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The Bank of Canada finally announced its five-name shortlist for who would become the first Canadian woman on our currency, and I’m not the first one to notice that they snubbed Nellie McClung.

McClung was the favourite going into this; in an Angus Reid poll she was the number one choice to appear on Canadian money, garnering the support of 27 per cent of respondents.

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Of all the major female figures in our early history, McClung is arguably the one who had the most influence on shaping the Canada we know today.

McClung was a key figure in securing the vote for Manitoba women in 1916, the first Canadian jurisdiction to enact such a measure. And notably, her suffragism was non-violent — something that couldn’t be said for the sometimes-violent actions of British suffragists.

Thirteen years later, in 1929, McClung was one of the five key figures in the “Persons” case, which established that women were not “qualified persons” able to sit as senators under the provisions of the British North America Act.