Famous Canadians

Nellie McClung


Nellie McClung was a woman who involved herself in politics and argued for the rights of women everywhere. She helped defeat the Premier Roblin and his conservative government and the new liberal government gave the vote to women in 1916. In the end Manitoba women were allowed to vote and it eventually spread throughout Canada. She involved herself in the “persons” case about if women could enter the Canadian senate. The “persons” case was about if women were persons when the law said they must be a person to enter the senate. The supreme court of Canada ruled that persons were meaning men only but the judicial committee ruled that women were persons too in 1929. Therefore women were granted the right to enter the senate.
She also fought for many right of women like public health care, free medical and dental care for children, property laws for married women and more. She started involving herself in women’s rights from 1884 and dedicated herself to it until she died. This was important so that women were equal to men.


http://www.mta.ca/about_canada/study_guide/famous_women/nellie_mcclung.html
http://www.histori.ca/minutes/minute.do?id=10643
http://www.abheritage.ca/famous5/achievements/nellie_mcclung.html