Almost 100 years ago, the 19th amendment was passed by Congress June 4, 1919, and ratified on August 18, 1920. The Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, provided:
"The right of citizens of the United States to vote
shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on
account of sex."
Canadian women won the right to vote in 1918 although women in Manitoba could vote in their Provincial Elections in 1916. Quebec women fared the worst with women not being granted Provincial voting rights until 1940!
On 24 May 1918, all female Canadian citizens aged 21 and over became eligible
to vote in federal elections, regardless of whether they had yet
attained the provincial franchise. However, the Elections Canada website
specifies what conditions were attached to such eligibility:
"age 21 or
older, not alien-born and meet property requirements in provinces where
they exist."
Have you ever wondered if your grandmother or great-grandmother was involved in the Suffragette Movement? I hope mine were. I am quite sure they supported it but did they go out and protest in the streets? I don't know.
We fought hard to gain this right but I wonder how many of
us use it. Do you vote? I know I sometimes miss although I do try to
make it to every election voting day. I don't want to let my grandmothers down by not exercising that right.
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