Women's Right To Vote In Canada

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“Women are not ‘persons’” ungrammatically declared the Supreme Court of Canada in 1928, while using that argument to rule women ineligible to be a part of the Canadian senate. This statement was made a decade after women across Canada had officially earned the right to vote, which makes a clear indication that the right to vote was not enough for women to be treated equally. Although, many might conclude that the right to vote was the most important event for women in Canadian history, I believe that having a female member in the senate, finally provided the equality over half the population had been seeking and left a lasting impact on Canadian history. Therefore, during this brief essay, I will be discussing the different aspects of this …show more content…

This was apparent in 1900, Manitoba, when the “Married Women’s Property Act” took place in order to grant women the same rights as men whilst handling properties. Furthermore, this event was followed by the “Political Equality League” being formed in 1912 in Manitoba, when women started to fight for their right to vote; noticeably Nellie McClung of the Famous Five. After several attempts, Manitoban women finally gained the right to vote in 1916, becoming the first women in Canada to do so. The event that was used as a conclusion to the female rights revolution took place in 1918, when women over the age of 21 gained the right to vote in federal elections all across Canada. However, regrettably, this was not the end of the predicament, as a decade later, the Supreme Court of Canada had judged women to not be qualified “persons” who can partake in the senate, when asked about this issue by the Famous …show more content…

This proved that not only could a woman be considered an equal citizen, but she could also be an equal influential figure. In fact, today, the Canadian senate is 37.31% female, with over 40 female senators working to make a difference in Canada. In fact, our current Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, has made his desire for having a gender-balanced senate quite clear, and women have more opportunities and equality than ever before. As a matter of fact, every Canadian is protected from discrimination by the Canadian “Charter of Rights and Freedoms”, which was created in 1982. In the present, every Canadian, including women, has basic human rights, which is why I, along with many others, can lead a life without the irrational discrimination that was faced by previous generations. Although some dissatisfying aspects of gender based differences in Canada may still exist, differences such as the gender wage gap, or perhaps a bias present in favour of women when it comes to child custody. I believe it is reasonable to conclude that the women of Canada have achieved quite a lot in the past decades, and allowed the future female citizens of Canada to live without considering their gender to be an important factor of their roles in

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