Women's Suffrage

1. Women in Canada obtained the right to vote in 1918. 2. More than two years after the women of Manitoba became the first to vote at the provincial level. 3. From 1850, women with property, married or single, could vote for school trustees. 4. The public debate in Ontario began among members of the Toronto Women's Literary Club, a screen for suffrage activities created in 1876 by Dr. Emily, Canada's first woman doctor. 5. Valuable support came in the 1890's from the Woman's Christian Temperance Union, whose leaders saw votes for women as necessary in achieving prohibition. 6. In 1910, the respected and influential National Council of Women spoke out for suffrage. 7. The WCTU was also active in Manitoba, where women's suffrage had first been proposed in the 1870's. 8. On 24 May 1918, all female "citizens" aged 21 and over became eligible to vote in federal elections. 9. Aboriginal women were allowed to vote in federal elections in 1960.