from where we've come...

(a mailing list I subscribe to advised me of this today.. thought it was a good reminder for all of us...)

Did you know . . .  January 28, marks 95 years since the Manitoba Legislature passed an amendment to the Manitoba Elections Act in 1916, giving most women in Manitoba the right to vote and run in provincial elections. Manitoba succeeded in being the first province in Canada to grant women suffrage. Women activists and their supporters spent many years dedicated to achieving this goal. In the years just prior to 1916, the movement for women’s suffrage in Manitoba was organized by the Manitoba Political Equality League, led by suffragette and political activist Nellie McClung and other noteworthy players, such as Cora Hind, Lillian Thomas, and Dr. Mary Crawford as well as many other dedicated women and men. The Manitoba Political Equality League coordinated the infamous “Women’s Parliament” a satire which turned the debate on its head and ridiculed the dangers of giving men the right to vote.

Importantly, not all women in Manitoba benefited from the 1916 amendment. It was not until 1952 that all Manitoba women gained the right to vote, when legislation changed so that Aboriginal men and women became eligible to vote in provincial elections and hold office without losing their treaty Indian status.

We look forward to a 100^th anniversary celebration of this momentous event in 2016!