Feminism in Canada

During the 1870s some women embraced the causes of education, enfranchisement, and temperance that marked the women’s reform movement in Canada. Its rise was closely linked to the urban reform movement that began to take shape in Canadian cities around 1880 with the creation of the first women’s associations, such as the Montreal Women’s Club, founded in 1892. Most of these associations advocated social feminism that still accepted the idea of a natural distinction between the roles of men and women, but nonetheless they helped broaden the rights and privileges of female citizens. Many people castigated the budding feminist movement and urged women to shun public office and devote themselves to home and family. These obstacles notwithstanding, activist women contributed to changing attitudes and opened the way for the dramatic rise of feminist movements during the 20th century.