Canadian Women During World Wars I and II

During the two world wars, political rights for women greatly improved and gender equality slowly became obtainable. Women in Canada during WWI eventually gained the right to vote federally at the end of the war. This significantly boosted women’s political participation in society. However, many inequities remained. In government, most Members of Parliament (MP) were still men and outside of government, only white Canadian citizens could vote. This not only limited the amount of input women had in government, but also voting rights for minorities. Eventually, Agnes Macphail, the first woman elected to the House of Commons, demonstrated that women were just as capable as men, proven by her dedication and contributions to Canada. By WWII however, women had attained full political rights through the Persons Case ruling of 1929. Traditionally, women were not viewed as “persons” under the law, but since the case of 1929, women were fully recognized as both a citizen and a “person” under the Constitution. Furthermore, voting rights were extended to minorities groups after WWII such as the Aboriginals and the Chinese. The changes in WWII were far more significant for the lives of women in Canada than WWI. While WWI brought major changes, such as the right to vote, WWII greatly improved and reformed the changes where women, under the law, were truly equal.