Born September 28, 1935, Standard, Alberta. Died July 27, 2014, Victoria, British Columbia. Tove had a 30 year career in Canada’s Foreign Services working at embassies, consulates and High Commissions in such places as Copenhagen, Los Angeles, Singapore, Bonne, Seattle and Trinidad. She retired in 1995. She was a tough and determined woman who made an impact on our Canadian perceptions of the Indochinese refugees at a time when Canada was doing very little. It was Tove who first used the term “boat people”, in a report in which she had to distinguish them from the “land people” (mainly refugees from Laos and Cambodia) who came over land and over the Mekong River to Thailand. whenever she went to a refugee camp, she took photographs and attached them to her trip reports. Those photos were the first images we at HQ saw of the camps in Malaysia and Thailand, and they were always rushed up the chain of command to the minister. Her reporting itself was amazingly descriptive. In one case, she reported arriving at a camp that seemed to be close to the mainland but was cut off by a shallow body of water. She described her revulsion at the state of the water but said there was nothing for it but to roll up her pant legs, put her shoes and her briefcase on her head and wade though the muck to the island so that she could get on with her interviews. Sadly a search of the holdings at the National Archives of Canada has not located any copies of her reports. Source: Malloy, Mike “Tove Bording” in  CIHS (Canadian Immigration Historical Society) Bulletin Issue #71 October 2014. ; Obituary. Calgary Herald, August 14, 2014.

Born January 9, 1938. After her studies at the University of Ottawa she earned her teaching certificate and taught for many years. She was actively involved in the Association des enseignantes et des enseignants franco-Ontariens, as well as both the Ontario Teachers’ Federation and the Canadian Teacher’s Federation. She has served as president of the Liberal Party of Canada and the Ontario Liberal party. On June 3, 1999 she was the first Franco-Ontarian woman to be elected to Queen’s Park, the Ontario Provincial Parliament (riding of Ottawa-Vanier). She served from June to September as a Liberal and from 2001-2003 as an Independent. In 2004 she was awarded the Prix anniversaire by the Association des enseignantes et des enseignants franco-Ontariens for her service to the community. In 2006 she was included as one of the 100 personnalites franco-Ontariennes.  Sources: Women in Ottawa; Mentors and Milestones( accessed June 2011.)

née Parsons. Born September 4, 1929. Died August 30, 2011, Smith Falls, Ontario. Joyce married Lou Brennan and the couple had one son. In 1977 she was the 1st woman elected to the town Council of Smith Falls, Ontario.. She continued to be elected and served on council for 17 years. She was also a founding member of the Smith Falls Heritage House Museum and the Rideau Canal Museum. Sources: Obituaries, The Ottawa Citizen September 2011. ; Blair and Son Funeral Home, Smith Falls Ontario. Suggestion submitted by June Coxon, Ottawa.

Born May 1890, County Donegal, Ireland. Died February 15, 1961 Rosser, Manitoba. Evelyn emigrated to Canada in 1906 with her husband James Burns, and took up farming south of Carberry, Manitoba. The couple had one daughter in 1907. In  1911, she divorced her husband and moved to Rosser, where she became employed as Assistant Secretary-Treasurer in the office of the Rural Municipality of Rosser. In 1926, when Secretary-Treasurer Walter Beachell passed away, she took his job, becoming one of the first female municipal officers in the province. She died at her desk, having worked for the municipality for a total of 48 years. A member of the Rosser Anglican Church, she was known to be always ready to give a helping hand when needed.

Born May 20, 1944. In 1963 she married Mayer Wilfred Caplan and the couple have four children. After her studies a Centennial Community College, Toronto, Eleanor worked in real estate heading Eleanor Caplan and Associate from 1973-78. In 1978 she began a professional career in Politics becoming an alderman in the City of North York (now part of Toronto). In 1985 she left municipal politics to enter the provincial legislature as a Member representing a Toronto riding. While serving at the provincial level she held several cabinet appointments. From 1997 through 2003 she was elected to the federal parliament becoming parliamentary secretary to the minister of Health then being appointed Minister of Citizenship and Immigration from 199 through 2002 and then Minister of National Revenue. She is the first Jewish woman to have served  as a member in cabinets at a provincial and federal level. In 2005 she completed a review of Ontario Home Care Procurement Policy known as the Caplan Report. Since 2007 she has taught at the Canada School of Public Service and is strategy coach for Leonard Domino & Associates. She has also served on numerous boards of directors and completed a project fo the World Health Organization (WHO) She is Chief Executive Officer of Canada Strategies Inc.  Source: Brown, Michael, Eleanor Caplan” Jewish women: a Comprehensive Historical Encyclopedia. March 1, 2009 Jewish Women’s Archive Accessed August 2011.

née Sze. Born March 24, 1957, Hong Kong. The family immigrated to Canada in the 1970’s. After learning English as a teen she attended the Ontario College of Art and earned a B.A. at the University of Guelph in 1979. In the 1980’s while working at grass roots level for the New Democratic Party she was smitten with politics. She persuaded relentlessly the need for adequate and reliable child care for families where both parents worked. In 1985 she was elected as a school trustee. She worked with the Canadian Auto workers’ Union to develop a national Children’s Agenda to promote early childhood development and care services. In 1991 she became an elected Toronto City Councilor. In 1998 she was Toronto’s firs children and Youth Advocate which created a Toronto Youth Cabinet to give young people a voice. In 1999 she was City Police Commissioner. She also supported the Toronto Cycling Committee, the Toronto Public Library Board, the Woman’s Abuse Council ,  the Art Gallery of Ontario and the Toronto Transit Commission by being a member of committees and boards. . In 2006 she was elected as Member of Parliament to Ottawa from Toronto’s Trinity Spedina Ward. She was re-elected in 2008 and in 2011. In 2010 she was voted the best MP by Now Magazine and voted seven times best Toronto councilor. She has received the Consumer Choice Award as Woman of the Year . in 1988 she married  Jack Layton, Leader of the Canadian New Democratic Party. The couple have two children.

Born January 22, 1922, Toronto, Ontario. Died October 24 2011, Brighton, Ontario. . After High school she attended Western Technical Commercial School for business studies, graduating in 1938. During World War ll she enlisted in the Women’s Royal Naval Service (the Wrens) and in 1943 was posted in Halifax. She returned to Toronto at the end of the war, working clerical jobs. In 1956 after taking the Public Service exam she joined External Affairs of Canada and was headed for Cairo, and in two year stints she moved on to Poland, and a year in Kuala Lampur before returning to Ottawa. In 1965 she found herself serving in the Belgian Congo, and then Moscow , just at the height of the Cold War. She was certain that her apartment was bugged and that her housekeeper was likely KGB! In 1969 she was off to Laos as part of the Canadian delegation for the International Commission for supervision and Control to implement the terms of the Geneva Convention at the end of the Vietnam War.  She had an easier posting in London England before she found herself in Ottawa accepting a posting in Tehran. On Nov. 4, 1979, Iranian students loyal to the Ayatollah Khomeini occupied the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, taking 54 American diplomats hostage and setting in motion the 444-day Iran hostage crisis. Six Americans evaded capture and went into hiding in the residences of Ambassador Ken Taylor and John Sheardown, the head of the embassy’s immigration section. On Jan. 28, 1980, with the help of the CIA, the Canadians abetted the escape of the six U.S. diplomats. The convert Canadian Operation known as the “Canadian Caper”. The unflappable Laverna remained in Iran as an integral part of the embassy until the Americans were safely out of the country and the embassy was closed. The staff, including Laverna received the Order of Canada in recognition of the “Canadian Caper”. She retired in 1983, settling in Brighton, Ontario near family. Source: Remembering Laverna Dollimore a woman ahead of her time by Robert Wright. Ottawa Citizen November 4, 2011; She got more adventure than she bargained for in Tehran by Nora Ryell The Globe and Mail, December 13, 2011. Page R5.  Suggestion submitted by June Coxon, Ottawa.

nee Britt Born February 22, 1928, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.A.  Died December 14, 2016, St John, New Brunswick. Shirley’s parents were vising a cousin when she was born and the little family soon returned to Saint John, New Brunswick.  After graduating from high school she attended the New Brunswick Teachers’ College and the University of New Brunswick. As a Beaverbrook Scholar she was able to study at the University of London in England. She taught at her local high school and in 1967 she became a member of the local school board.  She married H. Eric Dysart and the couple had one son. In 1974 she became the woman of the Liberal party to win a seat in the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick,  a seat she held for 20 years, winning five consecutive elections. In 1976 she served on the Bi-Centennial Celebration Committee for the Province of New Brunswick. In 1985 she became the 1st woman to serve as interim Leader of the Opposition in the provincial legislature. In 1987 she was appointed Minister of Education, the 1st woman to hold the position. She introduced a province-wide Universal, full-day public kindergarten program. She also let community projects in St John including rebuilding of the Imperial Theatre. She was president of the Catholic Women’s League Council, President of the University of New Brunswick Alumni Council and was a active member of the Saint John Family Services and the Irish-Canadian Cultural Association. In 1991, Dysart was elected Speaker of the Legislative Assembly, the first woman to hold the position.  She received the 1992 Commemorative Medal for the 125th Anniversary of Confederation. She retired from politics in 1995. In 2000 she received a Red Cross Humanitarian Award. 2015 saw her named a Champion of Public Education by the national educational charity, The Learning Partnership.  In 20014 she became a Member of the Order of Canada.  In 2012 she received the Queen Elizabeth ll Diamond Jubilee Medal.

Born Sydney, Nova Scotia. From 1966 through 1970 Maryann practiced her profession as a registered x-ray technologist. She then decided to earn her BA at St. Mary’s University, Halifax, Nova Scotia. In 1972 she became a Human Rights Officer with the Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission. In 1974 she received the Silver Plaque from the NSHRC for outstanding contribution to her chosen filed. She took time to earn her Masters of Public Administration from New York University in 1984. From August 1999 through July 2006 she served as the firs woman permanent director of the Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission. In 2000 she became the first woman appointed as Nova Scotia’s Ombudsman. She was the first African Canadian woman to head the Ontario Woman’s Directorate, a government organization supporting and celebrating the achievement of women. She served in this position from 1994 through July 1997. In 2006 Maryann Frances was appointed the Lieutenant-Governor of Nova Scotia. Source: Office of Nova Scotia Lieutenant-Governor online. Accessed June 2011.

Born Montreal  After completing her Master of Art studies at McGill University in Montreal, she wrote the Foreign Service exam and joined the federal Department of External Affairs in 1968. She was posted to New York City and then to the Canadian Embassy in Washington, D.C. U.S.A. In 1976 she was married and unlike many Foreign Service women who married she remained at work. The couple knew that they might find themselves separated with different postings and accepted this fact.  When she became pregnant with her 1st child she also remained working even though this was not the norm. During her maternity leave she made double contributions to her pension fund and paid her own health insurance in order to make sure she would have a job to return to at the end of her leave. Foreign Service women did not return to their jobs after a birth but Ingrid chose to after the birth of both her children. In 1979 she served in the Philippines and then back to Ottawa where she worked towards obtaining her goal to be in charge of a post. She had to convince not only the powers at be in Ottawa but also the government of the place she would be posted. She wanted to serve in Indonesia and she had to convince this  Muslim, military and male dominated country. From 1989 through 1992 she was Ambassador to Indonesia in Jakarta. She was the 1st woman from any country to become ambassador to Indonesia. She set up an informal woman’s network for External Affairs and reveled in the fact that younger woman in the foreign service were having wider career opportunities. She also headed the Canadian Foreign Service Institute and worked on the domestic side of government in the Privy Council Office Machinery of Government. Ingrid  took up her current assignment as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Republic of Austria and Permanent Representative of Canada to the United Nations Organizations in Vienna in October 2001. She is the Chair of the Board of Governors  of the International Atomic Energy Agency for 2004-2005 is the Ambassador and Permanent Representative from Canada. Sources: Margaret K. Weiers, Envoys Extraordinary: Women of the Canadian Foreign Service. (Toronto; Dundurn, 1995);

Born 1862, Yorkshire, England. Died 1045, Toronto, Ontario.  Constance migrated to Canada in 1888 with her family. The family settled in Vancouver where Constance met and married  A Canadian Pacific Railroad manager, Lauchlan Alexander Hamilton (1852-1941). The couple were transferred first to Winnipeg and then in 1899 to Toronto. She was a staunch supporter of women’s suffrage and was President of the Equal Rights League of Toronto. She frequently represented Canadian Suffragists in other countries. She was an active volunteer with numerous associations including the Big Sisters  and the YWCA. She chaired the Toronto Branch of the National Refugee Committee and worked with the National Council of Women as chair of the Agricultural Committee. Once women had the right to vote and could run for municipal office she became the first woman elected to the Toronto City Council. She was sworn in on January 12, 1920 with no cameras to record the event and no mention in the mayor’s inaugural address. She was re-elected in 1921.  After two years in  public office she retired to continue her campaign work for the rights of women, underprivileged people, including immigrants and refugees to the city.  She also served on the board of Women’s Century Magazine.  In 1979 The Toronto City Council established an award in her name commemorating the Privy Council Decision of 1929 requiring the federal government to recognize women as “persons”. The women members of Toronto City Council select the recipient's) of the Constance E. Hamilton Award.  Source: City of Toronto online a (Accessed 2010) ; “Toronto Pioneer mostly forgotten” by Mark Mahoney, Toronto Star, March 10, 2007.

née Armstrong. Born 1900 Markdale, Ontario. Died May 23, 1998. After graduating university she attended the Ontario College of Education for her Bachelor of Education with the purpose of teaching languages at high school. She married George Hartman in 1938 and the pair settled in Sudbury, Ontario. On top of her teaching she supported community activities. In 1943 she was president of the Sudbury Women’s Canadian Club. In 1945 she became the first woman appointed to the Sudbury School Board. She was also on the Board of the YWCA, the Library Board, the Sudbury and District Home for the Ages, and the Sudbury Business and Professional Women’s Club. She was also president of the Ontario Municipal Association. She first ran for City Council in 1950 and served for 17 years as councilor. She was the first woman to be Deputy Mayor and October 5, 1966, after the death of the serving mayor, she was elected by her fellow Councilors as mayor presiding over the City’s Canada Centennial year. After the death of her Husband in 1960 she remarried in 1969 Arthur Grout. The couple retired to Toronto in the mid 1970’s. In 1975, International Women’s year she was designated one of Ontario’s 25 Leading Women.

Nora Frances Henderson

Born March 9, 1897, Bicester, England. Died March 23, 1949, Hamilton, Ontario. In 1913 Nora moved with her family to Winona, Ontario. And finally to Hamilton, Ontario in 1917. Thinking she wanted to try writing as a career in 1918, she took a portfolio to the Hamilton Herald where she would work as a reporter. In 1921, she was made Womens Editor and she urged local women to take an active interest in community political affairs. As a result, for the 1st time, in 1919, women were appointed to the Hamilton Hospital Board. In 1931, she became the 1st woman elected to Hamilton's City Council. In 1934 she became the 1st woman in Canada elected to a city Board of Control. In her first year as a controller she sponsored a meeting which created Charter of Municipal Rights. She chaired the Relief Board which acted as a court of appeal to decisions handed down by relief officials and often handed out civic relief deficiencies from her own pocket.  She was elected to city council 16 consecutive times. She headed the polls for Board of Control, becoming Acting Mayor during the mayor's absence. In 1946 she caused controversy when she crossed picket lines during the Stelco strike. In 1947, she retired to become Executive Secretary of the Association of Children's Aid Societies of Ontario. She authored a book, The Citizens of Tomorrow and a play Pageant of Motherhood. Up to 2006 Hamilton’s hospital was named in her honour. In 2008 the new Juravinski for $8.00 a week. Hospital created a Life of Service Display on the main floor for Henderson. She was inducted into the Hamilton Gallery of Distinction in 1990. In 2016 the Frances Henderson Secondary High School was opened. Source: thanks to Hamilton Public Library for information supplied. February 2016.

Anne Jones

Councilor, Hamilton, Ontario

née MacPherson. Born Edinburgh, Scotland. Anne married the Rev. Aubrey R. Jones and the couple settled in Hamilton, Ontario in 1949. She studied and graduated from the University of Toronto. By 1962, Anne had become an independent agent for the Canada Life Assurance Company and began 22 years of political life by topping the polls in her bid for an aldermanic seat in Ward 1, Hamilton, Ontario. She served on Hamilton's Board of Control and on July 31st, 1973, she was appointed as the 1st Chairperson of the Hamilton-Wentworth Region a position she maintained for 12 years. She stepped down in 1985. Shortly after leaving the Region's top job she became the Chairman of the Ontario Film Board. She retired after a three year term and went on to head a major fundraising campaign for Hamilton's YWCA. She is also a freelance writer. Anne was inducted into the Hamilton Gallery of Distinction in 1994.(2020)

Born April 3, 1898, Wainfleet Township, Ontario. Died December 29, 1991. She enjoyed playing hockey and sewing her own clothes all her life. Always active in her community she became an executive member of the Ontario Hospital Auxiliaries Association in the 1950’s. A liberal in politics she served as president of the National Federation of Liberal Women from 1959 through 1963. In 1967 she was appointed by Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson to the Senate of Canada. She served to 1973 when she retired at 75 years of age. Source: Obituary, New York Times, December 28, 1991; Senate of Canada Biographies Online (accessed July 2014)

Born January 3, 1912, Disraeli, Quebec. Died May 11, 2002. She studied music, literature, languages and sociology all preparing her to become a world class journalist. She was one of the early women to embrace her profession working in the 1940’s and 1950’s at Le Soleil in Quebec City. In 1959 she became one of the first women reporters at LaPresse in Montreal to have her name on mayor bylines not necessarily appearing on the Women’s Pages. From her interviews she wrote a book: L’histoire bouleversante de Monseigneur Charbonneau (Editions du jour, 1962) which was so popular it was the basis for a well accepted play. She was also a correspondent for Time and Life magazines as well as the CBC International Service. In 1965 she was Canadian Journalist of the year. In 1971 Prime Minister Pierre Elliot Trudeau appointed her to the Senate of Canada. She worked on Senate reform, old age security, bilingualism and the United Nations. Renaude became the frist Franco Canadian Woman to be speaker of the Senate in 1974 and only the second woman in the history of the Senate. She retired from the Senate in 1979. In 1989 she was appointed to the Order of Canada. Sources: Canada. Senate. Debates of the Senate. The Late Renaude Lapointe. Tuesday May 28, 2002. ; Women in Ottawa; Mentors and Milestones. Online Accessed August 2011.

Born in North Cobalt, Ontario, April 30, 1918. Died June 5, 2006, Ottawa, Ontario. Mary was a graduate of Ottawa University with a BA in political sciences in 1938 and a MA in 1948. She began work with the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company but soon signed up to serve with the Canadian Red Cross overseas between 1942 - 1945. After the war she joined the Canadian Government Department of External Affairs and followed future Prime Minister Lester Bowles Pearson (1897-1972) into politics serving as his executive assistant. Although she did not leave Ottawa often she did accompany Mr. and Mrs Pearson when he was presented with his Nobel Peace Prize. She was highly respected by her colleagues and other Members of Parliament. She continued working with Liberal Prime Minister Pierre Elliot Trudeau as his administrative assistant until her retirement in 1979. Mary was awarded the Order of Canada in 1980. In her retirement, Mary was involved with the Salvation Army, the Bronson Home, the Women's Canadian Club and the Zonta Club among others. She also worked with the Pierre Elliot Trudeau Foundation in its early days. Source: Jean Bannerman, Leading Ladies of Canada (Belleville, Mika Publishing, 1977); Obituary, The Ottawa Citizen June 6, 2008.

Born April 11, 1965 Seoul, Korea. Yonah immigrated to Canada with her family in 1972. In 1986 she had earned her B.A. at the University of British Columbia followed the next year with her Masters in Education. She proudly worked over twenty years as an educator. In 1990 she married Doug Martin and the couple have one daughter. In 2003 she co-founded a non-profit organization Korean Canadian C3, a community organization of volunteers who embrace cultural diversity and bridge Korean Canadian communities by providing cultural education and volunteer resources. She has also served on numerous boards and committees including: the Multicultural Advisory Council of British Columbia and the Canadian Paralympics Foundation. As an educator she is interested in mentoring youth and is actively involved with the Executive Mentorship Program of the Sauder School of Business at the University of British Columbia. In 12004 she received the Spirit of Community Award for Cultural Harmony and in 2009 she received the Order of Civil Merit Moran Medal from the Republic of Korea. She is the fire Korean Canadian Parliamentarian, appointed to the Senate by Prime Minister Stephen Harper.  Sources: C3Society.corg (accessed December 2011) ; Senate of Canada online (accessed December 2011)

Born 1895, Ottawa, Ontario. Died May 2, 1972. At 16, she and a friend founded the Equal Franchise Association, working to achieve the vote for women. Mary went on to study Law and was the 1st woman on the debating team at Osgoode Hall Law School. She was called to the Bar in Ontario in 1918. She became the 1st woman to practice law in the city of Ottawa. She was however disillusioned when she did not receive worthwhile cases  and she opened the Cloverleaf Dress ship and went on to be a retail buyer of clothing for a large Department store. The second woman lawyer in Ottawa arrived only in 1950. She married Albert Alphonse Fix in 1931. After her husband’s death in 1945 Mary began to show an interest in politics. She was an alderman in the Township of Toronto and in 1953 served as Deputy Reeve, then acting Reeve and from 1955 through 1958 she served as Mayor. In 1959 she became Warden of Peel County only to return to run successfully as Reeve in 1961. A park named in her honour was established in what is now Mississauga. Mary was also a founding member of the Toronto Township Historical Society, now Mississauga Heritage Foundation.   Source: Diversifying the bar; Law Society of Upper Canada online (accessed January 2013)

Born January 27 1911, Halifax Nova Scotia. Died February 25, 1999, Halifax, Nova Scotia. Margaret attended Normal School (Teacher’s College) and taught school from 1932 through 1942. She took the Foreign Service exam and became a pioneer Foreign Service Officer with the federal department of External Affairs. She served in Mexico and London England. October 22, 1958 she was the 1st woman appointed as a Canadian Ambassador and served in Israel. While serving as Ambassador to Austria in Vienna she became the 1st woman to chair a Board of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency. From 1969 through 1973 she served as ambassador to Sweden. In Kenya she became the 1st female Canadian High Commissioner and the 1st Canadian diplomat to live in Nairobi. 1973-4 she was the 1st woman from External Affairs to serve as Foreign Service Visitor at Dalhousie University, Halifax. In 1974 she received the Order of Canada. From 1984-1989 she was a trustee for the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design. She was a true pioneer in the Canadian Foreign Service and a valuable mentor for those who followed in the profession. Sources: Margaret K. Weiers, Envoys Extraordinary: Women of the Canadian Foreign Service. (Toronto; Dundurn, 1995); Blanche Margaret Meagher, Canadian Encyclopedia online (Accessed July 2015)

Born May 23, 1929, Sussex, New Brunswick. Brenda was a home economist and businesswoman with an interest in politics. In 1967, Brenda became the1rst woman elected to the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick. She was re-elected in 1970, 1974, 1978 and 1982. In 1970, this home economist from Riverview became the 1st woman appointed to the New Brunswick Cabinet. She served 1st as Minister of Youth, and later as Minister of Social Welfare, Minister of Social Services, Minister of Health, and Minister of Social Program Reform. She remained a Progressive Conservative MLA until her appointment to the Canadian Senate on December 21, 1984.She retired on May 23, 2004 with almost 20 years of federal service.  That same year she was made a Member of the Order of New Brunswick. In 2008 she was induced into the Order of Canada. Source: New Brunswick Advisory Council on the Status of Women, Celebrating Achievers; Behind Every Successful Woman Are All the Women Who Came Before Her., September 2002. Online (accessed January 2016)

Born February. 23, 1887, Vancouver British Columbia. Died October 12, 1953, Vancouver, British Columbia. She attended the University of British Columbia when it was connected to McGill University, Montreal. She left teaching to marry Frederick James Rolston in 1909 and raised a family of three children. Tilly worked closely with many associations and clubs including being  a director of the Vancouver-based Pacific National Exhibition, an Honorary President of the Women's Canadian Club, president of the Oratorio Society, Quota Club, and the Travel Women's Club. She was also the founding chairman of the Theatre Under the Stars, board member of the YWCA auxiliary and of the Vancouver Symphony Society. While a homemaker she continued her interest in politics and actually entered politics as an elected Progressive Conservative Member of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia in1941. In 1951 she sat as an Independent for the remainder of the session. She became a supporter of W.A.C. Bennett and in the 1952 B.C. election in Vancouver-Port Grey, she was elected as a Social Credit candidate and named education minister. She was the second woman in British Columbia to be appointed to the cabinet and the first woman in all of Canada to hold a specific portfolio. She was a staunch advocate education for every child.

née Benoit. Born April 26, 1922, Howell, Saskatchewan. Died January 26, 1993, Montreal, Quebec. The Benoit family moved to Ottawa when Jeanne was just a toddler. She attended the University of Ottawa earning her tuition by working as a government translator. While working in Montreal  Jeanne met Maurice Sauvé. The two were married on September 24, 1948. The couple would have one son. The young newly weds headed first to London England and then to Paris where Jeanne worked at the Youth Secretariat of UNESCO. In 1951 she attended university at the Sorbonne earning a degree in French Civilization. In 1952, while living in St Hyacinthe, Quebec Jeanne helped found the Institute of Political Research and began working as a broadcast journalist for the CBC. She earned a position in the male bastion of political journalism and from 1956-1963 she hosted her own television show, Opinions. In 1972 she ran for a seat in the House of Commons and became the 1st Quebec woman in a federal cabinet with the position of Minister of State for Science and Technology. She would later serve in cabinet positions in the environment and Communications. On April 14, 1980 she was appointed as 1st woman to be Speaker to the House of Commons. When television camera first came to record proceedings of the house, Sauvé was asked to put some blue colouring in her dazzling white hair which was too bright for television filming. Her time as Speaker was known for its cuts in expenses and for starting the 1st daycare for Parliament Hill. On May 14, 1984 Jeanne Sauvé was sworn in as the 23rd Governor General of Canada since confederation. She was the 1st woman to receive this position. She served in this position until 1993 fostering youth peace programs, creating the Governor General’s Award for Safety in the workplace and supporting nationalism. Upon retirement she established the Sauvé Foundation where she worked until her death. The Jeanne Sauvé Trophy is presented in World Cup Women’s Field Hockey. In 1994 Canada Post issued a postage stamp in her honour.

née Steele. Born July 12, 1934 Rivine, Ukraine (at that time Poland) She earned her BA from the University of Manitoba. She would marry Manitoba politician Sidney Spivak (1928-2002) and the couple would have 3 children. Prime Minister Brian Mulroney appointed her to the Senate of Canada November 17, 1986 representing Manitoba. February 3, 2004 she decided to sit in the Senate as an Independent rather than become a member of the new Conservative Party. By 2006 she was a supporter of the Green Party. She retired from the Senate at the mandatory retirement date of 75 years of age July 12, 2009.

Born 1879(?) Norwood, Ontario. Died October 9, 1961, Vancouver British Columbia. She studied at the University of Toronto. Married she quickly found herself a widow and moved to Vancouver in 1911. Seeking practical training she attended Sprott-Shaw Schools of Commerce, Radio and Telegraphy. In 1918 she married the school’s founder, Robert James Sprott. After his death in 1943, she became president of the school and went on to become the founder of West Coast Radio School. She was elected as a Vancouver alderman in December 1949. She was elected for additional terms serving the city until 1959. She was the 1st woman elected for three terms making her the longest serving woman council member in city history. She was also the 1st  woman to serve as acting mayor in September 1953. The Vancouver Hall of Fame reports that upon retirement she admitted to writing secret letters on council's behalf to those celebrating 50th and 60th anniversaries and 90th or 100th birthdays Source: Vancouver Hall of Fame online (Accessed November 2012)

Born Saskatoon Saskatchewan December 28, 1932. A professional businesswoman, Diane was elected to Canadian Parliament in Joe Clark Government of May 1979 – February 1980, where she was appointed as Parliamentary Secretary to Secretary of State, David MacDonald. She was the first woman of Greek-Canadian heritage elected to the House of Commons and the one of two women, the other was the Hon. Flora MacDonald, to sit in the Clark government. In 1992 Diane received the 125th Anniversary of Confederation of Canada Medal and in 1994 she was recognized with a Lifetime Women’s Achievement Award by the Toronto Greek Community. In 2009 she was proud to see her second son, David appointed a judge of the Federal Court of Appeal. Source: Canada Parliament. House of Commons.

Born Saskatchewan February 4, 1906. Died British Columbia August 15, 2005A mother and a farmers wife she understood issues facing rural Saskatchewan. When her husband became ill her interest in Politics reached fulfillment. At 16 she was teaching a rural one room schoolhouse. She would later not only attend teachers college but she would , as a mature student, earn her B.A. and B. Ed. At the University of Saskatchewan. While teaching she met and married Warner Strum on November 16, 1929. The had one daughter. At one time she travelled to New Zealand to see if it would provide a better living condition for her ill husband. The family remained in Saskatchewan. Gladys ran unsuccessfully to be a member of the provincial parliament in 1938 and 1944.. She did however go on to become the first woman president of the co-operative Commonwealth Federation C.C.F. party making her the first Canadian woman to be president of a political party in Canada. In 1945 she was elected Member of Parliament in Ottawa for Qu'Appelle, Saskatchewan, where she sat in the House of Commons with 244 male members. She was the first woman of the CCF. elected to the Canadian Parliament. She was defeated in the 1949 election and returned to teach in Saskatchewan. In 1952 the family moved to British Columbia in the hops of easing Warner’s health. In 1953 she ran for parliament but6 was again defeated. The family returned to Saskatchewan and Gladys became principal of a school in Uranium City. By 1960 she was an elected member of Provincial Parliament where she would vote on the famous Saskatchewan medical Act in 1962. She and her husband returned once again to British Columbia to be near their daughter and grandchildren in retirement.

Born March 31, 1937 Torino, Italy. Anna immigrated to Canada in 1966 and settled on the Canadian west coast.  She worked as an administrator of the British Columbia Police Commission prior to becoming interested to serve as a politician. From 1993 through 1997 she served as a member of the Canadian parliament representing Vancouver. She has worked as a community member of the National Parole Board and a full time member of the Immigration and Refugee Board. She was the first woman president of the Italian Cultural Society. In all she has served on over 40 boards, committees and commissions including: The United Way; Big Brother and Big sister; the Vancouver Centennial Commission; the Vancouver multicultural Society. She has served as editor of an Italian Canadian monthly newspaper and has worked as a broadcaster on Italian television. In 1988 she received the Order of Italy. In 1992 she received the 125 Anniversary of Confederation Medal. She has been the Italian Canadian of the Year and in 2000 she received the National Canadian Italian Award. In 2007 she was awarded the Italian Cultural Centre Society’s Immigrant of the Year.

Born London, England  November 10, 1927. Died May 17, 2008. She and her pilot husband, Douglas moved to Canada in 1954 and lived on Toronto Island in Ontario. Many of their crated processions were destroyed when Hurricane Hazel became a welcoming event to their new country. Later they would move to the greener areas of Scarborough Township on the eastern edge of Toronto. Joyce worked originally as a secretary at a secondary school and after working for her Your University degree part time she  became a teacher of typing and business at the school. She also was an ardent supporter of green spaces . Friends urged her to run for politics and in 1974 she became a local Scarborough controller. In 1988 she became Scarborough’s first woman mayor. A devoted and ardent worker for her home town, she retired in 1994 leaving a green space legacy in the Rouge River Valley. She travelled and enjoyed genealogy embracing computers for her hobby. She had conquered breast cancer in her 40’s and remained cancer free for 35 years! In 2007 doctor’s discovered a brain tumor and her health declined rapidly. Source: Obituary, Toronto Star…(accessed August 2008)

Cornelia Lucinda Wood

MP

Born India. She moved to Ottawa, Ontario in 1968. She is the firs woman PhD graduate in electrical engineering and the only woman in her 1973 graduating class at Queens University, Kingston, Ontario. In 1974 she joined the Canada Department of Communications (forerunner of Industry Canada) . Her 36 year public service career has been studded with recognition. She has received the Public Service Award of Excellence in 2011 for her contribution to telecommunications and to women in leadership. 1n 2003 she received the Queen Elizabeth ll Golden Jubilee Award as well as the Excellence in Leadership Award from Industry Canada. 2004 saw her as Canadian Woman of the Year in Communications for the Canadian Women In Communications. In 2005 she was included in too listing of Canada’s most Powerful Women as expressed by Canada’s Executive Women’s Network. That same year she was Professional Woman of the Year for the Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce. In 2008 she won the Sara Kirke Award recognizing her as Canada’s leading woman high Tech Entrepreneur from the Canadian Advanced Technology Alliance. In 2004 she was the first woman president of the Communications Research Centre which is an internationally-renowned agency of Industry Canada. She retained this position until her retirement in June 2011.  Always a mentor for women in the 1990’s she worked with groups concerned with violence against women and with high school girls sports teams. She is also a volunteer mentor with the Women’s Executive Network. Source: Canadian Women in Technology

Born August 21, 1947, Kangiqsaulujjuaq, Nunivak, Quebec. She was a member of a family of eight children brought up in Canada’s arctic region. Since her father was white, she and her siblings, by law, could not attend school after grade 6 so their became schooled at home by their father. All would graduate high school. May became an announcer and producer of Inuktitut radio and television programs for CBC Northern Services. She left the CBC to become Vice President and later President of the Makivik Corporation which was established to oversee proper implementation of provided resources for the Inuit peoples. In 1994 she became Canada’s first ambassador for Circumpolar Affairs and from 1999 to 2000 she was Ambassador to Denmark, the first Inuit woman in this type of diplomatic role. In 2005 she received an honourary degree from Trent University. In 1991 she became a member of the Order of Canada and in 2005 an officer of the order. In 1992 she received the Order of Quebec. She also holds the Gold Order of Greenland. In 2011 she became special advisor to the Labrador Inuit Association. She is also the founding Chair of the Arctic Children’s and Youth Foundation to ensuring access to higher education for all who seek it. Source: Mary May Simon; Canada’s first Ambassador for Circumpolar Affairs by Sierra Bacquie. Section15.ca accessed June 2011. ; Order of Canada website. Accessed June 2011.

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