1918: Women Gain Right to Vote in Federal Elections
On May 24, 1918, all Canadian women at the age of 21 and over, not "alien born" and meeting the property requirements of their province, were allowed to vote in Federal elections. This was a huge gain for the women's suffrage movement, finally, allowing women to take part in voting on a federal level - a fundamental practice of our country's democracy. It stood as the first major step towards the full political and societal equality of women, paving the way for the many advances in women's rights still to come.
Click on the photo above to video an interview with Beatrice Brigden from 1974. In the interview she recalls in retrospect, the ridiculous nature of not allowing allowing women to vote and, Nellie McClung's famous "mock parliament" that played a key role in gaining suffrage for women in 1918.