CELEBRATING 100 YEARS OF WOMEN AND THE VOTE IN BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA
CELEBRATING 100 YEARS OF WOMEN AND THE VOTE IN BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA A special exhibition at the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, Canada.
the vote hasn’t solved all but it’s a measure of worth it’s a voice it’s a light Zoe Duhaime, ‘One Hundred Candle Bonfire’
Hon. Linda Reid, MLA has served as
Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, Canada since her election to the position in June 2013. Previously, she served as Deputy Speaker from 2009 to 2013. Hon. Linda Reid served as Minister responsible for early childhood development and child care. First elected as a Member of British Columbia’s Legislative Assembly in 1991, Hon. Reid is British Columbia’s longestserving current MLA.
In 2017, British Columbia is marking an important centennial celebration and milestone for women’s rights – 100 years since women who qualified as British subjects received the right to vote and run for provincial office. Other women and men, including from First Nations and other racial, cultural and religious groups, continued their struggle for recognition, with the attainment of universal suffrage accomplished in British
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Columbia 35 years later in 1952. Over the last century, British Columbians have been fortunate to be represented by a remarkable number of women politicians. Both women and men have benefited from the attention and change they brought and continue to bring to a range of issues. In honour of this celebration, the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia held a new exhibition, ‘100 Years of Women and the Vote’, highlighting significant ‘firsts’ for women elected to the Legislative Assembly. These women and their accomplishments symbolize the broader contributions women have made and continue to make to public
life – contributions which would not have been possible without the persistence and success of the suffrage movement. The list of women includes Mary Ellen Smith, the first woman elected to the Legislative Assembly in 1918. She served for ten years and was an early advocate for women, children and the underprivileged. She famously declared she could fight just as hard as any other Honourable member when necessary and if anyone tried to intimidate her, she was “prepared to go to the mat with him.” In 1950, Nancy Hodges became the first woman Speaker in the Commonwealth, and in 1953, the first woman from British Columbia appointed to serve in the Senate of Canada. Ms Hodges campaigned for the rights of women workers and women’s property rights. When asked
Left and right: The 100 Years of Women and the Vote exhibit at the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia.