March 8 is International Women’s Day. It’s an opportunity to highlight the evolution of the law and the work accomplished by the activists who fought for changes over the years. Here’s a look at three women who had a significant impact on the evolution of women’s rights in Quebec and Canada.
Henrietta Muir Edwards and the recognition of women as “persons”
Born in Montreal in 1849, Henrietta Muir Edwards was a women’s rights activist. She was one of five applicants in the “Persons Case” that resulted in women being recognized as “persons” under Canadian law.
On April 24, 1928, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that women could not be appointed to the Senate of Canada. The Constitution of Canada states that only “qualified persons” may be appointed to the Senate. The judges justified their decision by stating that women were not “persons” under the law.
The Supreme Court is the highest court in Canada today, but this was not the case in 1928. At that time, its decisions could be challenged before the Privy Council in London. Henrietta Muir Edwards therefore travelled to the English capital to challenge the Supreme Court’s decision, along with four other women.
The women won their case. The Privy Council overturned the Supreme Court’s decision and declared that women are indeed “persons” under the law.
Once women were recognized as “persons,” it became more difficult to justify denying women’s rights. Thanks to the Persons Case, Cairine Wilson became Canada’s first female senator in 1930, marking a turning point for women in politics.
Despite this, women had to wait until 1940 to obtain the right to vote in Quebec elections. Quebec was the last Canadian province to grant this right to women.
Jeannette Vivian Corbière Lavell: a struggle for the status of Indigenous women
Jeannette Vivian Corbiere Lavell is an Anishinaabe (Ojibwe) woman known for leading a legal battle to ensure that Indigenous women could keep their Indian status when they married someone without that status. Under the Indian Act, the legal meaning of the term “Indian” refers to First Nations people who are registered or entitled to be registered in the Indian Register.
Born in Wikwemikong, Ontario, Ms. Corbiere Lavell is an activist, educator, and social worker. In 1970, she married a non-Native man and was deprived of her legal status as an Indian. She then filed a lawsuit against the federal government, claiming that the law discriminated against women. She was joined by another Indigenous woman, Yvonne Bédard, who had also lost her status.
The case went all the way to the Supreme Court, which dismissed it on August 27, 1973. Despite this, other Indigenous women continued to fight to denounce this law, and other lawsuits were filed. Because of all these lawsuits, Canada was criticized internationally, including by the United Nations.
Thanks to Ms. Corbiere Lavell and these other Aboriginal women, the Constitution of Canada was amended in 1983 to state that ancestral rights are guaranteed to Aboriginal people of both sexes equally. In 1985, Ms. Corbiere Lavell and many others regained their Indian status.
Pauline Marois: a new family policy for Quebec
Pauline Marois was the first woman elected premier of Quebec (from 2012 to 2014). She’s also known for having created the network of early childhood centres (CPE) and initiating the creation of the Quebec Parental Insurance Plan (RQAP).
While minister of education in 1997, Ms. Marois introduced a new family policy for Quebec. The measures included:
- more generous parental leave,
- the creation of the CPE network,
- combining different family allowances into a single one.
An important goal of creating the CPEs was promoting work/family balance. One of the major contributions of the CPE and the RQAP was enabling more women to enter the job market. Quebec was the Canadian province with the highest employment rate of women aged 25 to 54 in February 2024, at 85%. By contrast, only 76% of Quebec women aged 25 to 54 were active in the labour market in 1998.