The suffrage movement in Manitoba
The Winnipeg Tribune, October 23 1915, page 41
The following is a re-post from the Archives & Special Collections blog.
On January 28, 1916, Manitoba became the first Canadian province to grant women the right to vote in provincial elections. “This amendment grants to women equal franchise with men” reported the Winnipeg Tribune on January 27, 1916.
The neighbouring province of Saskatchewan became the second province when on March 14, 1916 they also granted women voting rights. Alberta followed suit on April 19, 1916. British Columbia and Ontario granted women the right to vote in provincial elections the next year, on April 9 and 12 1917, respectively. On May 24, 1918 Canadian women obtained enfranchisement in federal elections. In the Maritime provinces and Newfoundland women gained the vote at the provincial level between 1918 and 1934. Quebec was the last province to give women the vote provincially in April 1940.
The 100th anniversary of this historic event is next week, and is an exciting milestone in Manitoba’s history. But, it’s important to remember that while women who met the same conditions as men (be at least 21 years old and british subjects) could now vote provincially, many Canadians were still excluded. It wasn’t until 1960 that Aboriginal peoples with treaty status were able to vote federally (1952 provincially in Manitoba).
Check out our previous posts on the suffrage movement in Manitoba here: December 1915, November 1915, October 1915, September 1915.
Click here to learn more about the Winnipeg Tribune fonds at the U of M.