Women Are Persons!

The Persons' Case of 1929 was a landmark victory in the struggle of Canadian women for equality. For years, groups repeatedly requested that a woman be appointed to the Senate, often naming Judge Emily Murphy as their candidate, but five successive federal governments maintained that women were ineligible to serve because they were not "qualified persons" under Section 24 of the British North America Act of 1867. In 1927, Murphy invited four Alberta leaders—Henrietta Muir Edwards, Louise McKinney, Nellie McClung, and Irene Parlby—to join her in petitioning the government for an interpretation of the word "persons" in Section 24. In 1928, the Supreme Court ruled that, according to the British North America Act, women were not qualified for the Senate. The Famous 5 then persuaded the Prime Minister to appeal to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council of Great Britain, Canada's final court of appeal until 1949. On October 18, 1929, the Privy Council reversed the Supreme Court decision and held that the word "persons" in Section 24 included both men and women, making women eligible to be summoned to and become members of the Senate of Canada. In that decision, Lord Sankey, Chancellor of the Privy Council, compared the British North America Act to "a living tree capable of growth and expansion" and called the exclusion of women from public offices a relic of more barbarous days. Thereafter, women were eligible for appointment to the Senate, and although none of the Famous 5 became senators, their victory carried great symbolic importance and helped pave the way for women to participate in other aspects of public life.

Ontario · Canada