Louise McKinney is one of five prominent women who together “pulled off one of the biggest legal coups ever” [1]. This “legal coup” is now known as the Persons Case and McKinney was the second woman to sign the petition started by Emily Murphy for the judicial appeal. As we previously discussed, the Persons Case was the first point in history where women were formally recognized as “persons” under the law. Accordingly, women were not only considered as “qualified persons” to run for election to the House of Commons, but they were also eligible to be summoned to the Senate [2]. This was a historic ruling of the Privy Council, and it also shifted society’s fundamental understanding of justice and equality.

Although McKinney is well known for her involvement in the Persons Case, it is far from being her only achievement. She made many other important contributions to women’s rights in Canada and was recognized by the former Lieutenant-Governor J.W. Grant MacEwan for her significant and influential accomplishments [3]. In all accounts, she was known for being “an excellent legislator and public speaker”, and “in public service she fought for laws to better protect immigrants, property of widows, and separated women” [4]. Although McKinney made many positive contributions to women’s rights, she was most known for her prohibition work and for being the first woman in Canada to be elected to the Alberta Legislature.

McKinney was born in 1868 in Frankville, Ontario and at a very young age she was determined to rid the world of alcohol. When she was still a schoolgirl, McKinney joined one of the Women’s Christian Temperance Union’s (WCTU) youth programs and learned to say things like “alcohol debauches manhood, debases womanhood, defrauds childhood”, and sing songs with titles such as “Father’s a Drunkard and Mother is Dead” [5]. McKinney’s involvement with the WCTU carried on for most of her life. She held many different positions in the WCTU, including acting president of the national organization and vice-president of the world organization. The finest moment for McKinney and the WCTU came in 1915 when citizens in Alberta voted for prohibition. However, probably the most exciting and interesting part of this vote was that at this time in history, Albertan women did not have the right to vote. Somehow, these women “managed to influence enough men to vote for prohibition through their dedication, their arguments, [and] their righteousness” [6]. This kind of accomplishment could only lead to one way of thinking - “if [women] could accomplish that without the vote, think of what they could do with the vote” [7].

Further, McKinney ran for the Alberta legislature in 1917 and won, thereby becoming the first woman elected to represent a provincial riding. After this election, she was asked to write a piece for the Canadian Home Journal on “Where are Women Going?” McKinney wrote the following in her article:

For answer, let us pause and ask another question. What, after all, is the purpose of woman’s life? The purpose of woman’s life is just the same as the purpose of man’s life - that she may make the best possible contribution to the generation in which she is living… Since many women will, either from choice or from force of circumstances, continue to earn a living outside the home, are we not in duty bound to stand for the principle of equal pay for equal work? [8]

Although this was a radical statement when McKinney wrote her article in 1919, her call for reform in this area unfortunately continues to represent our current reality. Specifically, Canadian women are still fighting to receive equal pay for equal work. However, on February 3, 2016, a NDP motion that demands “progress on pay equity” was passed by the NDP and Liberal parties [9]. This is a promising step towards reform and it will be interesting to see whether any true equality in wages between men and women is achieved as a result of this motion.

In remembrance of her many accomplishments, Louise McKinney “has been honoured with an Alberta Post-Secondary Scholarship in her name as well as a plaque located at the entrance to the Canadian Senate, which is dedicated to the ‘Famous Five’ Alberta women connected with the Persons Case” [10]. Moreover, McKinney’s many contributions exemplify the power that individuals have to make a difference - this drive for change is something that we must emulate as we continue to face gender inequality today, such as with the wage gap, and in other fights for justice more generally.

Stay tuned tomorrow to learn about the last member of the “Famous Five”!

[1] Nancy Miller, The Famous Five: A Pivotal Moment in Canadian Women’s History (Cochrane: Deadwood Publishing, 2003) at 6 [The Famous Five].

[2] Edwards v AG Canada (1929), [1930] AC 124, 1 DLR 98 (PC).

[3] A White, “ Louise Crummy McKinney (1869-1931): A Window into Western Canadian Christianity” (2000) Historical Papers 2000: Canadian Society of Church History at 132.

[4] P Mitchell, About Canada: Women’s Rights, (Winnipeg, Fernwood Publishing, 2015) at 83.

[5] The Famous Five, supra note 1 at 85.

[6] Ibid at 86.

[7] Ibid.

[8] Ibid at 88.

[9] http://ipolitics.ca/2016/02/03/ndp-liberals-pass-motion-on-pay-equity/

[10] https://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/women/030001-1324-e.html