Women's Right to Vote

Womens Right to VoteCanada is a federation and has both federal and provincial (or territorial) governments. The Federal Government determined who had the right to vote in federal elections; the provincial governments determined who had the right to vote in provincial elections. Therefore the struggle for women to win the right to vote had to be won at the federal level as well as province by province. As a result of Canadas federal system, some women could vote in federal elections but NOT in provincial elections. The right of women to vote was obtained after 50 years of struggle. The first womens suffrage organization in Canada was the Torontos Womens Literary League which was formed around 1886. Womens legal right to vote was obtained at both the provincial and federal level over a nine year period (1916-1925) with the exception of the Province of Quebec where the right to vote in provincial elections was not obtained until 1940.Right to Vote in Provincial ElectionsProvinceRight to Vote ProvinciallyRight to Stand for Provincial OfficeManitobaJanuary 28, 1916January 28, 1916SaskatchewanMarch 14, 1916March 14, 1916AlbertaApril 19, 1916April 19, 1916British ColumbiaApril 5, 1917April 5, 1917OntarioApril 12, 1917April 24, 1919Nova ScotiaApril 26, 1918April 26, 1918New BrunswickApril 17, 1919March 9, 1934Prince Edward IslandMay 3, 1922May 3, 1922NewfoundlandApril 13, 1925April 13, 1925QuebecApril 25, 1940April 25, 1940Right to Vote in Federal ElectionsThere really is no one date when women earned the right to vote in federal elections. Canadas Federal Parliament passed several pieces of temporary legislation during the First World War which gave some women the right to vote (see The War Time Legislation, below). The first (non emergency) permanent legislation which gave women the vote was the:The Womens Franchise Act 1918Royal Assent May 24, 1918 (in force January 1919). This Act provided that every female person had the right to vote if she was: a British subject, at least 21 years of age possessed the same qualifications which would entitle a male person to vote in the province in which she resided. This act provided the provinces some control over the right to vote in federal elections ( ie. property requirements). The Dominion By-Elections Act of 1919 gave women, for the first time, the right to be elected to Federal Parliament.Dominion Elections Act 1920This legislation established uniform rules for voting in a federal election. There was no requirement to match provincial voting qualifications. The requirements for voting were: British Citizenship at least 21 years of age residence in Canada for at least 12 months residence in the riding (electoral district) for two months This act also permanently provided the right of women to be elected to Parliament.The War Time LegislationThe Military Voters Act of 1917 gave all British subjects, male or female, who had participated in any branch of the Canadian armed services, the right to vote at any general election held during the war. This legislation gave the vote to women nurses serving in the war.The Wartime Elections Act of 1917 (later that same year) gave the vote to women who were, British subjects, 21 years of age or older and: a wife, widow, mother, sister or daughter of any male or female who served in Canadas military forces. This legislation disenfranchised conscientious objectors and all those born in enemy countries and naturalized since 1902. This bill gave the provinces the right to determine age, race and residence requirements and also gave many women their first ballot in the 1917 federal election. The vote of women in this election had a significant impact on the re-election of Prime Minister Bordens government.ResourcesCleverdon, Catherine C. The Woman Suffrage Movement in Canada. Toronto: Univ