The “Persons” Case – Info Sheet
• Like the labour movement, women made some of their most notable gains
during World War I, only to face adversity and substantial setbacks in the
twenties. Beginning with Manitoba in 1916, seven provinces and the
federal government had given women the vote before 1920.
• During the war, women had taken jobs and responsibilities in the
workplace to fill the place of men engaged in the war. When the men
returned, most Canadians felt that the soldiers deserved to take their
rightful place in positions temporarily filled by women.
• Women were urged to return to the home and become wives and
mothers. Many of them complied. Even under these circumstances
however, the work of women at home was considerable and without
direct financial reward. In many cases, women had to engage in parttime work to make “ends meet” at home. On farms, work was especially
difficult; in addition to household work, women were expected to help in
the physically demanding work of the farm.
• If employment was necessary, women were encouraged to pursue training
for careers such as secretaries, teachers, nurses and librarians.
Furthermore, the number of women working as domestic servants rose
from approx. 78 000 in 1921 to approx. 134 000 in 1931.
• There were women who made it into the “male professions” in the 1920s
and 1930s. These women often obtained such credentials and positions
as a result of extraordinary toil and personal cost. Notable women
became doctors, lawyers, university professors, scientists and engineers.
Yet while historians routinely emphasize the accomplishments of these
remarkable women, the vast majority of women were essentially denied
entry into these fields.
• Women continued a strong advocacy for their fundamental rights.
Activists in such organizations as the National Council of Women of
Canada, the Women’s Christian Temperance Association, the women’s
institutes, the Associated Country of Women of the World, the National
Council of Jewish Women, the Pioneer Women’s Association, the Young
Women’s Christian Association, as well as women’s religious
organizations, all vigorously worked to enhance the role of women in
Canadian society. Women were active in union life and played an integral
role during the Winnipeg General Strike.
• Women became engaged on the political front as well. In 1921, Agnes
McPhail was elected as the first female Member of Parliament,
encountering great scepticism and resistance, However, McPhail ensured
her voice was heard advocating for such things as prison reform, family
allowances, old age pensions, and unemployment insurance. Other
women soon followed and were successfully elected to provincial
legislatures, often as members of third parties. In Alberta, which had
elected a United Farmers of Alberta government, women like Irene
Parlby lobbied for such issues as a minimum wage for women, women’s
property rights, and children’s welfare. Many of Parlby’s initiatives were
legislated into law.
The Persons Case
• Most historians point to the Persons Case as a landmark decision in
women’s rights. In 1919 the Federated Women’s Institutes of Canada
passed a resolution urging the prime minister to appoint a female
senator. They believed female senators could have a unique impact on
the Senate. Both Meighen and King refused, saying that under the terms
of the British North America Act, women were not considered as persons
and therefore could not be appointed.
• Eight years passed, and after a series of refusals by the government, Emily
Murphy led a group of five prominent women activists – Nellie McClung,
Irene Parlby, Louise McKinney and Henrietta Muir Edwards, who
petitioned the government to direct the Supreme Court to rule on
whether the concept of “qualified persons” in Section 24 of the British
North America Act could include women.
• In 1928 the Supreme Court ruled that women did not qualify as “qualified
persons. The “famous five” then successfully appealed to the Judicial
Committee of the Privy Council of England, the final court of appeal in
the British Empire. The Judicial Committee reversed the Canadian
Supreme Court decision ruling that women were indeed persons.
• In their decision, the Judicial Committee commented that the archaic
interpretation of the law by the Canadian Supreme Court was a “relic of
days more barbarous than ours.” The first women senator, Cairine
Wilson, was appointed in 1930.
• Yet while the Persons Case demonstrated a significant decision in the
quest for women’s rights, advances were slow afterwards. Perhaps no
fact better exemplifies this than the reality that only five women were
elected in the Canadian Parliament before 1950.