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Interesting Questions, Facts and Information
- There are a total of 35 general entries. We are selecting 30 for display.
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 Interesting Questions, Facts, and Information
 Famous Canadian Women
Sheila Copps. The Honourable Sheila Copps was the first Woman to be named Deputy Prime Minister. She also held the position of Minister of the Environment and Canadian Heritage.
Hedy Fry. The Honourable Dr. Hedy Fry was the first black woman to be appointed a cabinet minister. She is currently Secretary of State for the Status of Women and Mlticulturalism.
Marie Therese (Forget) Casgrain. The Honourable Marie Therese (Forget) Casgrain was the first woman to head a provincial political party. It was in the Province of Quebec. She took over her husband's seat in the legislature and then ran for the leadership of the party and won.
Cairine Reay Mackay Wilson. The Honourable Cairine Reay Mackay Wilson was the first woman Senator appointed by Prime Minister William Lyon McKenzie King. She was also the first woman to chair a Senate standing committee.
| What was the name given to the group of women who successfully argued that women were considered 'people' under the law? | Distinguished Canadian Women
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The Famous Five. The Famous Five consisted of Irene Marryat Parlby, Nellie Letitia (Mooney) McClung, Henrietta Muir Edwards, Louise Crummy McKinney and Emily Murphy.
Muriel McQueen-Fergusson. The Honourable Muriel McQueen-Fergusson was the first woman to hold this position. She was appointed by the Prime Minister of Canada.
Bertha Wilson. The Honourable Madame Justice Bertha Wilson was the first woman appointed to the highest court in the country.
Ethel Dorothy Blondin-Andrew. The Honourable Ethel Blondin-Andrew was the first native woman elected to the House of Commons and the first to hold a cabinet position. She is currently Secretary of State (Children and Youth).
Sharon Carstairs. The Honourable Sharon Carstairs was the second woman to hold this position. She was an MLA from Manitoba and the former Manitoba Liberal Leader. She was also a Minister in the government of Prime Minister Jean Chretien.
Jean Augustine. The Honourable Dr. Jean Augustine immigrated to Canada from Grenada. She was a former teacher and school principal in Toronto, Ontario with a doctorate in education.
Pauline McGibbon. The Honourable Pauline McGibbon was the first woman Leiutenant Governor in Canada for the province of Ontario.
Rita Johnson. The Honourable Rita Johnson became Canada's first female Premier when Bill Vander Zalm stepped down. She took over the Social Credit party leadership, which was in power at the time, making her the first female Premier. She did not, however, win a general election as Premier.
Vivienne Poy. The Honourable Vivienne Poy was called to the Senate by Prime Minister Jean Chretien in the 1990's. She is also well respected in the fashion community and champions human rights.
Ellen Louks Fairclough. The Right Honourable Ellen Louks Fairclough was the first woman cabinet minister in 1963. She was also acting Prime Minister for a number of days in the 1960's, being the first woman to hold that position. She had the title of 'Right Honourable' bestowed upon her for that accomplishment, which is usually reserved for Prime Ministers who are sworn in and Governor Generals.
Joyce Fairbairn. The Honourable Joyce Fairbairn was the first woman to hold this position. She was also the senior political advisor to Prime Minister Pierre Elliot Trudeau and was also given a cabinet position while in the Senate with Prime Minister Jean Chretien's government (Minister responsible for Literacy).
Catherine Callbeck. The Honourable Catherine Callbeck was the first elected woman Premier in Canada. She ran the province of Prince Edward Island. She is currently a Senator in Ottawa.
Anne Clare Cools. The Honourable Anne Clare Cools was called to the Senate in 1984 by the Right Honourable Prime Minister Pierre Elliot Trudeau. She was not only the first black woman Senator, but the first black person period.
Audrey McLaughlin. The Honourable Audrey McLaughlin was the first woman in North America to head a major political party (NDP).
Clara Brett Martin. Clara Brett Martin, LL.B., was also the first female lawyer in all of the British Empire.
Agnes MacPhail. The Honourable Agnes MacPhail was the only woman in parliament for many years. She brought down major reforms in the Canadian penal system and championed education rights. She was also one of the first two women elected to the Ontario legislature (MPP).
Adrienne Clarkson. Her Excellency, The Right Honourable Adrienne Clarkson was an avid journalist and the first Agent General for Ontario. She is the first person of Asian decent to hold this position. (born Adrienne Poy)
Jeanne Sauve. Her Excellency, The Right Honourable Jeanne Sauve was not only the first woman Governor General, but she was also the first woman Speaker of the House of Commons and the first woman cabinet minister from Quebec.
Kim Campbell. The Right Honourable Kim Campbell became Prime Minister in 1993. She was also the first woman Attorney General and Minister of Justice, first woman Minister of National Defence and first woman leader of the Progressive Conservative party of Canada (Founding party of Canada).
Beverly McLachlin. The Right Honourable Chief Justice Beverly McLachlin became the first woman Chief Justice of Canada in January 2000. She was appointed by The Right Honourable Prime Minister Jean Chretien.
Emily Murphy. Her Worship Emily Murphy was the first woman magistrate in the whole British Empire. Many men refused to go before her in court. She was a judge before women were even considered people.
| James Miranda Barry posed as a male for her entire adult life so that she could work in her chosen profession. In a profession that was entirely male, what did James Miranda Barry succeed in becoming? | Famous Canadian Women
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Physician. Dr. James Mirand Barry is believed to have been born Margaret Bulkley in 1795. As a young child she was educated by her uncle, James Barry. After the death of Margaret's uncle James in 1806 Margaret disappeared and James Miranda Barry enrolled in a medical school in Scotland. After graduating from the University of Edinburgh Dr. Barry began to travel, studying and practicing medicine throughout the world. Dr. Barry eventually settled in Montreal, Canada where he/she had a office until his/her retirement. Upon his/her death in London in 1865, Dr. James Miranda Barry's secret became known. If this person really was a woman than she was the first practicing female doctor in Canada.
| Adelaide Hunter Hoodless lived from 1857 to 1910. What accomplishment(s) is she famous for? | Famous Canadian Women
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She promoted nutrition and good sanitation in the home.. During her lifetime Adelaide did many things to promote the safety by means of good sanitation and good nutrition in the home. People living in this time period (1857-1910) were not as aware of the health risks in poor sanitation as we are. Adelaide had a young child die from drinking raw milk. She believed that if she had known the benefits of pasteurizing milk that this tragedy would not have occurred. After this incident Adelaide threw herself into making sure the education was there for others. One of the ways that she did this was to campaign for the teaching of "Domestic Science" in schools. Adelaide also arranged for the 'Women's Institute' and the YWCA (Young Women's Christian Association) to teach rural women simple hygiene for their home and person. These courses covered topics like "understanding of economic and hygienic value of foods". She didn't stop there and, with the assistance of Lady Aberdeen, she brought about the creation of the Victorian Order of Nurses. The early idea was that the nurses could go into rural homes to help and educate more women.
Maude Abbott. Maude Abbott entered the field of medicine at a time period when women were just starting to be accepted in the medical profession. She started her practice in Montreal, Quebec. Her speciality was the heart. In the early 1900s she received the honour of having her work published in a "all-male Medico-Chirurgical Society" - a first for a woman. With her writings and work being recognized within the medical community, Maude went on to write several papers on the subject of congenital heart diseases. During her lifetime she published over 100 papers on the subject of the heart as well as having two books published. Her work was and is widely accepted and respected within the profession that she chose.
| Most societies place a great deal of value on their children's education, so teachers should be highly regarded members of society. In 1906, when Laure Gaudreault was a young teacher her work conditions would have been less than ideal. How did she improve these conditions? | Famous Canadian Women
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Laure Gaudreault created a teacher's union in Quebec.. When I think of turn of the century educators I think of the story told by Laura Ingalls. However even in that story the working conditions were horrible. A teacher in most rural schools in the early 1900's was supposed to be: the teacher, the principal, the janitor, the librarian, the secretary, the yard monitor and, when the occasion called for it, also the nurse. The one room little red school house on the hill may sound idyllic, but to the person working there, in those conditions it was probably drudgery. Laure Gaudreault ,while working in those conditions, was also working to improve the conditions. In 1936 she created her first union for teachers which continues to work for improved conditions. She spent her entire life working for this goal, which she did fulfill along with many more.
| There is some controversy surrounding Barbara Hanley, but going by the date that she was elected, Barbara Hanley was the first woman mayor in Canada. Which town elected her mayor? | Famous Canadian Women
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Webbwood. Barbara Hanley was elected mayor of a small town in Ontario on January 6, 1936. She won the election by a mere thirteen votes; however, it was enough to put her in the mayor's seat. Barbara Hanley was Mayor of Webbwood from 1936 to 1944. The town of Webbwood, to honour the first woman mayor, erected a large sign with her name and picture on it. Every person coming through and leaving the town can see and read of her accomplishments.
Many believe that Charlotte Whitton was Canada's first female mayor, and my sister and I have written to many sites to correct this assumption. Charlotte Whitton was the first woman mayor of a large city, she was elected in 1951, and that is also quite an accomplishment for a woman of that era.
| Mary Meager Southcott has been called "the Florence Nightingale of Newfoundland". Due to the dedication of Mary Southcott, the first nursing school in Newfoundland was created. What was the name of this training school? | Famous Canadian Women
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St. John's General Hospital School of Nursing. At the age of thirty-seven Mary Southcott travelled to London to begin her training, training that would fulfill her dream of nursing. Mary wanted to be a nurse at a time when many considered the profession to be for "poorly paid domestic servants". She made it her life's work to improve the working conditions of nurses and to provide them with better training. She succeeded in fulfilling her dream. She also helped to make the nursing profession a more respectable, valuable branch of the medical society in Newfoundland. In 1954 Mary Southcott was honoured by having a nurses' residence named for her. She was vital to the development of 'pre-Confederate Newfoundland'.
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