| February
1 |
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| February
2 |
D.
J. McCawley.
Born 1954. This lawyer and judge has the title of the Right
Honourable Madame Justice. A mother of 7 children she was a nominee
for Woman of Distinction Award in 1990. |
| |
Pauline
Vaillancourt.
Born Arvida [Jonquière] Quebec 1945.
A singer with a beautiful soprano voice , Pauline is active
in classical as well as contemporary music. She has performed in Europe
as well as in her home province of Quebec. She founded and is artistic
director of the lyric company “Chants Libres”. |
| February
3 |
Isobel
Moira Dunbar.
Born Edinburgh, Scotland 1918. Died November 22, 1999. An Oxford University graduate, she immigrated to Canada
and worked in the far north. An ice research scientist, she was one
of the first women to be taken for cruises on Canadian Government
icebreakers. The author of many scientific studies, she received the
Massey Medal in 1972. |
| |
Winnifred
"Winnie" Frances Roach-Leuszler. Born Port
Credit, Ontario 1926. Died May 2004. A long distance swimmer of
international acclaim she started swimming when she was 3 years old.
At 9 years of age she won her first medal as a competitive swimmer and
she never looked back. She would go on to win local, provincial,
national, North American and international medals throughout her
career. In 1944 she was labeled Canada's All Round Athlete of the
year. That same year she joined the Women's Corp and was dominating
Army, Navy and Air Forces sporting championships. In 1946 whil3 three
months pregnant, she won the 5 mile World Swimming Championship and
while four months pregnant in 1949 she was second in the same event.
On August 16, 1951 she became the first Canadian woman to swim the
English Channel. She came home to a ticker tape parade in Toronto! In
1954 she entered the swim across Lake Ontario with Marilyn Bell but
was forced from the event with problems with her guide boat. In the
1950's she was lured to baseball and in 1957 she was Canada's first
female baseball umpire. In 1996 she was inducted into the Canadian
Forces Sports Hall of Fame. In 1999 she received the Order of Ontario
and was inducted into the Ontario Swimming Hall of Fame. |
| |
Marlene
Nourbese
Philip.
Born Moriah, Tobago 1947. A
poet and novelist she has written several books including a novel
for young people, Harriet’s Daughter.
Try it out at your nearest library. |
| February
4 |
Charlotte-Francoise
Juchereau de Saint Denis,
Comptesse de Saint-Laurent. Baptized 1660. Died December 28, 1702.
In 1702 she purchased the Ile d'Orleans becoming the Comptesse. She
was a strong business personality of New France. She was also the
mother of 16 children. Check out her story in the Dictionary
of Canadian Biography. |
| |
Cairine
Reay
Wilson.
(née Mackay) Born Montreal, Quebec 1885.Died March 3, 1962. A
mother of 8 children. she was Canada’s first woman to be
appointed to the Senate. She would prefer to be remembered for her
work to serve refugees and for being outspoken against anti-Semitism
in Canada. She was chair
of the Canadian National Committee on Refugees 1938-1948, and was
Canada’s first woman delegate to the new United Nations in 1949.
Appointed to the Senate in 1930 she served for 32 years until her
death |
| February
5 |
Gail
Fox.
Born 1942. She
immigrated to Canada in 1963 and came to public attention with a group
of poets at Queen’s University, Kingston.
She is also known as editor of the journal called Quarry. |
| February
6 |
Kate
McGarrigle
Born
St-Sauveur-des-Monts, Quebec 1946. Along with her
sister and partner, Anna, she began singing in coffee houses in Montreal
in the 1960’s. In 1976
they produced a record album together. After a brief solo experience
in New York, Kate rejoined her sister and more albums followed including
a French language collection in 1982. The McGarrigles were named to
the Order of Canada in 1994. |
| February
7 |
Lela
Alene Brooks.
Born Toronto, Ontario 1908. An incredible speed skater she had broken 6 world records
by the time she was 17 years old.
After 14 years of competing and winning every title to be won
she retired in 1935 declining to compete in the 1936 Olympics. She
is a member of the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame. |
| February
8 |
Thelma
Chalifoux.
Born 1929. She did her post graduate
studies at the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology and the Chicago
School of Interior Design. She was the winner of the National Aboriginal
Achievement Award in 1995.. She is the mother of seven children and
Grandmother to 30 grandchildren and 15 great grandchildren! She was
appointed to the Senate of Canada in November 1997. Her special interests
are Aboriginal, environmental, women, Human Rights and seniors issues. |
| February
9 |
Marie
Angèle Gauthier.
Born 1828. Died May 25, 1898. A hardworking farmer's daughter she
joined the order of the Sisters of St Anne as Sister Marie Angèle.
She traveled as one of the first group of religious orders of women
to open schools on Vancouver Island. The adventures of her trip to
Victoria, British Columbia, were published in 1859. Perhaps more of
a legacy than her writings was her teaching. She taught native children
many skills including knitting. This skill would be used in Duncan
B.C. to make the famous Cowichan sweaters. |
| February
10 |
Adrienne
Louise
Clarkson.
Born Hong Kong, 1939. A
television personality, journalist, novelist, public servant, and
publisher are her main professions.
She even had her own television show “Adrienne Clarkson Presents”.
She is an officer in the Order of Canada. She is the second woman,
and first immigrant to have been appointed to the position of Governor
General of Canada. |
| |
Jean
Coulthard.
Born Vancouver, British Columbia 1908. Died March 9, 2000. A composer and educator she was the first of Canada’s West
Coast composers to receive wide recognition.
She began to compose music as a child.
She has more then 350 compositions for a wide variety of vocal
and instrumentals. She
is an officer in the Order of Canada. |
| February
11 |
Rebecca
(Becky) Buhay.
Born London, England 1896. Died December 16, 1953. She was a union organizer for the garment industry in Montreal.
She became involved in politics and lectured and toured across the
country. Political friends knew her as a great communicator of radical
ideas and for her loyalty. |
| |
Annette
av Paul.
Born Stockholm, Sweden 1944. She was born and began her ballet career in Sweden. In
1973 she danced with the Royal Winnipeg Ballet and she joined Les Grands Ballets Canadiens in 1976. She brought beauty, vast experience
and artistic maturity to the many roles that were created for her.
She retired from the stage in 1984. |
| |
Abigail
Hoffman.
Born Toronto, Ontario 1947. At
15 she won her first national championship in the 880-yard foot race.
She competed internationally for Canada at many events, including
4 Olympic games, 4 Pan-American Games and 2 Commonwealth Games. A
champion for athlete’s rights and women in sport she is following
a solid career as a sports administrator. |
| February
12 |
Marion
Dewar. (née
Bell) Born Montreal, Quebec 1928. Educated as a nurse, she
began her working career as a public health nurse. In the 1970's she
turned to municipal politics in Ottawa. She was elected Mayor of Ottawa
(1978-1985). She believed that local action could serve the global
cause and she spearheaded Operation 4000 that welcomed Vietnamese boat
people to settle in Ottawa. She was co-host for the Women's Constitutional Conference
calling for gender equality provisions in the Canadian Charter of
Rights. In 1985 she was elected president of the federal New Democratic
Party and in 1987 was elected in a federal by-election to the
House of Commons in Ottawa. In 1989 she was executive director of
the Canadian Council on Children and Youth and in 1995 continued serving
social causes when she headed up Oxfam Canada. |
| February
13 |
Miriam
Mandel.
(née
Minovitch) Born Rockglen, Saskatchewan 1930. Died February 13, 1982. After university she began writing
poetry in her late 30’s when her marriage broke down.
She suffered from manic depression and she was able to express
her feeling with courage and honesty in her work.
She won the Governor General’s Award in 1978. |
| February
14 |
Lois
Maxwell.
Born Kitchener, Ontario 1927. Died September 29, 2007. She
ran away from home at the age of fifteen in order to join the Canadian
Army during World War ll. Enlisted initially as a soldier, she
quickly became part of the Army Entertainment Corps, travelling Europe
during the war, performing music and dance numbers to entertain the
troops; During her acting career she also used the name
Lois Hooker. While she is credited with some 68 roles in movies and
TV she will perhaps be best remembered for her portrayal in 14 of the Ian
Fleming James Bond films as Miss Moneypenny. While her appearances
where short in each film she made the role memorable. |
| |
Meg
Tilly.
Born Texada, British Columbia1960. This
actress has been in movies and television since 1980 when she appeared
in “FAME” |
| February
15 |
Marketa
Gotz-Stankiewicz. Born
1927. Born in the Czech Republic, she attended high school and university
in Toronto and then at Columbia University in New York City. She would
edit, write, and teach her love of Germanic studies. Among her many
awards is a Certificate of Merit for Excellence in Teaching 1972 and the
Hlavake Medal of the Czech Academy of Science 1992. |
| |
Marilyn
Edythe Broughton. Born 1940. After
her university studies she taught mathematics but she still kept up
her interest in music and composing. She is a mother of children who
no doubt enjoy the songs their mother writes. Perhaps one of the most
famous of her several works is Un Canadien Errant. |
| February
16 |
Milaine
Clouthier.
Born 1972. Her brother brought her to a badminton game when
she was 9. She was told that girls couldn't beat guys. That
did it! She was hooked! She outplayed them all! By 1995 she had won
a bronze medal in the Pan American Games, and in 1997 she won Pan
Am gold in the doubles event. |
| February
17 |
Mona Parsons.
Born 1901. Died 1976.
She pursued life on stage until her mother became ill. After taking
care of her ill mother she turned to nursing as a profession.
In 1938 she married Willem Leonhardt, a Dutch businessman. During
WW ll their home in The Netherlands was used as a refuge by escaping
allied airmen. In 1941 they were arrested and imprisoned in separate
prisons. Reunited after the liberation, Mona nursed Willem returning
to Canada only after his death in 1956. Mona was presented with citations
from General Eisenhower and Air Chief Marshal Tedder of the Royal
Air Force for helping allied airmen evade enemy capture. |
| |
Martha
Henry. Born Detroit, Michigan, U.S.A. 1938. One
of Canada’s leading actresses she has long been associated with the
Stratford Festival. She
has won Genie Awards for her work in films in 1980, 1984, 1994, and
1996. She has bee Gemini Awards for her work in TV. She has received
the Order of Ontario in 1994 and is a companion in the Order of Canada
since 1990. |
| |
Loreena
McKennitt.
Born Morden, Manitoba 1957. As a young girl, she was trained
in classical singing. During her teens she experimented with folk
music and performed in clubs in her home town of Winnipeg. In the
1970's she became familiar with Celtic music. She worked as
a singer, actress and writer at the famous Stratford Festival in Ontario.
She learned to play the harp and even played as a busker on the streets
of Toronto. She has written musical scores for works by the National
Film Board of Canada as well as producing albums of her work. Her
1991 album won a Juno Award. The recording "The Bells of Christmas"
was recorded for the Walt Disney film The Santa Claus in 1994. |
| February
18 |
Do you know of a Canadian woman of achievement
born on this day? e-mail your nomination. |
| February
19 |
Hilda
Marion
Neatby.
Born Sutton, England 1904. Died May 14, 1975. An historian,
author, educator, and critic of the Canadian education system she
was a member of the Royal Commission on the National Development in
the Arts and Letters and Sciences, known as the Massey Commission.
In 1967 she became a Companion of the Order of Canada.
|
© Canada Post Corporation |
| February
20 |
Buffy
Sainte-Marie.
Born Piapot Reserve, Craven, Saskatchewan 1941. (Sometimes
recorded as 1942) This orphaned
aboriginal child was to become a moving force in the international
emergence of folk music. Her song “The Universal Soldier” was one
of her most popular works. She also sings songs of concern for the
native people’s experiences in North America. |
| |
Theresa
Anne Luke.
Born 1967. She has completed her
studies at the University of Victoria where she holds a B.Sc. She
is a full-time coach and athlete who is looking into a possible sports-related
career. As a member of the Canadian Olympic Rowing Team she won a
silver medal in the 1996 Atlantic City Olympic Games. |
| February
21 |
Katherine
Heinrich. née Roderick Murwillumbah, New South
Wales, Australia February 21, 1954. She earned her B. Math and her PhD
at the University of Newcastle. She started her teaching career at the
University of Arizona and moved to British Columbia in 1980 to work at
Simon Fraser University. She is active in promoting the importance of
mathematics and the need of numerate citizens and encouraging and
supporting women in mathematics and the sciences. She was Chair of the
Education committee of the Canadian Mathematics Society and moved up
to be Vice President in 1993 and President in 1996-1998. She is the
author of various reports and numerous articles in her chosen field.
in 1995 she received the Vancouver YWCA Woman of Distinction Award for
Health and Education. |
| February
22 |
Lady
Baden Powell. Not
Canadian But I just could not leave her off a list that Girl Guides
use! If you do not recognize her name be sure to look it up on
the internet!!! |
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Grace
Annie Lockhart.
Born Saint John, New Brunswick 1855. Died May 18, 1916. She graduated with her Bachelor
of Science and English Literature from Mount Allison College, Sackville,
New Brunswick on May 25, 1875 becoming the first woman in the British
Empire to receive a bachelor’s degree. |
| |
Elaine
Tanner.-Watt.
Born
Vancouver, British Columbia February 22, 1951. She became known as “Mighty
Mouse”. Small in stature but mighty in the swimming pool is considered Canada’s best
female swimmer. At 15 years of age she was Canada’s outstanding athlete of
the year. She holds 4 gold medals from Commonwealth Games 1966, plus
three silvers. She was the first Canadian Woman to ever win 4 gold. In
1967 she won two gold and three silver medals in Winnipeg at the Pan-American Games
and broke two world records. At the Olympic games in 1968 in Mexico
she provided Canada with two individual silver medals and one relay
bronze medal. .At just 18 she retired from competition. In 1969 she received the Order of
Canada and in 1971 she was inducted into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame.
Suggested source: The Canadian
Encyclopedia. - online. More specific and updated
information provided by Thomas Brandenberg. |
| February
23 |
Sarah
Eugéne (Nini) Fischer.
Born
Paris, France
1896. Died May 3, 1975. Her family came to Canada when she was 12 and it
was not until after World War I that she would train her soprano singing
voice in London. She was made an honorary member of the Royal College
of Music in London. In 1941 she opened a studio in Montreal helping
many young Canadian artists to make their debuts. |
| February
24 |
Martha Louise Black.
(née Munger)
Born Chicago, Illinois 1866. Died October 31, 1957. One of Canada's
more colourful characters she joined the search for gold by hiking
the famed Chilkoot Pass in the Yukon Gold Rush of 1898!
She gave birth to her first child alone in a log cabin. In order to
survive she raised money to purchase a saw mill and bossed 16 men
on a mining claim. She became the First Lady of the Yukon when
her second husband, George Black, was Commissioner. She received the
Order of the British Empire in 1946 for her cultural and social contributions
to the Yukon. At the age of 70 she won an election for a seat
in the Canadian Parliament! |
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Manon
Rhéaume.
Born Lac Beauport, Quebec 1972.
The daughter of a hockey coach, she began to play at the age
of 5 years. She loved hockey and played well. She was the first girl
to play in the Annual Quebec Peewee Hockey Tournament.
She went on to become the first woman to play professionally.
She was goalie with the Tampa Bay Lightening of the National Hockey
League. If you want the whole story read Manon: alone in front
of the net. She is still active in her sport today teaching
young girls how to play the sport she loves. Her web site is located
at; http://manonrheaume.com
|
| February
25 |
Molly
Reilly.
Born Lindsay, Ontario 1922.
In 1939. Molly tried to sign up with the Royal Canadian Air
Force, but they were not accepting women until 1941 when the Women’s’
Division was founded. She
was one of the first recruits and she worked in the photographic area
to get to fly. She learned
to fly after the war and in 1959 became a full time charter pilot
where she was the first woman in Canada be a captain.
She became the first woman to be a corporate pilot in Canada
when she was Chief Pilot for Canadian Utilities Company. She is a
member of the Canadian Aviation Hall of Fame. |
| |
Edith
Berkeley.
(née Dunington) Born South Africa, 1875. Died February 25, 1963. She
had been a world traveler by the time she was 14 when she traveled
on her own from Tasmania to England. She met her husband while studying
the pure sciences of chemistry and zoology in England. The family
would eventually settle in British Columbia. Under her lead they became
world authorities on the classification of marine worms. Enthusiastic
gardeners they also developed a new species flowers in the family
of the Iris. |
| February
26 |
Monique
Leyrac. (real name Monique Tremblay) Born
Montreal, Quebec 1928. She was the first great international star
from French Canada. Using her
natural gifts of music and drama she started her acting career on
radio in 1943. In 1965 she won the grand prizes at the international
festival of Song in Sopot, Poland and at the Festival de la Chanson
at Ostende, Belgium. In the 1980's she began to write and stage one-woman
shows where she sang and acted. She was named an Officer of the Order
of Canada in 1967 and received the 1979 Prix de musique Calixa-Lavallée. |
| February
27 |
Adelaide
Sophia Hoodless.
(née Hunter) Born St
George, Canada West (Ontario) 1857. Died February 26, 1910. She was
an educational reformer who was the founder of the international women’s
organization known as the Women’s Institutes. When her infant son
died in 1889 from drinking impure milk she devoted herself to the
betterment of education for new mothers. With Lady Aberdeen, she helped
found the National Council of Women, the Victorian Order of Nurses
and the national YWCA (Young Woman’s Christian Association). The University
of Guelph recognizes her contribution to education by hanging her
portrait in what was once called MacDonald Institute. **
Note the date of her birth is sometimes reported as February 26.
|
© Canada Post Corporation |
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Maureen
Anne McTeer.
Born Ottawa, Ontario 1952.
She obtained her B.A. and married a young lawyer politician, Joe Clark.
She would balance her continued education to become a lawyer
with the challenge of having a daughter. She is an author and
journalist. She has her an interest in politics and has served on
numerous committees and even ran (unsuccessfully ) for a seat in Parliament.
She is also known for her involvement in charity work. She is the
National spokesperson for the Osteoporosis Society of Canada. |
| February
28 |
Meg
Luxton. Born 1946. She is a professor
in women's studies who co-founded the excellent Women's Studies Program
at the University of Toronto. She has served on various committees
including the National Action Committee on the Status of Women. Her
writings on the history of women include: More than a Labour
of Love : Three Generations of Women's Work in the Home . Check
out her books at your local library. |
| |
Rae
Dawn Chong.
Born Edmonton, Alberta 1962.
She began her movie career with a movie in which there was
no dialogue! Quest for Fire. (1981) Since then she has been
busy with 34 movie or television roles. |
| February
29 |
Yolande
Racine.
Born 1948. She studied art all the way through university
and worked her way through the profession as an art history researcher,
archivist, curator, and teacher, to become Curator and Head of the
Multimedia Programming, at the Musée d'art contemporain de Montreal.
She has contributed various writings and won the Award of Excellence
1988. |
| |
Sylvie
Daigle. Born Sherbrooke,
Quebec 1962. She began speed skating when she was 8 years old..
She would go on in her sport to win an Olympic gold medal at the Calgary
games 1988 in the 1500m event and sliver medals in the 1000m and 3000m
events. In the Albertville Olympic Games it was gold again,
this time as part of the short track relay event. The Lillehammer
Olympics would be a silver medal again in the relay. She is
also a student in medicine at l'Université de Montréal. |
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