This article lists notable achievements of women, ethnic minorities, people with disabilities, and gay/lesbian/bisexual and transgender people in Canadian politics and elections in Canada.
Maria Grant is the first woman in Canada to be elected to any office, in 1895. She served six years on the Victoria School Board and was presented to the future George V as the only woman elected as a school trustee in Canada.[1]
First female candidate in provincial election in Canada:
Margaret Haile ran as a candidate of the Canadian Socialist League in Toronto North for the 1902 Ontario provincial election, becoming the first woman ever to stand in a provincial election. She herself was not allowed to vote in the election.
Earliest elected woman in Canada (first woman in Canada elected at the federal, provincial or municipal level):
Five women ran in the first federal election in which women were allowed to become candidates (1921). (Note: Some women had been granted the right to vote, but not to run as candidates, in the wartime election of 1917. Even in 1921, still many women were denied the right to vote – status Indians, those on the Indian Register, did not get the right to vote in federal elections until 1960.)
Mary Ellen Smith, Liberal MLA 1918–1928, elected to replace her late husband[4]
First female MLA elected in Alberta:
Louise McKinney, she was also the first woman elected anywhere in the British Empire, 1917–1921 Alberta Legislature for the Non Partisan League, a left-wing Prohibitionist socialist party.
First female MLA elected in Saskatchewan:
Sarah Ramsland, Saskatchewan Liberal, Pelly 1919 by-election, 1925. Replaced her husband Max who won the seat in 1917 general election after his death. Was re-elected in 1921 and defeated in 1925.
Agnes Macphail and Rae Luckock, CCF (the forerunner to the New Democratic Party MPPs for York East 1943–1945, 1948–1951 and for Bracondale 1943–1945 respectively
First female MNA elected in Quebec:
Marie-Claire Kirkland, elected in 1961. Also first woman appointed a cabinet minister in Quebec, the first woman appointed acting premier, and the first woman judge to serve in the Quebec Provincial Court.
First female MLA elected in New Brunswick:
Brenda Robertson, New Brunswick Progressive Conservative MLA, 1967–1984
First female candidate in Prince Edward Island:
Hilda Ramsay, Prince Edward Island CCF candidate in 1951
First female MLA elected in Prince Edward Island:
Jean Canfield, Prince Edward Island Liberal MLA 1970–1979
First female MHA elected in Newfoundland and Labrador (pre-Confederation):
Year that status Indians were granted the right to vote in federal elections: 1960. Year that status Indians were granted the right to vote in Quebec provincial elections: 1969[21]
Abner Hunt Francis, Elected as councillor of Victoria in 1865, however, he resigned after being sworn in since he was not listed on the 1863 Assessment Role.
John Waters, Town Councilor, Town of Niagara (Niagara-on-the-Lake), 1874–1876, 1877–1880
James W. Douglas, Victoria City, British Columbia MLA, 1875–1878 (his paternal grandmother was part Black. As well, his mother was Cree.)
Burr Plato, town council member, Town of Niagara Falls (from 1886);
William Hubbard, City of Toronto city council member (from 1894) and a member of the Board of Control. To this day, by virtue of his being on the citywide elected Board of Control, the only visible minority ever elected citywide across Toronto.[23]
First Black MLA elected to the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba:
George Waldron Prout, Liberal representative for the constituency of Kildonan-St. Andrews, 1916-1920[24]
First Black candidate to run for the House of Commons:
Bill White, Spadina, CCF (the forerunner to the New Democratic Party) 1949
First Black Canadian elected to the House of Commons:
Ida Chong (張杏芳), British Columbia Liberal MLA for Oak Bay-Gordon Head (1996–2013), together with Jenny Kwan were the first Chinese-Canadian women elected in Canada
Jenny Kwan (關慧貞|關慧貞), British Columbia NDP MLA for Vancouver-Mount Pleasant (1996–2015), together with Ida Chong were the first Chinese-Canadian women elected in Canada
First Chinese-Canadian leader of a political party (federally or provincially)
Arthur Lee (李僑棟), British Columbia Liberal leader, 1984–1987 (the British Columbia Liberals had no seats)
Victor Lau, Saskatchewan Green Party Leader 2006 (interim), 2011–present
First Chinese-Canadian in Cabinet:
Bob Wong (黄景培), Ontario Liberal, Minister of Energy and Infrastructure (1987–89), Minister of Citizenship(1989–90)
Raymond Chan (陳卓愉|陳卓愉), Federal Liberal, Secretary of State (Asia-Pacific) (1993–2001), Minister of State (Multiculturalism)(2004–2006), First Chinese-Canadian federal cabinet minister
Gary Mar (馬健威), Alberta Progressive Conservative, Minister of International and Intergovernmental Relations, Minister of Health and Wellness, Minister of Learning, Minister of the Environment, and twice Minister of Community Development (1993–2007)
Jenny Kwan (關慧貞|關慧貞), British Columbia NDP, Minister of Municipal Affairs (1998–99), Minister of Women's Equality (1999–2000), Minister of Community Development, Cooperatives and Volunteers (2000–01)
Larry Shaben, Alberta Progressive Conservative MLA for Lesser Slave Lake from 1975 till 1989. One of the first Muslims elected to higher political office in North America. Was the Minister of Utilities and Telephones from 1979 to 1982; the Minister of Housing (1982–1986) and Minister of Economic Development and Trade (1986–1989)
First South Asian elected in Official Opposition of Canada:
Gurmant Grewal, M.P. Surrey Central 1997, as the Deputy Opposition House Leader was the First Indo-Canadian appointed the Officer of the House. He was also the first Chairman of a Joint Committee of the House and Senate for Scrutiny of Regulations in 1998.
^Biography, Toronto Star, by Mark Maloney Accessed March 10, 2007
^ a b c"Rt. Hon. Kim Campbell (1947 – )". www.mcaws.gov.bc.ca. Archived from the original on 12 December 2005. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
^ a b"Mary Ellen Smith (1863–1933)". www.mcaws.gov.bc.ca. Archived from the original on 17 December 2005. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
^"Mary Collins (1940 – )". www.mcaws.gov.bc.ca. Archived from the original on 12 December 2005. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
^"Tilly Jean Rolston (1887–1953)". www.mcaws.gov.bc.ca. Archived from the original on 18 December 2005. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
^"Chrystia Freeland named Canada's first female finance minister". BBC News. 18 August 2020.
^Women in BC Politics
^"Rita Johnston (1935 – )". www.mcaws.gov.bc.ca. Archived from the original on 18 December 2005. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
^"Grace McCarthy (1927 – )". www.mcaws.gov.bc.ca. Archived from the original on 18 December 2005. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
^"Nora Arnold (1891–1953)". www.mcaws.gov.bc.ca. Archived from the original on 18 December 2005. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
^"Helena Gutteridge (1879?–1960)". www.mcaws.gov.bc.ca. Archived from the original on 18 December 2005. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
^"Helen Gregory MacGill". www.mcaws.gov.bc.ca. Archived from the original on 18 December 2005. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
^ a b"Beverley McLachlin (1943 – )". www.mcaws.gov.bc.ca. Archived from the original on 12 December 2005. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
^"Iona Campagnolo (1932 – )". www.mcaws.gov.bc.ca. Archived from the original on 15 December 2005. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
^"Gay person running for Board of Education". The Body Politic, Vol. 29 (December 1976/January 1977), p. 5.
^ a b"Gays gain despite Tory triumph". The Body Politic, Vol. 35 (July/August 1977). p. 10.
^Robin Hardy, "Gay Candidate Drops Campaign, But Sees Role for Gay Alderperson". The Body Politic, Issue 46, p. 6.
^"Gay candidate loses in school board race". The Body Politic, Vol. 49 (December 1978/January 1979), p. 12.
^"Blake Desjarlais is Canada's first Two Spirit Canadian MP: 'We're starting to see ourselves more' | Globalnews.ca". Global News. Retrieved 2021-09-25.
^Aboriginal People: History of Discriminatory Laws, Wendy Moss, Elaine Gardner-O'Toole, Law and Government Division, Last revised, November 1991
^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m nParliament of Canada, List of ethnic origins of MPs
^Son of slaves changed the face of Toronto as first black councillor. Toronto Star, February 11, 2011.
^"Memorable Manitobans: George Waldron Prout (1878-c1980)". www.mhs.mb.ca. Retrieved 2024-08-31.
^"Rosemary Brown (1930–2003)". www.mcaws.gov.bc.ca. Archived from the original on 18 December 2005. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
^ a b"Unit 8: The Post War Years". www.qesn.meq.gouv.qc.ca. Archived from the original on 25 August 2004. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
^ a bBlack Canadian History
^Philippe Gigantès – Parliament of Canada biography
^ a b c dFirsts in Canadian Parliamentary History
^Pietro Rizzuto – Parliament of Canada biography
^ a b"Naranjan Singh Grewall: first NRI Mayor of Mission, BC, Canada". NRI Naranjan Singh Grewall was the first (Indo Canadian) Mayor of Mission, B.C., Canada and the first Indo Canadian mayor within any city in Canada, in 1954.He was elected Canada's first Sikh city councilor,to a public office in Mission, not only in Canada, but all of North America in 1950. In 1941, he came to Mission, B.C. from Toronto, Ontario. He purchased and became the operator of six lumber companies across the Fraser Valley. Referring to holders of forest management licenses as 'Timber Maharajahs', he warned that within 10 years 3 or 4 giant corporations would effectively control the industry in B.C. Mr. Grewall became a voice for the growing industry and openly critiqued the then government's policies of granting licenses to their friends. Throughout his life, Naranjan Grewall remained incredibly charitable.
^"Diversity flourishes in Mission". May 12, 2017. In 1950, Naranjan Grewall became the first Hindu (as it was phrased at that time) in Canada to be elected to public office, after the voting franchise was extended to visible minority groups in 1947. In 1954, he was appointed to the position of mayor of Mission City by the board and later ran for the CCF in the Dewdney riding in 1956 [...] The two most legendary personalities from the Sikh community who graced Mission, and both employed hundreds of people, owning several large mills in the area, were Herman Braich Sr. and Naranjan Grewall.
^"Grewall first Indo-Canadian to hold office of mayor in Canada". February 6, 2014. He was later nominated as a provincial candidate for the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF) in 1956, making him also the first visible minority to run as a candidate in Canada. He was narrowly defeated by Socred Labour Minister Lyle Wicks. [...] During the much-heated 1956 provincial election, Grewall, as a CCF candidate, commonly addressed the issues of taxes, bridges, farmers and the forestry industry, which he claimed were being "monopolized" by a handful of large companies in the province. Grewall referred to these stakeholders as "timber maharajahs," and said the system would revert to a "form of feudalism, which I left 30 years ago."
^Feb 23, Karl Salgo Published on; 2021 3:46pm (2021-02-23). "Newfoundland and Labrador's mail-in election is a Canadian first". iPolitics. Retrieved 2021-03-04.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
External links
Still Counting : Women in Canadian Politics : List of Women of Diversity in Canadian Politics
Biographies of Canadian Women Politicians
Celebrating Women's Achievements", First of Women in Politics
Parliament of Canada, % of Women Candidates by Party
Legislature of Saskatchewan, Women in Politics in Saskatchewan
Parliament of Canada, List of current Members of Parliament born outside Canada
Parliament of Canada, List of past and present Members of Parliament born outside Canada
Parliament of Canada, List of current Members of the House of Commons of Inuit, Métis or First Nation Origin
Parliament of Canada, List of past & present Members of the House of Commons of Inuit, Métis or First Nation Origin
Gov. of Canada, Collections Canada; Contributions of Various Immigrant Communities to Canada
Gov. of Canada Collections Canada website; Biographies of Famous Black Canadians, including many Black Canadian Politicians