Celebrating Sisterhood - 100th Anniversary of Canadian Women's Right to Vote

2016 is the 100th Anniversary of Women first obtaining the right to vote in Canada. Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta were the first Canadian provinces to grant women this right. Canadian women who owned land however had the right to vote as early as 1791 but that right was taken away in 1849.

It was not until 1917 that British Columbia and Ontario followed suit and granted women the right to vote. I wish I knew if either of my grandmothers, who lived in Ontario, were involved in the struggle for women's rights, or at the very least were pleased with their new-found rights! But it is not something I thought to ask about when I was a young teenager.

1918 saw Nova Scotia come on board, then New Brunswick in 1919. Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland lagged behind, not granting women the right to vote until 1922 and 1925 respectively. But the biggest and most shameful holdout was Quebec. That province did not grant women the right to vote until 1940!

I have talked before about Canada's Famous Five, that group of 5 courageous and determined women who forced Canada to recognize women as "persons" in 1929.

You can read more about women's rights in Canada at A greater sisterhood: the Women’s Rights struggle in Canada

August 18 1920 American Women Won the Right to Vote

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.