Nellie McClung: accomplishments and legacy

Today marks the birthdate of one of the most important figures in Canadian women’s suffrage and activism: Nellie McClung.

She was born in Ontario on Oct. 20th, 1873, but moved to Manitoba at the age of seven. She had multiple jobs over her lifetime, including teaching, writing, and speaking, all of which facilitated her significant contributions to the literary world, to feminist thought and to activism overall. She also served as a member of the legislative assembly for five years.

However, she is most known for her role in the Famous Five, a group of five activists who worked to have women declared as ‘persons’ in law. However, her accomplishments do not come without controversy. The following passages will explore how McClung’s early life influenced her career, examine her accomplishments, and remark on the controversies that have emerged.

McClung grew up around the Souris River Valley in Manitoba. In 1890, she started teaching and moved to Manitou, Manitoba. In 1896, she married Wes McClung and lived in Manitou for the following 11 years. In 1897, McClung joined the Women’s Christian Temperance Union, whose primary goal was to fight alcohol abuse, as they thought it was a leading cause of the core problems women often faced.

Her membership contributed to her belief that granting the voting right to women would permit them to form policy that would positively affect them and society, in this case by altering the laws surrounding alcohol in support of prohibition.

In 1902, McClung first began to write after being encouraged to do so by her mother-in-law. The writing became the book known as “Sowing Seeds in Danny.” When it was published in 1908, it became a Canadian bestseller, selling over 100,000 copies.

The novel tackles themes of community and being a mother in a rural Manitoba setting. Her success as an author brought many public speaking opportunities, where she gave public readings of the book in Brandon and Winnipeg. In 1911, she began campaigning and writing more for women’s rights. Eventually, her continual support for women’s suffrage cemented her legacy as a key component in the movement.

McClung had many accomplishments throughout her life. One accomplishment was the founding of the Political Equality League, a group that organized events concerning women’s suffrage and other political problems. Along with members of the Canadian Women’s Press Club, the Political Equality League organized a mock parliament at the Walker Theatre in Winnipeg, where women replaced the role of men in government and McClung played the role of premier.

Scathingly satirical, the play criticized the way men ran the government, directly mocking Rodmond Roblin, the premier at the time. The mock parliament was a leading reason why Manitoba became the first province to extend voting rights to women in 1916. The other provinces followed suit in light of the success in Manitoba.

From 1916 onward, McClung became increasingly popular due to her public speaking, touring Canada and the United States. McClung moved to Edmonton, and in the 1921 Alberta general election she was elected to the legislative assembly of Alberta.

Perhaps the most significant accomplishment in McClung’s life was her role as one of the ‘Famous Five,’ a group of five women that included Emily Murphy, Henrietta Edwards, Irene Parlby, Louise McKinney and, of course, Nellie McClung herself.

In 1927, the Famous Five petitioned the Canadian Government to refer two questions to the Supreme Court regarding the possibility of the appointment of women to the Senate. The questions ultimately condensed to whether the word “persons” used in the British North America Act, 1867, included women. The Supreme Court held that women were not deemed ‘qualified persons’ and thus could not be appointed to the Senate.

As a last resort, the women appealed to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in London, the ultimate judicial authority at that time. In 1929, the committee reversed the Supreme Court’s decision and concluded that the use of the word ‘persons’ was broad and included women. This was a sweeping victory for women’s suffrage and permitted an entirely different perspective of women in law, bringing tremendous change.

Despite being looked fondly upon in history books and in classrooms, McClung’s legacy has faced controversy in light of some of her beliefs that have emerged. For example, McClung practised a sort of maternal feminism, a branch that reinforces gender roles by emphasizing women’s role of caregiving. She believed that because of this, women were morally superior to men, and for that reason they ought to be the ones to form policy. Not exactly what we would consider equal by today’s standards.

Additionally, McClung was a large proponent of the Sexual Sterilization Act, 1928, in Alberta and subscribed to the idea of eugenics. The act led to the sterilization over 2,800 people without their consent, which contributed to Canada’s cultural genocide of Indigenous peoples.

This raises the question: To what extent should we continue to celebrate figures like Nellie McClung and officially promote them, given both their negative and positive contributions to Canada? There is no clear answer to this problem, nor will there ever be.

However, there are some things to keep in mind when ruminating about this problem. First, it’s vital to note the differences in scientific understanding at the time. Perhaps if McClung were provided with up-to-date information about eugenics, her opinion would change. It’s impossible to tell for sure, but it’s worth keeping in mind.

Second, what society views as moral changes. Nearly every historical figure did not adhere to today’s standards, and we must consider what the people of the future will think of us today. For this reason, if we want to understand certain historical figures like Nellie McClung, we must assume a historical perspective.

Instead of judging them by today’s standards, we must look back at their lives, their accomplishments and their controversies to get a true sense of who these people were and how they impacted Canada. By adopting this outlook and by analyzing these historical facts, we can increase our clarity and understanding of how Canada evolved into the place we live in today.

» Colin Shaw is a grade 12 student at École secondaire Neelin High School