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Women’s right to vote in the Maritimes

In the colonial era the right to vote was granted essentially on the basis of criteria related to age, origin, and property, and for a long time no law formally prohibited women’s suffrage. Since there was no statutory restriction, women who wanted to vote and who met the criteria did so in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia despite conventions in common law that would otherwise have prohibited the enfranchisement of women, as in Great Britain. Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia banned women’s suffrage in 1836, 1843, and 1851 respectively. In response, women promoted their cause with comparable zeal, especially in local sections of the Dominion Women’s Enfranchisement Association. Women won the right to vote in Nova Scotia in 1918, in New Brunswick in 1919, and in Prince Edward Island in 1922.

Related Biographies

BLAIR, ANDREW GEORGE
DONALD, LOUISA ANNE (Thomson)
EDWARDS, ANNA HARRIETTE (baptized Ann Harriet Emma) (Leonowens)
ELLIS, JOHN VALENTINE
EMMERSON, HENRY ROBERT
HAWKE, JOHN THOMAS
HUTCHINSON, JENNIE PHELAN (MacMichael)
LANDRY, VALENTIN (Valentin-A., Valentin Augustus)
LAWSON, ALEXANDER
LONGLEY, JAMES WILBERFORCE
PETERS, MABEL PHOEBE
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SKINNER, EMMA SOPHIA (Fiske)
SUGRUE, JAMES LEONARD

Other Resources

Elections Canada Online | A History of the Vote in Canada
Local Council of Women of Halifax - Wikipedia
University of Alberta Faculty of Law Blog: The “Weight of Indifference”: Maritime Provinces Part I [1]
Women in the DCB/DBC – Dictionary of Canadian Biography
Women's Suffrage - Nellie McClung Foundation

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