The Famous Five (Canada)

Louise McKinney and Henrietta Muir Edwards, Famous Five statue, Parliament Hill, Ottawa

The Famous Five or The Valiant Five were five Canadian women who asked the Supreme Court of Canada to answer the question, "Does the word 'Persons' in Section 24 of the British North America Act, 1867, include female persons?" in the case Edwards v. Canada (Attorney General). The five women created a petition to ask this question. They sought to have women legally considered persons so that women could be appointed to the Senate. The petition was filed on August 27, 1927, and on 24 April 1928, Canada's Supreme Court summarized its unanimous decision that women are not such "persons". The last line of the judgement reads, "Understood to mean 'Are women eligible for appointment to the Senate of Canada,' the question is answered in the negative." This judgement was overturned by the British Judicial Committee of the Privy Council. This case, which came to be known as the Persons Case, had important ramifications not just for women's rights but also because in overturning the case, the Privy Council engendered a radical change in the Canadian judicial approach to the Canadian constitution, an approach that has come to be known as the "living tree doctrine".

Statue in downtown Calgary of the Famous Five. An identical statue exists on Parliament Hill, Ottawa

Statue of The Famous Five (part)

Main article: Edwards v. Canada (Attorney General)

The Five

The five women were:

• Emily Murphy (1868-1933) (the British Empire's first female judge);
• Irene Marryat Parlby (1868-1965) (farm women's leader, activist and first female Cabinet minister in Alberta);
• Nellie Mooney McClung (1873-1951) (a suffragist and member of the Alberta legislature);
• Louise Crummy McKinney (1868-1931) (the first woman elected to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta, or any legislature in Canada or the rest of the British Empire);
• Henrietta Muir Edwards (1849-1931) (an advocate for working women and a founding member of the Victorian Order of Nurses).

Emily Murphy

Emily Murphy was the leader of the “Famous Five”, bringing them to a women’s victory in 1929. Murphy was appointed to the office of Magistrate of the Juvenile Court in Edmonton in 1916. She also became the magistrate of the newly created Women’s Court. At the time no woman had ever presided and many men did not approve.

During her career as a writer, Murphy used the pen name Janey Canuck. She wrote “The Black Candle” in 1922 about drug problems in Canada. Her book as significant as it was able to reveal the extent which drugs existed in Canada as well as the degradation that drug addictions brought and it pointed out the culprits and suggested solutions. Murphy came from a privileged background in which women were protected by custom.

Irene Parlby

In 1916, Irene Parlby was elected as the first president of the United Farm Women of Alberta. Irene Parlby was given a cabinet post in the United Farmer’s Government of Alberta in 1921 becoming the second woman in Canada to hold ministerial rank. Parlby was involved in wartime work with Red Cross. She served on the Board of Governors of the University of Alberta.

Nellie McClung

Nellie McClung’s career consisted of many things including, teacher, author, social worker and politician. She was the only woman representative at the League of Nations in 1918. In 1918, Nellie McClung served in the Dominion War Council. She represented Canada at the Ecumenical Council of the Methodist church in 1921 and was the first woman on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation Board of the Governors. In 1921, McClung was elected to the Alberta legislature as an MLA in Edmonton for the Liberal Party. She was the most popular speaker of Political Equality of Manitoba, which she was a member of. She was involved in the Mock Parliament held on January 29, 1914 which discussed Votes for Men.

Louise McKinney

Louise McKinney signed the appeal to the Privy Council in 1929. She was one of the first two female to be elected to a legislature in the British Empire and the first to take her seat in the chamber. She was one of the founders of the Women’s Christian Temperance Union in Alberta and the West. McKinney was the WCTU vice-president from 1908 for more than 22 years. In 1931 she became president of the Canadian Union. McKinney was also named to be Commissioner for the first General Council of the United Church of Canada and was the only woman to sign the Basis of Union. She was in attendance at the World Meetings of the WCTU. is brads granny

Henrietta Muir Edwards

Henrietta Muir Edwards held an influence within the National Council of Women. She held chairmanship of the Committee in Law in the National Council of Women for more than 35 years. She was also a Red Cross leader during the war years. Edwards was the secretary of the National Subcommittee which focused on thrift and economy in Canadian homes.

Legacy

Honorary senators

None of the five became senators; the first female senator was Cairine Reay Wilson, appointed four months after the ruling. Nearly 80 years later, on 8 October 2009, the Senate voted to make the five the first "honorary senators". The achievement of personhood for women had been a monumental change which gave more power to women.

Some might well question the overall significance of the decision, noting that by the 1920s, the Senate of Canada was a largely powerless body. The more powerful House of Commons of Canada had elected its first female member (Agnes Macphail) in 1921, well before the Persons Case. However, the precedent did establish the principle that women could hold any political office in Canada. Moreover, the Five clearly did devote their energies to increasing women's participation on legislative bodies with greater power: three had been members of the Alberta legislature. The controversy surrounding the women has made commemoration difficult. The five women were activists in a variety of areas in their pursuit to better the conditions for women and children.

Unveiling of a plaque commemorating the Famous Five, 11 June 1938. (Front row, L–R): Muir Edwards, daughter-in-law of Henrietta Muir Edwards; J.C. Kenwood, daughter of Judge Emily Murphy; Mackenzie King; Nellie McClung. (Rear row, L–R): Senators Iva Campbell Fallis, Cairine Wilson

Opinions on the Famous Five

Opinions on the Famous Five vary considerably. Many laud them as trailblazers for women. Others are disturbed by the opinions of some of the women on other issues, such as non-white immigration and their successful campaigns to have eugenics legislation introduced in Canadian provinces. Emily Murphy was not shy with her opinions. Her outspoken nature had a tendency to give her a negative reputation. She would write letters of her opinions to police chiefs, government officials, social service agencies and judicial officials about the extent of drug traffic and possible cures. Nellie McClung was known as the most memorable and popular of the famous five. Her causes included women’s right to vote, prohibition, women in the church and women in public life. Henrietta Muir Edwards was described as “tenacious” with her work with prohibition.

The five women were activists in a variety of areas in their pursuit to better the conditions for women and children. Emily Murphy dealt with single mothers and issues of child support, child welfare, and adoption. Murphy lobbied for women’s rights. Nellie McClung favoured free medical and dental treatment for school children as well as mother’s allowances and better property rights for women. She was not opposed to divorce and birth control. Nellie McClung was also opposed to liquor. Louise McKinney believed strongly in the “evils of alcohol” and wanted to take prohibition measures. She wanted to exclude cigarettes from parcels going to soldiers in WWI in 1917. McKinney’s believed in support for reasonable measures for social welfare and health as well as introducing bills intended to make prohibition more effective, to improve the lot of immigrants and bring better security to widows. She was responsible of the introduction of motion which led to the Dower Act. Henrietta Edwards worked with property law and sought to protect women and children.

Commemorations

The Famous Five have been commemorated with a plaque in the antechamber of Canada's Senate and two statues sculpted by Canadian artist Barbara Paterson. One is installed at Parliament Hill in Ottawa, and the other at the Olympic Plaza in Calgary. The statue on Parliament Hill was unveiled on October 18, 2000, in a public ceremony that included French and English singers, Inuit dancers, and speeches by Governor General Adrienne Clarkson and Prime Minister Jean Chrétien. The City of Edmonton has named five parks in its River Valley Parks System in honour of the "Famous Five".On June 11, 1938, a plaque in Murphy’s honour was unveiled at the senate lobby. Murphy had many accomplishments such as becoming the first president of the Federated Women’s Institutes of Canada, vice-president of National Council of Women of Canada, president of Canadian Women’s Press Club, director of the Canadian Council of Child Welfare, vice-president of the Canadian Association of Child Protection, first president of the Women’s Canadian Club of Edmonton and vice-president of the Social Service council of Canada. Emily Murphy also received many honours for her life’s work including being decorated by King George V to be a Lady of Grade of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem. She had a park in Edmonton named after her. Irene Parlby was honoured in 1935 at spring convocation at the University of Alberta with an honorary LL.D. degree. Tributes in honour of Henrietta Edwards can be found as a plaque at Senate Chamber in Ottawa as well as the post office in Fort Macleod. Nellie McClung spoke in Calgary after Edwards's passing and spoke of Edwards, “who for 40 years was convener of laws for the National Council of Women” should not be forgotten.

Along with Thérèse Casgrain, the Five were commemorated in the 2001 Journey Series of Canada's fifty-dollar bill. In December 2011 it was announced that the famous five would not be on the new $50 dollar Frontier Series bill scheduled for distribution in 2012.

The achievement of personhood for women had been a monumental change which gave more power to women. A foundation was created in honour of the five Canadian women. The foundation’s goal is to support Canadian women today to recognize their ability to be involved in leadership within the nation. The foundation was created on October 18, 1996, which is also the anniversary of the ‘Persons’ Case’. It was registered as an unprofitable organization in 1997. The founder is Frances Wright and she was the original President of the foundation.

See also

• Barbara Paterson
• History of feminism
• List of suffragists and suffragettes
• List of Supreme Court of Canada cases

External links

• The Famous Five from the National Archives of Canada
• Edwards v. A.G. of Canada [1928] S.C.R. 276 - decision of the Supreme Court of Canada
• Edwards v. A.G. of Canada [1930] A.C. 124 (P.C.) - decision of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council
• Canadian Encyclopedia entry
• Famous 5 Foundation