government posthumously pardons her in 2010.

January 01, 1947

Women's Rights 

Chinese and South Asian Canadians Gain Right to Vote Federally and Provincially

The Citizenship Act extended the right to vote federally and provincially to Chinese Canadian and South Asian Canadian men and women. However, it ignored Indigenous peoples and Japanese Canadians.

January 01, 1948

Women's Rights 

Changes to Elections Act Regarding Race

The federal Elections Act was changed so that race was no longer grounds for exclusion from voting in federal elections. While Japanese Canadians were enfranchised, First Nations peoples would not gain that right until 1960.

February 06, 1948

Trailblazer Athletes 

Barbara Ann Scott Wins Olympic Gold

Barbara Ann Scott won Canada''s first gold medal in figure skating at St. Moritz and became a national hero. Canada''s sweetheart, wearing a hand-sewn dress adorned with the signatures of those who worked on it, overcame ice that had been torn up by the previous night''s hockey games to win gold. She returned to huge fanfare when 70,000 Ottawans (over one-third of the total population) attended her homecoming in Confederation Square.

January 01, 1951

Women's Rights 

First Nations Women Gain Right to Vote in Band Council Elections

Changes to the Indian Act granted First Nations women the right to vote in band council elections. Prior to European contact, Indigenous women had traditionally played important roles in community decision-making.

March 21, 1951

History 

RCAF Recruits Women to Regular Force

Although women had served in the RCAF Women’s Division during the Second World War, most were discharged when the division was disbanded in 1946. But their record of service was so strong that in 1951, when the RCAF began its Cold War expansion, women were almost immediately sought after as air force recruits. Cabinet authorized the enrolment of women into the regular RCAF on 21 March 1951 and the first trainees were taken on strength on 2 July 1951.

January 07, 1953

Arts, Culture and Press 

Birth of Dionne Brand

Poet, writer and filmmaker Dionne Brand, whose work dramatizes the lives of Caribbean women in their transplanted homes in Canada, was born at Guayguayare, Trinidad.

January 01, 1955

History  Women's Rights 

West Indian Domestic Scheme is Implemented

The West Indian Domestic Scheme was implemented by the Department of Citizenship and Immigration. Under the program, approximately 3,000 Caribbean women emigrated to Canada to work as domestic workers. Women that participated often faced difficult work conditions and racial discrimination. They were granted landed immigrant status after one year and were then able to sponsor the immigration of family members. The scheme officially ended in January 1968, when it was replaced by a points-based system that provided temporary work permits. In July 2020, the Government of Canada declared the West Indian Domestic Scheme to be of national historic significance.

January 26, 1955

History 

Women Are Recruited to the Regular Navy

A women’s component of the regular navy was authorized in 1955; unlike in the Second World War, it would not be a separate service. The Canadian navy was the first Commonwealth navy to integrate women into the permanent force. However, women could not yet serve at sea.

February 26, 1960

Trailblazer Athletes 

Heggtveit Wins Olympic Gold

Skier Anne Heggtveit won the Olympic gold medal in slalom at Squaw Valley, edging out US skier Betsy Snite in just under three seconds. As a young girl Heggtveit had been touched by the homecoming parade of skater Barbara Ann Scott, as had many young athletes of the day, and hoped to one day compete at the same level. Heggtveit would eventually receive her own homecoming parade in Ottawa upon her return from Squaw Valley.

July 01, 1960

Women's Rights 

Right to Vote for Status Indians

Status Indians receive the right to vote in federal elections, no longer losing their status or treaty rights in the process. (See also Indigenous Suffrage in Canada.)

June 18, 1964

Women's Rights 

Married Women in Québec Gain Legal Capacity

Under Bill 16, Québec women were able to act independently of their husbands, i.e., make decisions without their husband’s approval. This ability to have legal capacity had a huge impact, particularly on contractual transactions. The bill was championed by Marie-Claire Kirkland-Casgrain, Québec’s first female member of the Legislative Assembly.

March 04, 1965

Trailblazer Athletes 

Burka Becomes World Champion

Petra Burka of Canada won the women's title at the world figure skating championships in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

January 01, 1967

Groups & Organizations 

Equal Rights for Indian Women Association Created

Equal Rights for Indian Women (ERIW) was established in Québec. A provincial organization, ERIW was founded by Mohawk women’s rights activist Mary Two-Axe Earley, who fought the loss of Indian status suffered by Indigenous women married to non-Status Indians. ERIW faced strong resistance from male leaders in First Nations communities.

September 09, 1967

History 

Walker-Sawka Seeks Leadership of PC Party of Canada

Mary Walker-Sawka, a movie producer and freelance writer, was a candidate in the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada convention. Although she only received two votes, Walker-Sawka became the first woman to seek the leadership of a major political party.

February 13, 1968

Arts, Culture and Press 

Death of Portia White

Internationally-renowned Black Canadian concert singer Portia White died at Toronto. White came from a politically- and culturally-active family; her nephew is celebrated poet and writer George Elliott Clarke. White’s contralto was celebrated in 1998 by the establishment of the annual Portia White Prize, which recognizes excellence in an established Nova Scotian artist. Clarke was its first recipient.

November 28, 1969

History 

Montréal Women Take to the Streets

Two hundred women, many wrapped in chains, sat down on Montréal’s Saint-Laurent Boulevard. The women were protesting the city’s recent ban on public protests and were the first group to do so. Hundreds of police met the women and 165 were arrested. The protest was over in less than an hour.

December 01, 1969

Groups & Organizations 

Québec Women’s Liberation Front Established

The Québec Women’s Liberation Front (FLF) was formed in Montréal after 165 women were arrested during a protest. Taking its name from the FLQ, its membership was made up of anglophone and francophone women. The group wanted to establish a revolutionary feminist movement. The FLF manifesto was published in 1971.

February 14, 1970

Trailblazer Athletes 

Betsy Clifford Wins Slalom

Canada's Betsy Clifford, 16, won the women's giant slalom at the world skiing championships.

January 01, 1971

Groups & Organizations 

Ontario Native Women’s Association Established

The Ontario Native Women’s Association (ONWA), a non-profit organization, was established. Working to empower Aboriginal women, the ONWA aims to build connections with government in the fight for equality and ensure the preservation of culture and heritage. Noted Aboriginal women’s activist Jeannette Lavell was a founding ONWA member.

January 01, 1971

Arts, Culture and Press 

Québec’s First Socialist Feminist Journal Debuts

Québécoises deboutte! [Québec women, stand up!], Québec’s first socialist feminist journal began publication. The journal emerged from the Québec Women’s Liberation Front, a radical feminist organization. Québécoises deboutte! was among the women’s liberation movement’s earliest publications. It ceased in 1974. (See Women’s Movement.)

January 01, 1972

Groups & Organizations 

Indian Rights for Indian Women Established

Indian Rights for Indian Women, an organization with a nation-wide scope, was established in Alberta. After meeting with Aboriginal women’s activist Mary Two-Axe Earley, First Nations women in Alberta began to organize opposition to the discriminatory Indian Act. Two-Axe Earley was the group’s vice president for several years.

August 30, 1972

Activists and Politicians 

Rosemary Brown Elected the First Black Female MLA

Politician Rosemary Brown became Canada's first Black woman member of a provincial legislature when she won a seat in BC's general election as a member of the NDP.

March 01, 1973

Trailblazer Athletes 

Magnussen Wins World Figure Skating Championships

Vancouver-born Karen Magnussen won the World Women's Figure Skating Championships in Bratislava in what was then Czechoslovakia.

August 16, 1974

Trailblazer Athletes 

Cindy Nicholas Breaks Record

Sixteen-year-old Cindy Nicholas, of Toronto, broke the record for fastest swim across Lake Ontario. The crossing took her 15 hours and 10 minutes.

August 22, 1974

Groups & Organizations 

First Assembly of the Native Women’s Association of Canada

The Native Women’s Association of Canada (NWAC) convened its first assembly. The NWAC, a non-profit organization, brought together 13 Aboriginal women’s groups from across Canada. It represents mainly First Nations and Métis women, with the aim to achieve equal opportunities and influence policy initiatives impacting its members.

February 13, 1976

Trailblazer Athletes 

Kreiner Wins Olympic Gold

At the Winter Olympic Games in Innsbruck, Austria, Kathy Kreiner won the gold medal in the giant slalom. She won Canada's only 1976 Olympic gold medal, for which she was considered a long shot against German skier Rosi Mittermaier. In so doing she became the youngest-ever gold medalist in skiing to that date.

July 19, 1979

History 

“Indian Women’s March” Protests the Indian Act

Twenty-eight women from the Tobique First Nation’s women’s group organized a 160 km walk from the Oka Reserve in Québec to Ottawa. They aimed to bring national attention to gender discrimination in the Indian Act.

September 21, 1979

Activists and Politicians 

First Minister of State for the Status of Women

Lise Payette became the first Minister of State for the Status of Women.

December 23, 1983

Activists and Politicians 

First Female Governor General

The Right Honourable Jeanne Sauvé was appointed the first female Governor General of Canada. She said it was "a magnificent breakthrough for women." Sauvé was also the first female Speaker of the House of Commons and the first female Member of Parliament from Québec to be a cabinet minister.

January 01, 1984

Activists and Politicians 

Lewis Elected Mayor of Annapolis Royal

Daurene Lewis, a descendant of Black Loyalists, was elected Mayor of the Nova Scotia town of Annapolis Royal and became the first Black female mayor in North America.

March 30, 1984

Groups & Organizations 

Pauktuutit, the Inuit Women’s Association, Established

The Inuit Women’s Association, known as Pauktuutit, was incorporated. The national organization seeks to represent the needs of Inuit women, advocating on their behalf in federal policy initiatives. These include social justice issues such as violence against women, and health issues such as promoting traditional midwifery practices.

August 15, 1984

History 

Federal Election Debate on Women's Issues

The first and only televised federal debate on women’s issues took place in Toronto, where an estimated 2,000 women lined up outside the Royal York Hotel to gain entry. The debate was organized by the National Action Committee on the Status of Women and included the leaders of the three major political parties.

June 17, 1985

Women's Rights 

Bill C-31, An Act to Amend the Indian Act, Passed

Since the mid-1800s the status of women had been tied to that of their husbands. Therefore, if a Status Indian woman married a non-Status Indian man, she would lose her status and if a non-Status Indian woman married a Status Indian man, she would acquire status. Bill C-31 removed these discriminatory provisions.

July 07, 1986

Trailblazer Athletes 

Charmaine Hooper Makes Team Canada Debut

Charmaine Hooper made her debut for Team Canada as an 18-year-old against Team USA. In the following 20 years, she laced up for Canada 129 times. Hooper helped lead Canada to its first-ever CONCACAF gold in 1998 and was the first player to have 100 caps for the women’s national team. She has been inducted into both the Soccer Hall of Fame and Museum and Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame.

December 02, 1989

Activists and Politicians 

McLaughlin Elected as First Female Party Leader in Canada

Yukon MP Audrey McLaughlin was chosen leader of the NDP at a national convention in Winnipeg, succeeding Ed Broadbent. She was the first woman to lead a national Canadian political party. She spent six years as leader before stepping down in 1995 after the NDP fell to nine seats in the 1993 general election and lost its official party status.

December 06, 1989

History 

École Polytechnique Massacre

Marc Lépine, a 25-year-old with a hatred of women, went on a shooting rampage at École Polytechnique, the Université de Montréal's engineering faculty, killing 14 women and wounding 14 more people before committing suicide. In the wake of the tragedy, issues such as gun control, misogyny and gender-based violence came to the fore of public debate in Canada. Tighter firearms laws were instituted in the years that followed, and the events of 6 December have had a lasting influence on efforts to end gender-based violence.

April 02, 1991

Activists and Politicians 

Rita Johnston Becomes Canada's First Female Premier

Social Credit leader Rita Johnston was sworn in as BC's 29th premier, subsequently becoming both Canada and BC's first female premier.

November 14, 1991

Activists and Politicians 

Cournoyea Elected Premier of NWT

Nellie J. Cournoyea, of Inupiaq heritage, was elected premier of the Northwest Territories, making her the first Indigenous woman to hold the position of government leader.

January 22, 1992

Women in STEM 

Canada's First Female Astronaut

Neurologist and clinical science researcher specializing in the nervous system, Dr. Roberta Bondar blasted into space aboard the US space shuttle Discovery. Bondar was Canada's first female astronaut.

February 15, 1992

Trailblazer Athletes 

Lee-Gartner Wins Olympic Gold

On what has been deemed the most difficult and dangerous downhill course ever designed for any Olympic Games, Kerrin Lee-Gartner defeated US skier Hilary Lindh to win the gold medal at Albertville. Overcoming injuries to ski the race of her life, Lee-Gartner's win was the first-ever Olympic downhill gold medal won by a Canadian.

February 20, 1992

Trailblazer Athletes 

Women 's Short-Track Speed Skaters Win Olympic Gold

The women's short-track speed skating relay team consisting of Angela Cutrone, Sylvie Daigle, Nathalie Lambert and Annie Perreault won the Olympic gold medal in the 3,000 m race at Albertville. Initially thought to be a contest between Canada and China, a fall by a Chinese skater in the final qualifying round clinched the competition for the women from Québec, who easily beat their nearest competitor, the US, by 1.23 seconds.

September 23, 1992

Trailblazer Athletes 

Rhéaume Plays Goal

Goalie Manon Rhéaume became the first woman to play goal for an NHL hockey team, the Tampa Bay Lightning.

June 25, 1993

Activists and Politicians 

Kim Campbell Becomes First Female PM

After Prime Minister Brian Mulroney resigned from politics, Kim Campbell was selected as the leader of the Progressive Conservative Party and became Canada’s first female prime minister.

February 18, 1994

Trailblazer Athletes 

Bedard Wins First Olympic Gold

Myriam Bédard won the 15 km event in biathlon. It was Canada's first Olympic medal in Nordic competitions. She would win an additional gold medal days later in the 7.5 km event, becoming the first Canadian woman to win two Olympic gold medals and the first North American athlete ever to win gold in an Olympic biathlon event.

February 13, 1998

Trailblazer Athletes 

LeMay Doan Wins First Olympic Gold

Canadian speed skating icon Catriona LeMay Doan won the first of her two medals at Nagano, a gold in the 500 m. In a showdown against fellow Canadian and training partner Susan Auch, LeMay Doan edged out Auch by a mere 0.03 seconds. LeMay Doan also added a bronze medal in the 1000 m later in the Games.

February 15, 1998

Trailblazer Athletes 

Women's Curling Team Wins Olympic Gold

Sandra Schmirler and her rink of Jan Betker, Joan McCusker and Marcia Gudereit captured the first women's Olympic gold medal in curling. Self proclaimed “housewives” and best friends, the group dominated the sport in the 1990s, winning three Canadian championships and three world titles in addition to Olympic gold. Sadly, Schmirler succumbed to cancer in 2000.

January 01, 1936

Women in STEM 

Maude Abbott’s Atlas of Congenital Cardiac Disease Is Published

Published by the American Heart Association in 1936, Maude Abbott’s Atlas of Congenital Cardiac Disease was a groundbreaking text in cardiac research. The life-saving publication helped doctors to better understand and diagnose heart defects and to develop new ways to treat them.

June 01, 1972

Women in STEM 

Sylvia Ostry Appointed Chief Statistician of Canada

Sylvia Ostry was an economist and public servant. She was the first female chief statistician of Canada, a position that she held until 1975. (See also Statistics Canada; Economics.)

May 27, 1999

Women in STEM 

Julie Payette in Space

Canadian astronaut Julie Payette took part in a space shuttle mission. She and a co-worker repaired faulty parts in the Russian space station Zarya's battery pack.

October 02, 2018

Women in STEM 

Donna Strickland Wins Nobel Prize

The associate professor at the University of Waterloo became the first woman in 55 years, and only the third ever, to win the Nobel Prize in Physics. Strickland and Gérard Mourou were awarded for their work in laser physics. They shared the prize with Arthur Ashkin.

October 20, 2023

Trailblazer Athletes 

Christine Sinclair Announces Retirement from International Soccer

Forty-year-old soccer legend Christine Sinclair announced that she would be retiring from international play at the end of the year. She ended her international career with 190 goals — the most by any player, man or woman, in history. Sinclair was named Canadian Player of the Year 14 times and Canada Soccer Player of the Decade in 2019. She led the Canadian women’s team to two bronze medals and one gold at the Olympic Summer Games. She retired from professional soccer on 27 September 2024.

December 16, 2024

Activists and Politicians 

Chrystia Freeland Resigns from Cabinet

Hours before she was scheduled to deliver the government’s fall economic update, finance minister and deputy prime minister Chrystia Freeland abruptly resigned from Cabinet. In her resignation letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, which she posted to social media, Freeland described how Trudeau had replaced her as finance minister and offered her a role without a portfolio. Freeland’s bombshell resignation dealt a major blow to the beleaguered Trudeau government, leading many inside and outside the party to call for Trudeau’s resignation.

February 16, 2016

Women in STEM 

Victoria Kaspi Wins the Gerhard Herzberg Canada Gold Medal

Victoria Kaspi is an astrophysicist and is widely recognized for her work on neutron stars (see Astrophysics). She is the first woman to win the Gerhard Herzberg Canada Gold Medal from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC). (See also Gerhard Herzberg.)