Women's Suffrage In Canada

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The connections between women’s suffrage, the creation of the Ontario Human Rights Commission and a bigger focus on figures such as Nellie McClung, helped to create Canada’s presents as a safe and welcoming nation based on equality. The history behind these acts of equality helped to establish Canada as becoming a welcoming multicultural environment.

Events that occurred in the 1900s help to explain the current rights women have in the 21st century. Specifically, the suffrage of women is a main contributor to these rights. Suffrage is the right to vote in political elections. The act of the right to vote for women and people of colour is a struggle that took many decades to be successful. The purpose of women beginning to advocate was to …show more content…
Fortunately, Canada has learned from this and has found ways to promote equality. Specifically, the Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC) is a collection of ideas agreed upon by government electives in order to address discriminatory problems. Their definition of equality stands for a welcoming society where everyone takes responsibility for promoting and protecting human rights and are valued and treated with equal dignity and respect. The OHRC has created a list of protected grounds, that prohibits actions that discriminate against people based on specific categories. Some of the Ontario Human Rights Commissions protected grounds include: ancestry, colour, race, citizenship, ethnic origin, place of origin, and Creed. Xenophobia and assimilation are big contributors as to why the OHRC focusses on grounds that relate to nationality (race, colour, origin). In the past, Canadians showed a strong dislike towards immigrants and ethnic minorities. Certain people would be banned from entering Canada or Canada would attempt to assimilate people of colour into the white western culture. With the help of the OHRC addressing laws and rules Canada now attempts to maintain a diverse nation and as we have learned from our past. Canada is more accepting towards immigrants now, and people of every race and ethnic background are permitted to join social, cultural, economic and political …show more content…
When focusing on important events in history, the leaders of such movements are often forgotten. In the 20th century, a woman named Nellie McClung made pivotal political changes in Canada. Nellie McClung was one of Canada's greatest social reformers, standing up for the suffrage of women. McClung was one of the main reasons why women earned the right to vote. McClung started her journey in politics by joining the Women’s Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) which led to an interest in the women’s suffrage movement. McClung was on a quest for equity and justice, and to improve the lives of Canadian women. McClung took a position as one of the founding members of the Political Equality League, therefore it was her duty to speak against the Premier when nobody else would. It was a mock parliament in Winnipeg, in 1914, by the Political Equality League that sparked McClung’s career and showed great significance. The satirical performance mocked the dangers of allowing men the right to vote. It was a resounding success, that brought positive attention to women's suffrage. With that being in 1916, Manitoba was the first province to grant women the right to vote. Without McClung's actions and stand, justice for women may have never been seen. McClung continued fighting for human rights and social reforms. She was also widely known as an active member of a group of women called the “famous five.” The famous
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