Events listed relate to Canadian women with a few extra items added to give the timeline perspective.
This timeline is not all inclusive.
 



LAST UPDATED January 2022

Copyright © 1998-2024  Dawn E. Monroe. All rights reserved 

 ISBN: 0-9736246-0-4
DATES

EVENTS
1950 January 1, 1950 - Inuit people gain the right to vote but ballot boxes were not placed in northern communities until the 1962 federal election

1950 - 1953 - Women once again volunteer for military service when when Canada commits itself to the Korean War (1950-1953). More than 5,000 women serve  Source: National Defence and the Canadian Armed Forces, Fact sheet. Online (Accessed March 2014)

February 14, 1950 - Nancy Hodges (1888-1969) is appointed as Speaker of the House in the British Columbia legislature the 1st woman in the British Commonwealth to hold such a position 

1950 - Inuit Canadians are given the right to vote

March 1950 - several women’s organizations amalgamate to create the Congress of Canadian Women to lobby for equal rights for women in all aspects of life

1950 - Muriel McQueen Fergusson (1899-1997) is the 1st woman elected to the Fredericton City Council in New Brunswick and was the 1st woman deputy mayor in 1953

1950 - Mariss Scott-Louisy graduates from the St Joseph Hospital School of Nursing in Guelph, Ontario as one of the 1st Black graduates in nursing in Ontario. having paved the way for other Black nursing students.

1950 - The Canadian Press names Bobby Rosenfeld (1904-1969) as Top Female Athlete of the Half-century

1950 - Marion Orr (1918-1995) of Maple, Ontario begins her own flying school. During her career as a flight instructor she trained over 600 pilots Source: Women in Canadian History. Susan Merrwill  (accessed June 3, 2004)

1950 - Acclaimed engineer Dormer Ellis (1925 -  ) becomes the 1st woman professor of electrical engineering at Ryerson Institute of Technology, Toronto

1950 - Canadians invent the green garbage bag Source: Canuck Chicks and Maple Leaf Mamas by Ann Douglas Toronto, McArthur and Co., 2002. pg 18.

1950's - Poutine appears in rural Quebec snack bars. It was widely popularized across Canada by the 1990's. Poutine may be found anywhere from fine dining menus at top restaurants to fast-food chain menus. It has become an iconic symbol of Québécois cuisine and culture

Births 1950:
1950 - Born Linda R. Bull (1950-2015) internally acclaimed indigenous rights advocate
1950 - Born Cathy Kerr (1951-2004) social activist for the disabled
March 6, 1950 - Born Marlys Edwardh (1950-   ) lawyer who worked tirelessly to overturn wrongful convictions
March 16, 1950 - Born Kate Nelligan (1950-   ) actor
April 18, 1950 - Born Jane Austin (1950-   ) co-op, musician
April 25, 1950 - Born Joyce Ann C. Douthwright (1950-   ) champion basketball player
May 1, 1950 - Born Judith Shamian (1950-   ) internationally acclaimed nurse
June 13, 1950 - Born Judi Leinweber-Chapman (1950-   ) skier
June 17, 1950 - Born Cathy Sherk (1950-   ) champion golfer
June 25, 1950 - Born Barbara Gowdy (1950-   ) author
 July 12, 1950 - Born Barbara Astman (1950-   ) photographer & multimedia artist
July 19, 1950 - Born Karen Gay Kulyk (1950-   ) acclaimed artist & art gallery owner
July 20, 1950 - Born Tantoo Cardinal (1950-   ) acclaimed actor
July 23, 1950 - Born Belinda Montgomery (1950-   ) well respected support actress worked mainly in TV
August 14, 1950 - Born Katherine Edna Swinton (1950-   ) lawyer
August 21, 1950 - Born Margo Gwendolyn Kane (1951-   ) actor, singer, dancer, & playwright
August 25, 1950 - Born Heather Anne Elyse Lilian Munroe-Blum (1950-   ) 1st woman to serve as McGill University's President
September 8, 1950 - Born Lea Pool (1950-   ) award winning filmmaker
September 15, 1950 - Born Sheila Fraser (1950-   ) appointed Auditor General of Canada
September 20 1950 - Born Jocelyne Bourgon (1950-   ) 1st woman Clerk of the Privy Council and also Secretary to Canadian Cabinet
September 28, 1950- Born Catherine Robbin (1950-  ) mezzo-soprano
October 23, 1950 - Born Barbara Louise Jackman (1950-    ) immigration lawyer & Senator
November 2, 1950 - Born Wendy Lill Playwright (1950-   ) journalist, community development worker, historian, & MP
November 9, 1950 - Born Rachelle Halpenny (1950-2012) sport personality who saw no disability to entering the "Game"
November 22, 1950 - Born Linda Granfield (1950-   ) author
November 29, 1950 - Born Anne Goodman (1950-2013) educator
December 20, 1950 - Died Edith Rayside (1872-1950) World War 1 Nursing Matron

Deaths 1950:
1950 - Died Julia Arthur (1869-1950) international stage actor & movie star
1950 - Died Adeline Elizabeth Browning (1896-1950) social activist & one of first women to run for St. John's town council
1950 - Died Marion Coutts Carson (1861-1950) social activist in Alberta
1950 - Died Eleanor 'Ella' Johnson (1875-1950) journalist & 1st woman taxi driver in British Columbia
1950 - Died Mathilde Masse (1871-1950) second Quebec woman to become a doctor
February 19, 1950 - Died Sarah Reitman (1881?-1950) businesswoman and co-founder of Reitmans clothing stores
June 2, 1951 - Died Mabel Bruce-Evans (1878-1951) World War l Nursing Sister
June 25, 1950 - Died Janet Hall (1872-1950) indomitable early woman doctor
July 11, 1950 - Died Margaret Ellen Douglass (1878-1950) distinguished early woman doctor
July 13, 1950 - Died Marion Young Coutts Curson (1861-1950) activist in Calgary
July 29, 1950 - Died Alice  Massey (1880-1950) wife of Governor General Vincent Massey (1887-1967)
August 9, 1950 - Died Annie Norman Hennigar-Sanford (1873-1950) early woman rural doctor in Nova Scotia
October 8, 1950 - Died Annie Belle Alguire (1880-1950) physician, poet, & song writer
October 8, 1950 - Died Grace Bagnato (1891-1950) 1st Italian Canadian woman to become a court interpreter
 November 2, 1950 - Died Jane ‘Jennie’ Stewart Bloomfield (1861-1950) indomitable early women doctor
 December 20, 1950 - Died Edith Rayside (1872-1950) World War l Matron-in-Chief  of Nursing Sisters, O B E

 
1951
 		 January 1, 1951 - Indigenous women gain the right to vote in band councils as the Canadian government changes the Indian Act. 

1951 - All three services of the Canadian military begin to recruit women in the reserves Source: Women in the Military. The Canadian Encyclopedia Online  (accessed March 2005).

April 1, 1951 - Canada's Post Office now provides mail deliveries only once a day

June 12, 1951 - Women in the Northwest Territories gain the right to vote and to stand for office

July 3, 1951 - The 1st 80 recruited enlisted women in the Royal Canadian Air Force arrive at St Jean , Quebec for basic training Source: A Brief History. RCAF Women. www.rcafwomen.ca

 1951 - The Canadian Negro Women's Association is founded

1951 - The Ontario government passes the Female Employees Fair Remuneration Act requiring equal pay for women who do the same work as men Source: Shirley Tillotson, "Human Rights Law as a Prism: Women's Organizations, Unions, and Ontario's Female Employees Fair Remuneration Act, 1951," Canadian Historical Review (1991) 72#4 pp 532-557

 1951 - The Quebec government passes law that gives married women the power to exercise her civil rights in her own name rather than through her husband

1951 - Charlotte Whitton (1896-1975) is the 1st woman to become mayor of a major Canadian city, Ottawa

 1951 - Addie Aylestock becomes the 1st Black woman to be ordained as a Minster in Canada. Source: Black History Month (accessed May 2005)

August 16, 1951 - Winnie Roach-Leuszler (1926-2004) becomes the 1st Canadian woman to swim the English Channel (Information from her family)

October 2, 1951 - The 1st enlistees in the Woman's Division of the Royal Canadian Navy begin their training Source: “Doreen Nettie Paterson Reitsma”  by  Raymond Reitsma , The Vancouver Hall of Fame, online (Accessed December 2012.)

1951 - Hilda Ramsay, running for the C C F party, is the first woman candidate to campaign for a seat in the Prince Edward Island Legislative Assembly

November 12, 1951 - National Ballet of Canada is founded

1951 - The Canadian Press does not present the Bobbie Rosenfeld Award for Tope Female Athlete this year

1951 - Marlene Streit (1934-   ) champion golfer, is voted by the Canadian Press as winner of the Lou Marsh Award as Canada's Outstanding Athlete of the Year

Births 1951:
1951 - Born Cheryl Marlene Davidson (1951-1997) lawyer & judge in Manitoba
1951 - Born Meerlae Cho (1951 -  ) lawyer
1951 - Born Linda  Kay (1951-2018) Pulitzer Prize winning journalist & author
1951 - Died Edith Frances Macey (1886-1951) World War 1 Nursing Sister
1951 - Born Micheline Rawlins ( 1951 -  ) 1st Black woman appointed the bench in Ontario in 1992
 1951 - Born Jane Ash Poitras (1951-  ) aboriginal artist & painter
January 28, 1951 - Born Jennifer Hodge de Silva (1951-1989) acclaimed Black filmmaker
February 22, 1951 - Born Elaine Tanner- Watt (1951-   ) considered Canada's best competitive swimmer
February 24, 1951 - Born Helen Shaver  (1951-   ) actor & member of Canada's Walk of Fame
March 2, 1951 - Born Louise V. Charron (1951-   ) appointed to the Supreme Court of Canada on August 30, 2004
March 7, 1951 - Born Diane Helen Jones Konihowski (1951-   ) medal winning track star & recipient of the Order of Canada
March 12, 1951 - Born Susan, Musgrave (1951-   ) poet
March 25, 1951 - Born Ethel Blondwin-Andrews (1951-   ) 1st aboriginal  woman elected to Canadian Parliament & 1st appointed to Cabinet
March 28, 1951 - Born Karen Kain (1951-   ) prima ballerina.
May 6, 1951 - Born Louise Portal (1951-   ) award winning actor, author, & composer
May 1, 1951 - Born Nadia Kazymyra-Dzioba (1951-2023) archivist
May 7, 1951 - Born Janina Frakowska  (1951-   ) international renowned pianist
May 8, 1951 - Born Sylvie Belanger (1951-2020) multidiscipline artist
May 20, 1951 - Born Christie Marie Blatchford (1951-2020) award winning journalist, first woman sports columnist
June 4, 1952 - Born Maryann Kovalski (1951-  ) Illustrator for books
July 4, 1951 - Born Beverly Boys (1951-   ) champion diver in springboard & platform diving
July 5, 1951 - Born Marie M. Klawe (1951-   ) businesswoman
July 13, 1951 - Born Sheila M. MacQuarrie (1951-1988) champion rifle sharp shooter
July 19, 1951 - Born Elizabeth Jo-Anne 'Jo' Bannatyne-Cugnet (1951-    ) author of books for children & novelist.
August 5, 1951- Born Carole Laure, accomplished actor, director & producer of films.
August 23, 1951 - Born Bev (Beverly) Busson ( 1951-    ) 1st woman appointed Commissioner of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. (2006)
September 14, 1951 - Born Elizabeth Ann 'Liz' Carruthers (1951-   ) champion diver
September 17, 1951 - Born Sylvia Elizabeth Dockerill (1951-   ) champion swimmer
September 24, 1951 - Born Lorraine Pintal (1951-   ) actor, director, producer & playwright
October 5, 1951 - Born Wanda Koop (1951-   ) painter and visual artist
October 9, 1951 - Born Thelma Sonia Wright (1951-   ) medal winning track & field star
October 22, 1951 - Born Elizabeth Grace Hay (1951-   ) award winning author
November 11, 1951 - Born Wendy Irving-Dell (1951-   ) champion equestrian
December 3, 1951 - Born Linda Kay (1951-2018) author
December 13, 1951 - Born Anne-Marie Alonzo (1951-2005) playwright, novelist, poet, critic & publisher who was quadriplegic
December 22, 1951 - Born Judith 'Judy' MacPherson Crawford-Rawley (1951-   ) champion alpine skier

Deaths 1951:
1951 - Died Edith 'Daisy' Campbell (1871-1951) Nursing Sister and Matron World War l
1951 - Died Jane Constance Cook (1870-1951) Aboriginal rights activist in British Columbia
1951 - Died Flores (Florence) La Due (1883-1951) world champion trick & fancy roper, rancher
January 15, 1951 - Died Edith Frances Macey (1886-1951) World War l Nursing Sister
February 7, 1951 - Died Edna May Diefenbaker (1899-1951) wife of John George Diefenbaker (1895-1979) 13th Prime Minister  Note some sources report  birth date as 1901
February 25, 1951 - Died Mabel Helen Taylor-Lucas (1880-1951) World War 1 Nursing Sister
 March 11, 1951 - Died Daisy Amelia Hulse Roberts Wright (1866-1951) poet
May 19, 1951 - Died Effie Charlotte Storer (1867-1951) 1st woman journalist in the North West Territories
May 20, 1951 - Died Dorothy Greensmith (1890?-1951) lawyer, King's Council
June 4, 1951- Died Isabel Jaffares-Gibb (1895-1951) World War 1 Nursing Sister
June 17, 1951 - Died Sadie Iveson (1884-1951) teacher in Ontario
June 27, 1951 - Died Mary Alexander Bell Eastlake (1864-1951) artist
July 22. 1951 - Died Lola Bell (1885-1957) World War l Nursing Sister
August 23, 1951 - Died Anna Bernice Kilbourne-Cowell (1891-1951) World War l Nursing Sister
August 29, 1951 - Died Irene Gurney Evans (1870?-1951) cultural activist
October 5, 1951 - Died Francis Marion Beynon (1884-1951) journalist, editor, feminist, & social reformer
 December 31, 1951 - Died Sarah Evelyn 'Sadie' Drysdale (1865-1951) teacher in South African Boer War

 
1952 January 1952 - Status Indians gain the right to vote in Manitoba elections

1952 - The Public Service, which had previously fired  female workers upon their marriage, removes restrictions on married women working in the federal Public Service.

1952 - The province of Manitoba passes a law allowing women to sit on a jury

1952 - The Ontario Training Schools for Girls was established for young female offenders under the age of 16. the schools will close in 1960

1952 - Tillie Jean Rolston (1887-1953) is appointed the Minister of Education in British Columbia becoming the 1st woman to hold a provincial cabinet position with a portfolio in Canada. Women who had held provincial cabinet positions prior to this date were not given a specific portfolio

1952 - Elsie Knott, a member of the Ojibwa tribe, is the 1st Aboriginal woman elected chief

September 6, 1952 - Canada's 1st television station begin broadcasting in  Montreal and Toronto. CBC and Radio-Canada broadcast their 1st television show from Montreal, Quebec, this is followed in two days with broadcasts from Toronto, Ontario
September 8, 1952 - Laddie Dennis (1920-2009) is the 1st Canadian woman to appear on Canadian TV Source: Canadian Broadcast Museum Foundation (accessed March 2009)

1952 - The Canadian Press resumes votes Marlene Streit (1934-   ), winner of the Canadian Women's Closed Golf Championship, winner of the Bobbie Rosenfeld Award as Canada's Top Female Athlete of the Year

1952 - Ethlyn Trapp (1891-1972) is the 1st woman doctor to become head of the National Cancer Institute of Canada Source: Vancouver Hall of Fame (Accessed December 2012)

1952 - The Boys' and Girls' Clubs, originally founded in the Agricultural District of Waterloo, Ontario in 1915, change their name to 4-H Clubs
                My Head for clearer thinking
                My Heart for greater loyalty
                My Hands for larger service
                My Health for better living

1952 - Hanaka Muraoka, a Japanese woman who learned English at school and became a translator, published her translation in Japanese of Anne of Green Gables...Akage-no An (Red haired Anne) Source: Canadian Women Missionaries at Toyo Eiwa in Japan 1882-2006. Translated by Seiichi Ariga and Wayne Irwin. (Toyo Eiwa Jogakuin, 2012)

1952 - The first known recipe for Nanaimo bars appeared in the Women's Auxiliary of the Nanaimo Hospital Cookbook and was labeled chocolate square.

Births 1952:
1952 - Born Marsha Elaine Boulton (1952-  ) listed in the Canadian Who's Who as a shepherd & author
1952 - Born Carole Corbeil (1952-2000) author in both English & French
1952 - Born Cathy Crowe (1952-   ) street nurse and advocate for the homeless
1952 - Born Rosaline Delisle (1952-2003) ceramic sculptor
1952 - Born Marie Elizabeth DeYoung (1952-2022) librarian
1952 - Born Gabrielle Goudreau (1952 2006) author, lecturer & journalist
1952 - Born Susan Mabel Hare (1952-   ) one of the 1st aboriginal lawyers in Ontario 1995
1952 - Born Anne Leahy (1952-   ) career diplomat with Canadian Foreign Service
January 10, 1952 - Born Angela Grauerholz ( 1952-   ) internationally known photographer
January 19, 1952 - Born Alix Cleo Roubaud (1952-1983) Canadian photographer in France
January 20. 1952 - Born Ruth Elizabeth Borson (1952-   ) acclaimed poet
January 25, 1952 - Born Patricia Martens (1952-2015) science researcher
January 31, 1952 - Born Di Brandt (1952-   ) acclaimed poet
February 4, 1952 - Born Shirley Blumberg (1952-   ) acclaimed architect
February 19, 1952 - Born Constance Barbara Backhouse (1952-   ) educator & author in women's issues
February 27, 1952 - Born Maureen McTeer (1952-   ) author, journalist, lawyer & politician, wife to Prime Minister Joe Clark
March 11, 1952 - Born Norah McClintock (1952-2017) author of young adult fiction
March 19, 1952 - Born Jeanne Beker (1952-  ) journalist, TV broadcaster, fashion editor, author, & newspaper columnist
March 21, 1952 - Born Margaret Franssen (1952-   ) social activist for international women's rights
March 25, 1952 - Born Elizabeth Legge (1952-   ) artist & curator of fine arts
April 4, 1952 - Born Karen Magnusson (1952-   ) world champion figure skater
April 9, 1952 - Born Diana Zoe Coop (1952-   ) visual artist
April 11, 1952 - Born Indira Vasanti Damarasekera (1952-   ) award winning mechanical engineer
April 12, 1952 - Born Pearl Ester Isabella Elphnstone - Ellis (1952 -1987) WREN
April 14, 1952 - Born Hélène Pedneault (1952-2008) author, playwright, and feminist
April 22, 1952 - Born Kathy Stinson (1952-  ) outstanding author of books for children
May 13, 1952 - Born Mary Walsh (1952-   ) award winning actor, comedian, writer & role model
May 19, 1952 - Born Sarah Ellis, (1952-  ) author of books for children & youth
June 18, 1952 - Born Shirley Cheechoo (stage name Cactus Rose) (1952-   ) artist, actor, writer, director singer, & producer
July 5, 1952 - Born Susan Riva Bellan (1952-   ) import & retail executive & author
July 5, 1952 - Born Laurelea Vorna Conrad (1952-2009) artist & business C E O
July 25, 1952 - Born Linda Marie Giesbrecht (1952-2013) lawyer
August 15, 1952 - Born Jan Wong (1952-   ) journalist & author often reporting from or on China
August 31, 1952 - Born Carrie-Jo (C. J.) Taylor (1952-   ) artist & author of books for teens
September 17, 1952 - Born Nancy Margaret Reid (1952-   ) award winning statistician
October 4, 1952 - Born Angela Coughlan (1952-    ) champion freestyle swimmer
October 22, 1952 - Born Peggy Laurayne Baker (1952-   ) known for her modern dance.
November 27, 1952 - Born Jacqueline Guest (1952-   ) Métis Children's author.
December 11, 1952 - Born Goldie Semple (1952-2009) stage actor
December 31, 1953 - Born Sharon Anne Firth twin sister of Shirley (1953-   ) champion cross country skier
December 31, 1953 - Born Shirley Firth twin sister of Sharon (1953-   ) champion cross country skier.

Deaths 1952:
1952 - Died Arabelle "Belle"  Frances Patchen (   -1952) Northwestern pioneer
1952 - Died Anna M. Tilley (1872-1952) social worker, O B E
January 4, 1952 - Died Elizabeth Anne Mellinger (1870-1952) Titanic survivor
 January 5, 1952 - Died Pearl Brannick Patterson Ackeroyd (1894-1952) teacher
January 9, 1952 - Augusta Edith Ariss (1871-1952)  Nurse & Deaconess, Methodist Church, Founder Nursing School, Grand Falls, Montana, U.S.A.
January 23, 1952 - Died Anna "Annie" Jamieson (1871-1952) education activist
 April 8, 1952 - Died Alice Evelyn Thorn-Morrison (1890-1952) medical doctor and businesswoman
April 9, 1952 - Died  Harriet Tremaine Meiklejohn (1876- 1952) World War l Nursing Sister & acclaimed nursing administrator
April 12, 1952 - Died Margaret May McWilliams (1875-1952) author & founder, Canadian Federation of University Women
May 12, 1952 - Died Lillian Margaret Hendrie (1870-1952) teacher & author
May 25, 1952 - Died Irene Louise Sharpe (1890-1952) World War 1 Nursing Sister
June 22, 1952 - Died Emma Gendron (18951952) journalist, playwright, screenwriter, & author
July 16, 1952 - Died Catherine 'Kate' Motherwell (1866-1952) educator
September 14, 1952 - Died Josephine 'Jo' Belle Peters (1989-1952) early public health nurse
November 3, 1952 - Died Minnie Julia Beatrice Campbell (1862-1952) social activist & prominent volunteer
 
1953 January 1, 1953 - National Library of Canada is established in Ottawa

January 9, 1953 - Marguerite Pitre is the last woman hanged in Canada. She was sentenced to death for her role in the bombing of a passenger airplane Source: Canada’s History December 2011-January 2012 page 11.

January 1953 - 5 women, including Mrs. Irvin McLean are the 1st women to serve on a jury in Ontario Source: Cochrane Northland Post January 22, 1953. pg.2.

July 13, 1953 - Stratford Festival opens under a tent for its 1st season

July 27, 1953 - Korean conflict ends

1953 - The Canadian government passed the Fair Employment Practices Act to help end discrimination in the labour force

1953 - Vitamin D is now added to milk

1953 - There are 3,133 women enlisted in the RCAF Source: A Brief History. RCAF Women.

1953 - Nancy Hodges becomes the 1st woman senator in British Columbia's legislature  Source: British Columbia Federation of Labour. 

1953 -  Stella Panarites (1924-1986) is the 1st woman lawyer of Greek Heritage to be called to the bar in Ontario Source: Diversifying the bar: Lawyers Make history. Law Society of Upper Canada Online

1953 - Canada's Outstanding womens Athelete of the year was Ernestine Russell Weaver, (1938-   ) Champion Gymnast. (Also won this title for 1954 & 1955)

1953 - Frances Dafoe (1929 -   ) and her skating partner Norris Bowden (1926-1991)  are the 1st Canadians to win a World Pairs Skating title Source: Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame Online (Accessed January 2013)

1953 -  The Canadian Press votes Marlene Streit (1934-   ) winner of the British Ladies Amateur Gold Championship, as the winner of the Bobbie Rosenfeld Award as Tope Female Athlete of the Year for the second year in a row

1953 - Simpson's Department Stores merges with American Sears and the 1st Simpson's Sears catalogue is issued. Source: Before e-commerce : a history of mail order catalogues  (Accessed December 15,2004.)
1953 - Woodward's Catalogue, a tradition in Western Canada, closes & assets are purchased by the Hudson's Bay Company Source: Before e-commerce : a history of mail order catalogues  (Accessed December15, 2004.)

Births 1953:
1953 - Born Shari Andrews (1953-  ) writer & poet
1953 - Born Bonnie Brooks (1953-   ) businesswoman and former CEO Hudson Bay Company
1953 - Born Micheline Charest (1953-2004) business woman in animation industry
1953 - Born Rachna Gilmore (1953-   ) author of books for children & youth
1953 - Born Roberta Jamieson (1953-   )1st aboriginal & 1st woman Ontario Ombudsman, Chief of Six Nations, Grand River
1953 - Born Catherine Kim McArthur(1953 -   ) head of McArthur & Company Publishers
 1953 - Born Helen R. Pierce (1953-   ) appointed to the Supreme Court of Justice, Thunder Bay, & may be the 1st Métis  judge in Ontario
1953 - Born Tricia Jeanne Trepanier (1953-2011) civil servant
January 30, 1953 - Born Patricia Kim Alletson (1953-   ) medal winning figure skater
February 12, 1953 - Born Linda Pauline Griffiths (1958-   ) actor & playwright
February 27, 1953 - Born Libby Davies (1953-   ) provincial & federal politician
March 10, 1953 - Born Debbie Brill (1953-   ) medal winning track and field star who has been awarded the Order of Canada.
March 10, 1953 - Born Jacqueline Gareau (1953-   ) 1st Canadian women to win the Boston Marathon
March 10, 1953 - Born Hélène Madeleine Grégoire (1953 -   ) champion water skier
April 12, 1953 - Born Paddy Tutty (1953-   )  musician & singer of Celtic music
April 18, 1953 - Born Louise Bernice Halfe, (1953-    ) aboriginal author & poet
 May 2, 1953 - Born Susan Violet Groves (1953-2016)  military pharmacist
May 21, 1953 - Born Kathleen O’Day Wynne (1953-   ) 1st openly Lesbian provincial cabinet minister in Canada and 1st LBTQ Premier of Canadian province
June 17, 1953 - Born Beverly 'Bev' Cameron (1953-   ) champion in the sport of curling
July 9, 1953 - Born Margie Gillis ballerina (1953-  ) cultural ambassador, appointed to the Order of Canada
July 12 1953 - Born Debbie Muir (1953-   ) national award winning coach of synchronized swimming
July 13, 1953 - Born Milica "Mila" Mulroney ( 1953-  ) wife of Prime Minister Brian Mulroney (1939 -   )
July 31, 1953 - Born Sylvie Fortier (1953-   ) champion synchronized swimmer
August 1, 1953 - Born Wanda Thomas Elaine Bernard (1953-   ) 1st Black Canadian to have academic tenure & become a full professor at Dalhousie University
August 8, 1953 - Born Miriam Alleyne Priscilla Renouf (1953-2014) archeologist
August 14, 1953 - Born Jennifer Marie Diachun-Palmer (1953-    ) champion gymnast
August 14, 1953 - Born Debora Turney Zagwyn (1953-   ) author & illustrator
August 15, 1953 - Born Rhea Tregebov (1953-   ) award winning author & poet
September 1953 - Born Anne Laurel Carter (1953-   ) author of books for youth.
September 5, 1953 - Born Valerie Pringle (1953 -   ) radio & TV broadcaster & philanthropist
September 9, 1953 - Born Deanne 'Dee' Brasseur (1953 - ) 1989 she & Captain Jane Foster became the 1st  women fighter pilots in the world
October 5, 1953 - Born Rosemary McCarney (1953-   ) activist & author of books on children's rights
October 15, 1953 - Born Elizabeth Anne 'Betsy' Clifford (1953-   ) champion alpine skier
October 18, 1953 - Born Janet Ecker (1953-   ) politician
November 1953 - Born Wendy Duggleby (1953-   ) Queen Elizabeth ll Jubilee Medal holder
December 2, 1953 - Born Sheila Watt-Cloutier (1953-  ) champion against persistent organic pollutants
December 31, 1953 - Born Shirley Firth (1953-2013) Métis Olympic medal winning cross country skier
December 31, 1953 - Born Sharon Firth (1953-   ) Métis Olympic medal winning cross country skier


Deaths 1953;
1953 - Died Helena Jane Coleman (1860-1953) journalist & novelist
1953 - Died Sara Mary Lynch-Stanton (1864-1953) western Canadian pioneer & artist
1953 - Died Rosetta Amos Richardson (1857-1953) early Black woman entrepreneur
1953 - Died Martha 'Mattie' Jane Warner (1850-1953) Black pioneer of Saskatchewan
January 26, 1953 - Died Isabelle McTavish (1881-1953) Presbyterian medical missionary to China
February 21, 1953 - Died Janet Wishart Carter (1870-1953) renowned educator in Ontario
February 28, 1953 - Died Constance Wilson Samuel (1908-1953) international champion figure skater solo and pairs.
March 13, 1953 - Died Elizabeth Bell Ross (1878-1953) World War 1 Nursing Sister
March 15, 1954 - Died Florence C. Casler (1869-1954) developer and builder
 April 3, 1953 - Died Mary Foster Bliss (1882-1971) World War l Nursing Sister
May 7, 1953 - Died Nellie Lyle Pattinson (1878-1953) educator & author of Canada's 1st mass produced cookbook
May 11, 1953 - Died Jean Adair (1873-1953) movie actor
May 26, 1953 - Born Maureen Adele Crowley (1953-   ) champion in track & field
June 6, 1953 - Died Mary Elizabeth Crawford (1876-1953) indomitable woman doctor
July 28, 1953 - Died Florence Livesay (1874-1953) journalist & poet
October 8, 1953 - Died Helen MacMurchy (1862-1953)1st woman doctor to intern at Toronto General Hospital
October 12, 1953 - Died Pearl Beatrix Foley ( ? - 1953) author
October 12, 1953 - Died Tilly Rolston (1887-1953)  2nd woman in British Columbia to be appointed to the cabinet & 1st woman in Canada to hold a specific portfolio
November 1953 - Died Arthamise Fortin (1879-1953) pioneer of Northern Ontario
December 3, 1953 - Died Partial Edith Fanny Kirk (1858-1953) water colour landscape artist
December 11, 1953 - Died Dr. Jennie Wildman (1863-1953) established the Department of Gynecology at the Women’s College Hospital
 December 16, 1953 - Died Rebecca (Becky) Buhay (1896-1953) radical political organizer.
December 18, 1953 - Died Eva Finkelstein Abremovich ( 1877-1953)1897 graduated as one of the 1st Jewish person from Manitoba College.
 December 31, 1953 - Born Shirley Firth-Larson (1953-2013) medal winning Olympic cross country skier

 
1954 January 1, 1954 - Status Indians gain the right to vote in Ontario elections

June 7, 1954 -  The Canadian government declares Onésime Dorval (1845-1932) the 1st certified teacher in the Red River District a Person of National Historic significance Source: Dorval, Onésime (1845-1932) Encyclopedia of Saskatchewan. Online (Accessed May 2014)

1954 - The province of New Brunswick passes a law that allows women to sit on a jury

1954 - The Quebec government passes a law allowing a wife to seek separation from her husband on the simple grounds of adultery

June 2, 1954 - Violet Pauline King Henry (1929-1982) becomes the 1st Black woman lawyer in Canada

September 9, 1954 - Long distance swimmer, Marilyn Bell (1937-   ) becomes the 1st person to swim across Lake Ontario, a distance of 51 km. The Canadian Press votes Marilyn winner of the Bobbie Rosenfeld Award as Top Female Athlete of the Year for 1954 & the Lou Marsh Trophy as Canada's Overall Top Athlete of the year
1954 - Olivia Poole (1889-1975) a mother of seven children who lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, invents the Jolly Jumper.  The device can be hung in any doorway and the baby is safely harnessed in such manner as to allow exercise and fun with bouncing Source : Canuck Chicks and Maple Leaf Mamas : women of the Great White North by Ann Douglas Toronto, McArthur and Co., 2002.

1954 - Canada's Outstanding Womens Athlete of the year was Ernestine Russell Weaver (1938-   ) champion Gymnast (Also won this title for 1953 & 1955)
 

1954 - Frances Dafoe (1929 -    ) & skating partner Norris Bowden (1926-1991) win the World Pairs Skating competition for the 2nd year in a row. They also hold 1953-1956 the North American Championship titles   Source: Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame Online (Accessed January 2013)

1954 - St John's General Hospital in Newfoundland names its new nurse's residence after pioneer nursing educator, Mary Southcott (1862-1943) Source : 100 Canadian Heroines: Famous and Forgotten Faces by Merna Forester. Toronto : Dundurn Press, 2004.

1954 - General Electric introduces the portable home dishwasher Source : Canuck Chicks and Maple Leaf Mamas: women of the Great White North by Ann Douglas Toronto, McArthur and Co., 2002.  pg 18

1954 - Swanson and Sons introduced the TV Dinner Source: Canuck Chicks and Maple Leaf Mamas by Ann Douglas Toronto, McArthur and Co., 2002. pg 18.

Births 1954:
1954 - Born Janice Acoose (1954-2020) journalist, author, filmmaker & professor
1954 - Born Gillian Chan (1954-    ) author of books for youth
1954 - Born during winter seal hunt Rosemarie Kuptana (1954 -   ) social Activist & Native Leader, Officer, Order of Canada
1954 - Born Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch (1954-   ) author of books for youth
1954 - Born Denise Robert (1954-   ) multi award winning film producer
January 6, 1954 - Born Judith 'Jude' Marian Johnson (1954-   ) jazz singer & social activist for children & arts
January 9, 1954 - Died Katherine Skead-Bell (1864 1954) community activist
January 23, 1954 - Born Carole Lavallée (1954-2021) member of the Canadian parliament
February 2, 1954 - Born D. J. McCawley (1954-   ) Canadian lawyer & judge
February 21, 1954 - Born Katherine Heinrich (1954-   ) educator
March 4, 1954 - Born Catherine O'Hara (1954-   ) comedienne, actor of stage & film 
April 6, 1955 - Born Catherine 'Cathy' Theresa Mary Andrea Jones (1955-   ) actor & comedienne from CODCO and This Hour has 22 Minutes
July 15, 1954 - Born Allison Brewer (1954-   ) Gay rights activist & politician
September 20, 1954 - Born Judith Claire Francesca Marie Bernadette Thompson (1954-   ) award winning playwright
September 22, 1954 - Born Nicole Juteau (1954-   ) 1st woman police officer in the Province of Quebec
October 18, 1954 - Born Lesley Elizabeth Harris (1954-   ) champion badminton player
October 19, 1954 - Born Cynthia Lai (1954-2022) Asian Canadian municipal councilor
December 6, 1954 - Born Janis Elaine Lockwood (1954-2020) social activist
December 12, 1954 - Born Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch (1954-   ) writer of books for young readers


Deaths 1954:
1954 - Died Kathleen Barrett Blanchard (1872-1954) music historian
1954 - Died Thyrza Young Burkett (1884-1954) artist & playwright
 1954 - Died Phyllis Carlisle (1912-1954) architect
1954 - Died Ada Victoria Cuddy-Morgan (1887-1964) World War l Nursing Sister
1954 - Died Rachel Fogerty (????-1954) World War l Nursing Sister
1954 - Died Mary Riter Hamilton (1873-1954) artist of World War l European battlefields
February 13, 1954 - Died Agnes Macphail (1890-1954) a founder of the Elizabeth Fry Society & 1st woman elected to the Canadian  parliament
 February 15, 1954 - Died Born Nance Ann Rodger Chenoweth (1873-1954) indomitable early woman doctor
March 23, 1954 - Died Stella May Jenkins (1881-1954) World War l Nursing Sister
April 2, 1954 - Died Gertrude Ethel Comerford-Durling (1892-1954) World War 1 Nursing Sister
April 14, 1950 - Died Inezlie Beryl Gray (1907-1950) author & playwright
April 18, 1954 - Died Winifred Eaton (1875-1954) A.K.A. Onoto Watanna, 1st known author of Asian descent to have works published in America
May 15, 1954 - Died Sarah Ann ‘Annie’ Gray Caswell (1873-1954)  journalist & novelist
May 27, 1954 - Died Alice Ravenhill (1859-1954) social activist & author
 June 19, 1954 - Died Meta Holt (1882-1954) Nursing Sister World War l
 July 5, 1954 - Died Ray/Rae Lewis A. K. E. Ray/Rae Levinsky (1893-1954) performer, poet, & scriptwriter
 August 6, 1954 - Died Emilie Dionne (1934-1954) one of the Dionne quintuplets
August 20, 1954 - Died Clara McLeod (1875-1954) World War l Nursing Sister
 September 26, 1954 - Died Minnie Alice McDonald (1878-1954) indomitable early woman doctor
 November 26, 1955 - Died Isabella 'Belle' Mary Abbott-Plummer (1890-1955) painter
November 29, 1954 - Died Isabella Smith Wood (1873-1954) indomitable early woman doctor
December 23, 1954 - Died Edith Effie Lumsden (1875-1954) World War 1 Nursing Sister
 
1955 1955 - Restrictions on the employment of married women in the federal public service are removed

 1955 - The Canadian Army and Navy begin to recruit women for regular services not just reserves. By 1955 more than 5,000 women are serving  Source: National Defence and the Canadian Armed Forces, Fact sheet. Online (Accessed March 2014)

1955 -The Ontario government amends its Mothers Allowance legislation to include unwed mothers

1955 - The Ontario Women’s Treatment Center is established for the treatment of alcoholism, drug addiction & psychiatric disorders. It would become by 1965 part of the Mercer Complex in Brampton, Ontario

1955 - Lucille Teasdale-Corti (1929-1996) is the 1st woman in Québec to receive a diploma as a surgeon Sources: Dr. Lucille Teasdale. Canadian Medical Hall of Fame Online (accessed 2005) ; Lucille Teasdale. The Canadian Encyclopedia Online (Accessed 2005) ; Dawson, Joanna and Beverly Tallon. “Helping Heroes: Canadians who made a difference in the world.’ In Canada’s History February- March 2013

1955 - Margaret Gee is the 1st Chinese Canadian woman lawyer to be called to the bar Source: Canadian Chinese National Council. Moments of Chinese Canadian History.  (accessed July 7, 2003)

1955 - The Canadian Press votes Marilyn Bell (1937-   ), the youngest person to swim across the English Channel, as the winner of the Bobbie Rosenfeld Award as Tope Female Athlete of the Year for the second year in a row

 1955 - Canada's Outstanding Female Athelete of the year was Ernestine Russell Weaver, (1938-   ) a champion gymnast (Also won this title for 1953 & 1955)

1955 - Elizabeth 'Beth' Whittall (1936-2015) a champion and Olympic swimmer is voted by the Canadian Press winner of the Lou March Trophy as Canada's Overall Athlete of the year

1955 - The Canadian Labour Congress is established

1955 - The Canadian Sports Hall of Fame is established in Toronto 

1955 - Abby Hoffman (1947-  ) wants to play hockey. In order to play she has to cut her hair short and play as a boy. All went well until the all-star game when players had to submit birth certificates! Abby became an overnight sensation & other girls soon appeared to try out for boys hockey teams! Source: Women's Hockey - backcheck; a hockey retrospective. Library and Archives Canada  (accessed January 27, 2006)

1955 - Frances Dafoe-Mellick (1929-   ) & Norris Bowden (1926-1991) pairs skating champions are inducted into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame Source: Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame Online (Accessed January 2013)

1955 - The Women's Canadian Historical Society of Ottawa allows male members and changes its name to Ottawa Historical Society

 Births 1955:
1955 - Born Brenda Chapman (1955-  ) author of mystery stories for youth
1955 - Born Miriam 'Mern' Coveny (1955-2022) first Captain of Women's National Hockey team
 1955 - Born Sigrid Dahle-Kusch (1955?-2020) visual art curator
1955 - Born Sarindar Dhaliwal (1955-   ) artist & feminist of Sikh descent
1955 - Born Dawn Elliot (1955-2005) social activist
1955 - Born Dorothy Grant (1955-    ) fashion designer
1955 - Born Andromache Karakatsanis (1955-   ) appointed to the Supreme Court of Canada 2011
1955 - Born Kathy Knowles (1955 -   ) lay librarian & social activist
1955 - Born Debbie Palmer (1955-    ) social activist for wives of polygamous marriages
1955 - Born Rachel Elizabeth Proulx (1955?-2012) Northern Ontario social activist
1955 - Born Barbara Spohr (1955-1987) photographer
1955 - Born Marie Uguay (1955-1981) poet
January 10, 1955 - Born Eva Qamaniq Aariak (1955-   ) second premier of Nunavut
February 1, 19555 - Born Donna Brown (1955 -  ) internationally acclaimed soprano
February 10, 1955 - Born Brenda Clark (1955-   ) illustrator of Franklin the Turtle books
 February 10, 1955 - Born Jeannie Thib (1955-2013) artist
February 18, 1955 - Born Donna-Marie Gurr (1955-   ) Olympic swimmer
February 28, 1955 - Born Rebecca Gail Cowan (1955-  ) artist
March 9, 1955 - Born Marilyn C. Bodough (1955-   ) businesswoman & motivational speaker,  a member of the 2996 Canadian & World Championship curling teams.
March 11, 1955 - Born Leslie G. Cliff (1955-  ) world  medalist  in swimming
March 26, 1955 - Born Annette Mangaard (1955-   ) filmmaker.
April 12, 1955 - Born Claire Samson (1955-   ), businesswoman in communications and broadcasting
May 14, 1955 - Born Mercedes Tharam Richards (1955-2016) astronomer
May 19, 1955 - Born Sue Holloway (1955-   )  Olympic skier & Kayak racer
May 25, 1955 - Born Shelley Harding Smith (1955-2019) electrician & advocate for women in skilled trades
May 26, 1955 - Born Louise Bédard (1955-  ) renowned dancer on stage, TV & movies
June 15, 1955 - Born Glenda Reiser (1955-2008) medal winning middle distance runner
June 19, 1955 - Born Renée Elaine Elio (1955-   )  professor and author in the field of computer sciences.
July 17, 1955 - Born Geneviére Cadieux(1955-   ), photographic artist.
August 12, 1955 - Born Jane Siberry (1955-  )  a singer who owns her own record label.
August 17, 1955 - Born  Manitok Thompson (1955-   ) teacher and Inuklitut programs specialist & M P P Northwest Territories.
August 19, 1955 - Born Beverly 'Bev' Faye Desjardins (1955-2018) member of the Canadian Parliament
September 3, 1955 - Died Bertha Maud Maria Weston Price (1872-1955) author of legends of Quebec & poet
November 7, 1955 - Born Shirley Rose Elkhard (1955-2022) musician and songwriter
October 13, 1955 - Born Teresa Toten (1955-  ) writer
October 15, 1955 - Born Kristine Winder (1955-   ) model

Deaths 1955:
1955 - Died Mary Margaret "Margery" Brooker (1901-1955) 1st woman appointed School Inspector for the Virden District , Manitoba, the 1st Canadian women to hold such a position.
1955 - Died Mabel Priscilla Penery French (1881-1955) 1st woman lawyer in New Brunswick.
1955 - Died Katherine McMillan Martin (1891-1955) World War 1 Nursing Sister
1955? - Born Geralyn Wraith (1955?-2018) makeup artist
January 1, 1955 - Died Victoria Cartier (1867-1955) pianist, organist and teacher
January 11, 1955 - Died Henrietta Tuzo Wilson (1873-1955) 1st Canadian born woman mountaineer.
February 1, 1955 - Died Clara Jennings Melville Hays (1859-1955) Titanic survivor
February 8, 1955 - Died Mary Bernadette McCarthy (1881-1955) indomitable early woman doctor
March 11, 1955 - Died Katherine 'Kate' Clare Montgomery (1889-1955) World War l Nursing Sister
March 13, 1955 - Died Mary Walker Dobson (1871-1955) teacher who received King’s Coronation Medal 1937
March 24, 1955 - Died Fanny Helen Leech Felker-Faucault (1875-1955) pianist in British Columbia until the 1940's
March 24, 1955 - Died Millie Isaacs (1880-1955) business woman & community activist in Saint John
April 1, 1955 - Died Margaret Parks (1876-1955) indomitable early woman doctor
April 10, 1955 - Died Sara "Sadie" Ann Stringer ( 1869-1955) Anglican Church Missionary to the Canadian Northwest
 April 20, 1955 - Died Mary Hagen Conquest (1873-1955) 'The Red Cross Lady' of Alberta
April 30, 1955 - Died Mary 'Molly' Mackenzie-Smith (18671955) doctor & medical missionary
May 18, 1955 - Died Emilie Musgrave Boswell (1886-1955) early journalist with the Winnipeg Tribune
May 27, 1955 - Died Margaret May McAlpine (1878-1955) indomitable early woman doctor
May 27, 1955 - Died Hannah Emily Reid (1870-1955) early woman doctor
 July 24, 1955 - Died Lucy Ann Gordon (1867-1955) nurse & midwife P E I
September 4, 1955 - Died Violet Irene Guymer (1885-1955) first Canadian women funeral director
September 14, 1955 - Died Alice Ann Holling (1867-1955) suffragist
December 28, 1955 - Died Pearl Hart (1871-1955) woman stagecoach robber
 
1956 1956 - The Canadian government passes the Federal Equal Pay legislation in an attempt to provide equality in pay for men and women. However there is still a long way to go for pay equity

January 11, 1956 - Ann Shipley  (1899-1981) is the 1st woman to move acceptance of the Speech from the Throne in the House of Commons Source: Bob Bowman,  Dateline: Canada. Toronto: Holt Rinehart and Winston of Canada, Ltd., 1973.

1956 - The federal government passes law granting women equal pay for  doing "identical or substantially identical" work as men

 1956 - Lucille Wheeler  (1935-   ) wins a bronze medal in the Olympics, the 1st ever Canadian Olympic ski medal.
         - Frances Dafoe (1929-   ) & Norris Bowden (1926-1991) win a Silver Olympic medal in Pairs figure skating.

1956 - Irene  MacDonald (1933-   ) wins Canada’s 1st Olympic diving medal, a bronze, in Melbourne, Australia.

1956 - Ernestine Russell Weaver (1938-    ) becomes the 1st Canadian Woman to participate in Gymnastics in the  Games in Melbourne, Australia

1956 - Marlene Streit (1934 -   ) wins the U.S. Amateur Women's Golf Open Tournament & the Canadian Press votes her winner of the Bobbie Rosenfeld Award as Tope Female Athlete of the Year for the third time and also wins the Lou Marsh Trophy as Canada's Top Overall Athlete of the year

1956 - There has been little interest in women's hockey teams since World War ll. Abigail Hoffman (1947-  ) , a pre-teen challenges "boys only" policy in minor hockey when she demands to play the game.
1956 - The Woman's Canadian Historical Society of Ottawa is renamed the Ottawa Historical Society Source: The Ottawa Historical Society Online (Accessed July 2011)

1956 - Col. Saunders introduces Kentucky Fried Chicken, in a fast food format, to the world

December 1956 - Eunice Marion Wishart (1898-1982) is elected the first woman Mayor of Port Arthur, Ontario

Births 1956:
1956 - Born Lisa De Wilde (1956-   ) TV executive & promoter of educational TV
1956 - Born Glenna Hansen (1956-   ) 1st woman of Inuvialuit descent to become Commissioner of Northwest Territories
1956 - Born Denise Donlon (1956-   ) broadcaster & Member of Canadian Broadcaster's Hall of Fame
January 1, 1956 - Born Sheila McCarthy (1956-  ) award winning actor
January 9, 1956 - Born Alexandra Bugailiskis (1956-   ) diplomat
February 22, 1956 - Born Denise Donlan (1956-  ) broadcaster & corporate administrator
March 11, 1956 - Born Wendy May Clarkson-Carter (1956-    ) champion badminton player
April 4, 1956 - Born Evelyn Hart (1956-   ) international prima ballerina
April 6, 1956 - Born Sandra Bezic (1956-   ) international award winning figure skater
April 30, 1956 - Born Gina Feldberg (1956-2010) an academic who wrote on the social history of health issues.
May 10, 1956 - Born Dinah Anderson (1956-   ) aboriginal artist and woodcarver
May 27, 1956 - Born Catherine Priestner-Allinger (1956-   ) medal winning speed skater & Olympic organizer
June 13, 1956 - Born Barbara Stymiest (1956-   ) one of Canada's top businesswomen
June 26, 1956 - Born Madeline-Ann Aksich (1956-2005) businesswoman & philanthropist
June 28, 1956 - Born Madeline-Ann Aksich (1956-2005) businesswoman and philanthropist
July 31, 1956 - Born Pam Withers (1956-  ) author of extreme sports novels for young readers
August 15, 1956 - Born Lorraine Desmarais (1956-   ) jazz pianist
August 18, 1956 - Born Seana McKenna (1956-   ) award winning stage actor
August 21, 1956 - Born Kim Cattral (1956-   ) award winning actress of movies, television & stage who has a Star on Canada's Walk of Fame
August 29, 1956 - Born Carla Jean Hartsfield (1956-   ) poet
September 15, 1956 - Born Wendy Elizabeth Cook-Hogg (1956-   ) champion & Olympic medal winning swimmer
September 27, 1956 - Born Judith Anne LaRocque (1956-1921) public servant & diplomat
October 8, 1956 - Born Arlene Dickinson (1956-   ) business woman & TV personality on Dragon's Den
October 17, 1956 - Born Dr. Sheela Bassrur (1956-2008) 1st woman of colour to be named Toronto’s Chief Medical Officer of Health
October 25, 1956 - Born Andrea Beck (1956-   ) author & artist of the Elliot Moose stories
December 1956 - Born  Cathy Lacey (1956-   ) artist who uses her art to raise funds to create awareness of various community groups

Deaths 1956:
1956 - Born Isabelle Peretz (1956-   ) professor of psychology
1956 - Born Jocelyne Rey-Vienneau (1956-   ) 1st Acadian woman to be Lieutenant Governor of New Brunswick
 January 1956 - Died Nora Bateson (1896--1956) librarian & professor at McGill University
January 10, 1956 - Died Elizabeth McMaster (1871-1956) doctor & medical missionary
March 21, 1956 - Died Mary Ellen ‘Minnie' Affleck (Wolfe) (1874 1956) nurse who served in Boer War in South Africa
 May 4, 1956 - Died Mina Hubbard (1870-1956) Labrador adventurer, explorer, map maker & National Historic Person
May 18, 1956 - Died Nellie Margaret Lewis (1892-1956) teacher & author
 June 2, 1956 - Died Lucetta Martha Morden (1872-1956) indomitable early woman doctor
August 23, 1956 - Died Isabel Skelton (1877-1956) respected historian & author
August 26, 1956 - Died Mary Lillian Cameron (1894-1956) World War l Nursing Sister
 September 3, 1956 - Died Helen Luttrell Brydon (1884-1956) World War l Nursing Sister
September 7, 1956 - Died Amelia Beers Garvin (1878-1956) journalist & editor
September 20, 1956 - Died Nanette Bordeaux, (1911-1956) actor
October 7, 1956 - Died Maud Allan (1873-1956)  pioneer of modern dance
October 22, 1956 - Died Mary Jane 'Jennie' Mitchell (1869-1956) doctor & medical missionary
November 12, 1956 - Died Sybil Bennett (1904-1956) politician & lawyer
December 13, 1956 - Died Margaret Benedictsson (1866-1956) social activist and journalist
 
1957 June 21,1957 - Rt. Hon. Ellen Louks Fairclough (1905-2004) is the 1st woman appointed to the Canadian federal cabinet by Prime Minister John Diefenbaker. She is sworn in as Secretary of Stare on June 22.

1957 - Mabel Frances Timlin (1891-1976.)  is the 1st woman to be elected to the executive committee of the American Economics Association

1957 - The Canada Council is established to enhance the Canadian cultural experience

1957 - Blanche Margaret Meagher  (1911-1999)  she is the 1st woman to become appointed as an ambassador from Canada

1957 - Winnie Roach-Leuszler (1926-2004) is the 1st Canadian woman to be a baseball umpire

1957 - The Canadian Press votes Marlene Streit (1934-   ), winner of the Canadian Closed & Ontario Amateur Gold Championships, as the winner of the Bobbie Rosenfeld Award as Tope Female Athlete of the Year for the forth time

1957 - Canada has only 24 women engineers , compared with Russia's 233,000! Source: Jean Bannerman, Leading Ladies of Canada (Belleville, Mika Publishing, 1977);

1957 - Ruth Addison (1897-2005) is the 1st woman to be a member of the Civil Service Commission Source: Jean Bannerman, Leading Ladies of Canada (Belleville, Mika Publishing, 1977);

 1957 - The Canadian Women's Press Club (CWPC) founded in 1904, is at its peak with 675 members in 17 branches across the country. They meet this year for their triennial national conference

Births 1957:
1957 - Born Shani Mootoo (1957-   ) visual artist, poet & author
 1957 - Born Mona Nemer (1957-   ) cardiac researcher
 January 7, 1957 - Born Raymonde Gagné (1957-   ) academic & politician
January 17, 1957 - Born Nancy Argenta (1957-  ) soprano
February 3, 1957 - Born Kim Lumsdon (1957-   ) marathon swimmer
February 17, 1957 - Born Loreena McKennit (1957-   ) singer, actor, & writer
February 28, 1957 - Born Margaret 'Meg' Ruffman (1958-   ) actor & handy woman contractor
March 10, 1957 - Born Shannon Tweed (1957-   ) TV & film actor
March 23,1957 - Born Amanda Plummer (1957-   ) actor
March 24, 1957 - Born Olivia Chow (1957-   ) prominent politician and MP of the New Democratic Party
April 3, 1957 - Born Sandra Bell Lundy (1957-   ) cartoonist and founder of the comic strip "Between Friends"
April 6, 1957 - Born Gail (1957-   )  Amundrud Award winning competitive swimmer
April 9, 1957 - Born Kit Brennan Watters (1957-   ) actress & playwright 
April 25, 1957- Born Francine Pelletier, (1957-   ) award winning author
May 1, 1957 - Born Marjorie Blackwood ( 1957-   ) award winning tennis star
May 4, 1957 - Born Kathy Kreiner (1957-   ) gold medal Olympian in skiing
May 15, 1957 - Born Lindalee Tracey (1957-2006) journalist, exotic dancer, & filmmaker
May 21, 1957 - Born Linda Bouchard (1957-   ) composer & orchestra conductor
May 26, 1957 - Born Lucille Lessard (1957-   ) world champion archer
May 28, 1957 - Died Minerva Ellen Reid (1871-1957) Chief of Surgery Women's College Hospital, Toronto
June 5, 1957 - Born Cathy Elliott (1957-2017) Mi'kmaq activist, artist, playwright, & actor
June 16, 1957 - Born Cindy Shatto (1957-2011)  a true pioneer in the sports of swimming & diving
June 29, 1957 - Born Janice Rennie (1957-   ) award winning financial consultant
August 20, 1957- Born Cindy Nicholas (1957-   ) long distance swimmer & member Canadian Sports Hall of Fame
September 6, 1957- Born Michaelle Jean (1957-  ) 27th and 1st Afro Caribbean Governor General of Canada
November 8, 1957 - Born Afua Cooper (1957 -   ) Black Canadian historian, author, & poet
December 31 1957 - Born Sonya Biddle (1957-2022) Montreal politician & actor
 

Deaths 1957:
1957 - Died Mae/Mary Isobel Lovejoy (1874-1957) Yukon gold rush businesswoman
 1957 - Died Adelaide Morin-Thomas (1847-1957) pioneer in Canadian northwest
1957 - Died Marion Leane Smith-Walls (1851-1957) the only Australian indigenous Nurse in WW 1 to serve for Canada
 January 26, 1957 - Died Ada Bessie Teetgen (1879-1957) author
January 27, 1957 - Died Jemima MacKenzie (1872-1957) doctor & medical missionary
February 21, 1957 - Died Kathleen 'Kate' Eloise Rockwell ( 1876?-1957) 'Klondike Kate, Queen of the Klondike'
March 8, 1957 - Died Ella Pearl Hopgood (1890-1957) early woman psychiatrist
April 22, 1957- Died Dorothy Duncan (1903-1957) author
May 1957 - Died Helen Bernard McCall (11899-1957) pioneer photographer in British Columbia
May 28, 1957 - Died Minerva Ellen Reid (1872-1957) medical doctor, Chief of Surgery Women's College Hospital, Toronto
 June 15, 1957 - Died Gertrude Childs (1881-1957) social worker awarded the Order of the British Empire 1934
June 21, 1957 - Died Bertha Mabel Dunham (1881-1957) Librarian, local historian, & author of works for young readers
June 23, 1957 - Died Harriet Dick (1867-1957) social activist & politician
June 26, 1957 - Died Virginia K. Copping Norton Kemp (1895-1957) Lady Kemp, social activist & volunteer
July 15, 1957 - Died Ethel Bennett (1883-1957) World War 1 Nursing Sister
July 15, 1957 - Died Marion Hilliard (1902-1958) medical doctor who helped develop a simplified Pap test
July 21, 1957 - Died Abbie Mary Lyon Sharman (1872-1957) author, poet, & playwright
 July 22, 1957 - Died Lola Bell (1885-1957) World War l Nursing Sister
October 31, 1957 - Died Martha Louise Black (1866-1957) adventurer & politician, considered to be the First Lady of the Yukon
November 1957 - Died Marjorie McKenzie (1895- 1957) one of the 1st women to become a Foreign Service Officer in Canada
December 14, 1957 - Died Katherine Elizabeth Wallis (1860-1957) sculptor who was decorated by Britain & France for her nursing efforts in World War l
 December 16, 1957 - Died Hazel Kilburn Palmer (1884-1957) early hockey player in New Brunswick
 
1958 1958 - Les Grands Ballets Canadiens is founded in Montreal Source: The Timechart of History of Canada by Meredith Macardle (2004)

1958 - Jean Casselman-Wadds (1920-2011)  is the third woman elected to the Canadian Parliament and along with her father Earle Rowe they became the only father daughter ever to sit in the same session of Parliament Sources: Obituary. Ottawa Citizen December 3, 2011.

1958 - Frances Dafoe -Mellick (1929-   ) and Norris Bowden (1926-1991) figure skating pairs Olympic Silver Medalists in 1956 are inducted into the Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame Source: Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame Online (Accessed January 2013)

1958 – Margaret Meagher (1911-1999) is appointed to Israel, Canada’s 1st female ambassador. Source: Margaret Weiers, Envoys Extraordinary: Women of the Canadian Foreign Service (Toronto: Dundurn, 1995) 

October 22, 1958 - Blanche Margaret Meagher (1911-1999) is the 1st woman appointed as a Canadian Ambassador when she served in Israel Sources: Margaret K. Weiers, Envoys Extraordinary: Women of the Canadian Foreign Service. (Toronto; Dundurn, 1995); Blanche Margaret Meagher, Canadian Encyclopedia online (Accessed July 2015)

1958 - The Canadian Press votes Lucille Wheeler (1935-   ), winner of the downhill & slalom World Ski Championships, as the winner of the Bobbie Rosenfeld Award as Tope Female Athlete of the Year & winner of the Lou Marsh Trophy as Canada's Top Overall Athlete of the Year
Births 1958:
 1958 - Born Michelle "Mickey" Colton (1958-  ) the 1st Canadian Herculese pilot to reach 5000 hours of flying
1958 - Born Luba (Lubomir Kowalchyk) (1958 - ) rock singer
1958 - Born Louise Penny (1958-   ) award winning mystery writer
1958 - Born Sue Richards (1958-2014) social activist
1958 - Born Lucinda Turner (1952-2022) carver & social activist
1958 - Born Susan Ursel (1958 -  ) 1st openly Lesbian lawyer in Ontario 1986
February 12, 1958 - Born Mariann Domonkos (1958-   ) champion in table tennis
February 15, 1958 - Born Chrystine Brouillet (1958-   ) award winning novelist
April 5, 1958 - Born Susan Sloan-Kelsey (1958-   ) champion & Olympic medal swimmer
April 29. 1958 - Died Beatrice 'Bea' Mary Embree (1886-1958) author
June 4, 1958 - Born Jeannine Ouellette, (1958-  ) bilingual author & Canadian women's historian.
July 26, 1958 - Born Angela Hewitt ( 1958-   ) renowned pianist known for playing of music by Bach
August 2, 1958 - Born Heather Kemkaran-Antymniuk (1958-   )international champion skater
September 24, 1958 - Born Trish Monture-Angus (1958-2010) lawyer, Aboriginal rights enthusiast, Sociologist, author & teacher
September 24, 1958 - Born Barbara 'Barb' Lynne Clark-Parolin (1958-   ) champions swimmer
September 28, 1958 - Born Angella Taylor-Issajenko (1958-  ) one of Canada's outstanding sprinter
October 15, 1958 - Born Gerry Sorensen-Lenihen (1958-   ) champion alpine skier
October 17, 1958 - Born Fran Rider (1958-   ) hockey player & hockey administrator
 October 21, 1958 - Died Bertha Samson-Beck (1893-1958) World War 1 Nursing Sister
November 19, 1958 - Born Elise Partridge (1958-2015) poet
December 18, 1958 - Born Cheryl Lynn Hayes (1958-   ) deaf Olympian swimmer
December 24, 1958 - Born Lise Marie Ducet (1958-   ) international journalist
December 24, 1958 - Died Eva Jeannette Fisher (1862-1958)
December 30, 1958 - Born Bridgid Ann Davidson (1958-2013 social activist

Deaths 1958:
1958 - Died Elizabeth Constance Harper (1868-1958) poet
1958 - Died Jane Megarry (1881-1958) nurse & medical missionary
1958 - Died Jessie Georgina Sime (1868-1958) author
January 9, 1958 - Died Margaret Robertson (1887-1958) World War l Nursing Sister
January 15, 1958 - Died Elizabeth Scott Matheson (1866-1958) an early doctor in Manitoba who practiced for 50 years
January 28, 1958 - Died Jessie Mary Forshaw-Byron (1892-1958) public health nurse
February 16, 1958 - Died Clarissa 'Clara' Archibald Dennis (1881-1958) pioneer photographer of life in Nova Scotia
February 19, 1958 - Died Nellie Cora Greenwood-Andrews (1864-1958) social activist & Saskatchewan suffragist
April 17, 1958 - Died Hattie Hatchett (1863/-1958) Black Composer
April 22, 1958 - Died Janet McIlvena (1903-1958) music teacher & director
May 25, 1958 - Died Blanche Lamontagne (1889-1958) poet with a library, a road & a mountain named for her
June 25, 1958 - Died Clara 'Claire' Pauline Milledge McIntosh (1882-1958) poet & playwright
 July 20, 1958 - Died Jessie Middleton Sedgewick-Roman (1890-1958) World War l Nursing Sister
July 25, 1958 - Died Clara Emily Anderson (1871-1958) playwright
August 8, 1958 - Died Mary Eugenia 'Gene' Hinch-Mahar (1877-1958) Survivor of Halifax explosion
August 20, 1958 - Died Jessie Isobel Smith (1885-1958( World War 1 Nursing Sister
 September 28, 1958 - Died Florence Maud O'Donnell-Piers (1877-1958) early woman doctor & medical missionary
October 2, 1958 - Died Kathleen "Kit" Adeline Martin Cowaret (1887- 1958) Anglican Church Missionary to the Canadian Northwest
October 21, 1958 - Died Bertha Samson Beck (1893-1958) World War l Nursing Sister
December 15, 1958 - Died Alexandrine Gibb (1891-1958) pioneer woman sports journalist for women's sports.
December 26, 1958 - Died Eva Gauthier, (1885-1958) internationally acclaimed mezzo soprano
 
1959 May 3, 1959 - Marie-Marguerite d'Youville (    -1771) is beatified ( a step in the declaration of sainthood by the Roman Catholic Church). She is the 1st Canadian born candidate for sainthood

1959 - Canada's Food Rules is renamed and updated to become Canada's Food Guide

July 1959 - Margaret Paton Hyndman (1901?-1991), who served the Free France Movement during World War ll, is awarded a citation from Charles DeGaulle & received a silver medal from the City of Paris, France Sources: Toronto Business and Professional Club, website accessed March 1913. ; Margaret Hyndman, lawyer: no warm welcome 50 years ago, Ottawa Citizen June 13, 1976.

September 28, 1959 - Betty Oliphant (1918-2004) & Celia Franca (1921-    ) founds the National Ballet School of Canada
June 26, 1959 - Queen Elizabeth II & President D. Eisenhower of the U.S.A. officially open the St. Lawrence Seaway

1959 - Olivia Poole (1889-1975) the inventor of the Jolly Jumper for pre toddler babies, had began manufacturing the device in the 1950's & by the end of the decade the family factory in North Vancouver was supplying all of North America, Great Britain & Australia

1959 - Ernestine Russell Weaver (1938-   ) dominates the field of Gymnastics in the Pan American games winning four gold and two silver medals. This was the first Pan Am games for the event of Gymnastics.

 1959 - Mary and Helen Stewart win a silver medal in the 4X100 freestyle relay in the swimming relay at the Pan Am Games Source:  British Columbia Sports Hall of Fame Online (Accessed June 2008

1959 - The Canadian Press votes Anne Heggtveit (1939-   ) winner of multiple European ski events, as the winner of the Bobbie Rosenfeld Award as Top Female Athlete of the Year

1959 - Barbara Aileen Wagner (1938-   ) & Robert Paul , champion pairs figure skaters, five-time Canadian Champions, four-time World Champions (also will be 1960 Olympic Gold medalists) are voted by the Canadian Press as Canada's Top Overall Athletes of the Year

1959 - Barbara Aileen Wagner (1938-   ) & Robert Paul , champion pairs figure skaters, five-time Canadian Champions, four-time World Champions (also will be 1960 Olympic Gold medalists) are voted by the Canadian Press as Canada's Top Overall Athletes of the Year
December 1959 - Catherine Seppala (1907-1975) is elected the first woman Mayor of Fort William, Ontario

Births 1959:
1959 - Born Lorene Hatelt (1959-  ) by 2018 eight time world champion in International Triathlon in Physically Challenged event
1959 - Born Nathalie Des Rosiers (1959-   ) lawyer provincial politician, & university professor
1959 - Born Mandy Kerlann (birth name Harmunderjit Kaur Brar) (1959-   ) international textile artist
January 4, 1959 - Born Denise Katrina Mathews (1959-2016) singer, B movie actor turned evangelist
January 12, 1959 - Born Helen Vanderburg (1959-  ) champion synchronized swimmer
March 1959 - Died Jean Houston (1884-1959) World War l Nursing Sister
March 14,1959 - Born Elizabeth "Betsey" Carroll Martin (1959-2013) philanthropist
May 30, 1959 - Born Claudia Joan Alexander (1959- 2015) NASA scientist
June 3, 1959 - Born Rebecca 'Becky' Gwendolyn Smith-Wiber (1959-   ) champion & Olympic medalist in swimming
June 20, 1959 - Born Louise Bessette (1959 -  ) internationally acclaimed pianist
July 26, 1959 - Born Anne Elizabeth Jardin-Alexander (1959-   ) champion swimmer
July 28, 1959 - Born Cheryl Ann Gibson-Brokop (1959-   ) champion golfer
September 5, 1959 - Born Stacy Dales-Schuman (1959-  ) Womens National Basketball Association player and broadcaster
September 8, 1959 - Born Katherine Patricia Mary Barber (1959-2021) lexicographer, ‘Canada’s Word Lady’
September 8, 1959 - Born Carmen Campagne (1959-   ) French folk singer & activist to save French language and culture. Order of Canada
September 16, 1959 - Born Jennifer Tilly, (1959-   ) actor
September 20, 1959 - Born Lesley Allison Thompson-Willie (1959-   ) medal winning Olympic rower
October 19, 1959 - Born Christine Mary Forgo (1959-   ) champion table tennis player
October 30, 1959 - Died Annie May Jackson-Kelcher (1878-1959) first woman in Canada hired as a police woman
November 10, 1959 - Born Kim Pate (1959-   ) social activist for marginalized women, Senator
December 7, 1959 - Born Tracy Wright (1959-2010) actor
December 21, 1959 - Born Kay Worthington (1959-   ) Olympic medalist in rowing

Deaths 1959:
1959 - Died  Constance Garner-Short (1910-1959) one of four women who were 1st lawyers called to the Bar in Quebec
 1959 - Died Nancy Helena Columbia Palmer (1893-1959) Inuit actress, director and screenwriter
1959 - Died Christine Pilon (1862-1959) pioneer of the North-west rebellion, Manitoba
January 21, 1959 - Died Dr. Frances Gertrude McGill (1877-1959) 1st Canadian woman &1st medical criminal forensic investigator
January 26, 1959 - Died Barbara McCallum Hanley (1882-1959) first woman mayor of a town in Canada
February 2, 1959 - Died Georgina Lilian Crawford (1882-1959) Indomitable early woman doctor
April 15, 1959 - Died Emma Bliss (1866-1959) Titanic survivor
April 25, 1959 - Died Maude Pettit Hill-Beaton (1877-1959) journalist who used pen name 'Videre'
May 4, 1959 - Died Edith Alma Graham (1889-1959) World War 1 Nursing Sister
May 9, 1959 - Died Elizabeth Cameron (1875-1959) social activist
June 12, 1959 - Died Ella Cecilia MacKinnon/McKinnon-Pearson (1882-1959) poet & artist
July 19, 1959 - Died Ethel Annie Bennett (1883-1959) World War l Nursing Sister
October 22, 1959 - Died Florence Eleanor Bennett (1880-1959) indomitable early woman doctor
November 4, 1959 - Died Patricia Jenkins Blondal (1926-1959) broadcast journalist, journalist & novelist June 17, 1959 - Died Emma Bliss (1866-1959) Titanic Survivor
December 16, 1959 - Died Roberta Catherine MacAdams (1880-1959) 1st woman in British Empire to introduce legislation in a parliament (Alberta)
November 10, 1959 - Born Kim Pate (1959-   ) social activist for marginalized women, Senator
November 4, 1959 - Died Patricia Jenkins Blondal (1926-1959) broadcast journalist, journalist & novelist June 17, 1959 - Died Emma Bliss (1866-1959) Titanic Survivor
December 16, 1959 - Died Roberta Catherine MacAdams (1880-1959) 1st woman in British Empire to introduce legislation in a parliament (Alberta)
December 21, 1959 - Born Kay Worthington (1959-   ) Olympic medalist in rowing
December 24, 1959 - Died Clara Hopper (1878-1959) poet
 

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