# When Did Women Get the Right to Vote in Canada?
Women's suffrage in Canada arrived in waves between 1916 and 1960. This guide gives you the key dates the citizenship test expects you to know.
The federal timeline
- 1917 — Wartime Elections Act. Federal vote extended to:
- Women serving in the Canadian Armed Forces
- Women with male relatives (husbands, sons, brothers) serving overseas in WWI
- 1918 — Federal vote extended to most Canadian women. The Act to confer the Electoral Franchise upon Women received royal assent on May 24, 1918. Women aged 21+ who met other residency and citizenship qualifications could vote in federal elections.
- 1919 — Women were allowed to stand for election to the House of Commons.
- 1929 — Persons Case ruling — women confirmed as 'persons' under the Constitution; eligible for the Senate.
- 1960 — Indigenous women (and men) gain the unconditional federal vote — finally, without losing treaty status.
The provincial timeline
| Year | Province |
|---|---|
| 1916 | Manitoba (first), Saskatchewan, Alberta |
| 1917 | British Columbia, Ontario |
| 1918 | Nova Scotia |
| 1919 | New Brunswick, Yukon |
| 1922 | Prince Edward Island |
| 1925 | Newfoundland (still a separate dominion at the time) |
| 1940 | Quebec (last) |
The Famous Five and the Persons Case
The Famous Five are five Alberta women who challenged whether women could be appointed to the Canadian Senate:
- Emily Murphy — Canada's first female magistrate; led the case
- Nellie McClung — author and politician (Alberta MLA, then Manitoba MLA)
- Henrietta Muir Edwards — women's rights advocate
- Louise McKinney — Alberta MLA, the first woman elected to a provincial legislature in the British Empire
- Irene Parlby — Alberta MLA and cabinet minister
In 1928, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled women were not "qualified persons" under Section 24 of the BNA Act, and so could not be appointed to the Senate. The Famous Five appealed to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in London (then Canada's highest court).
On October 18, 1929, the Privy Council overturned the Supreme Court and ruled women are persons. The first female senator, Cairine Wilson, was appointed in 1930.
October 18 is now Persons Day in Canada.
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Other key women's-rights figures
- Agnes Macphail — first woman elected to the House of Commons (1921)
- Idola Saint-Jean and Thérèse Casgrain — Quebec suffrage activists; Casgrain became the first leader of a major Canadian political party (CCF Quebec, 1951)
- Mary Two-Axe Earley — Mohawk activist who campaigned to remove sex-based discrimination in the Indian Act
- Viola Desmond — Black Nova Scotian whose 1946 stand against segregation predated Rosa Parks; now on the Canadian $10 bill
What the test asks
Common test questions:
- "When did women get the right to vote in federal elections?" → 1918
- "Which province gave women the vote first?" → Manitoba (1916)
- "Which province gave women the vote last?" → Quebec (1940)
- "Who were the Famous Five?" → Five Alberta women who won the 1929 Persons Case
- "When did Indigenous women get the federal vote?" → 1960
Practice now
Women's-suffrage dates show up regularly on the test. Drill them on our [free Canadian citizenship practice test](/practice-test). For the Charter context, see [What Are Equality Rights in Canada?](/blog/what-are-equality-rights-canada).
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Frequently Asked Questions
1What year did women get the federal vote in Canada?
**1918** for most Canadian women. The first wave came in **1917** under the Wartime Elections Act, which gave the federal vote to women in the Canadian Armed Forces and to women with husbands, sons, or brothers serving overseas in WWI. The full federal franchise for most women came in **May 1918**.
2Which province gave women the right to vote first?
**Manitoba** in **January 1916** — the first province to grant women the vote in provincial elections. Saskatchewan and Alberta followed later in 1916. The remaining provinces extended the vote progressively over the next 24 years, with **Quebec last in 1940**.
3Why was Quebec last?
Conservative political and social culture in Quebec at the time was strongly opposed to women's suffrage, including from the Catholic Church and many male politicians. Activists like **Idola Saint-Jean** and **Thérèse Casgrain** campaigned for decades. Provincial vote granted in **April 1940** under Premier Adélard Godbout.
4When could Indigenous women vote in Canada?
Indigenous women (and men) faced extra barriers. While they gained federal vote rights in stages, the **unconditional federal vote** — without losing treaty status — was not granted until **1960** under Prime Minister John Diefenbaker. Before 1960, voting required Indigenous people to give up their treaty rights.
5What was the Persons Case?
A 1929 ruling by the **Judicial Committee of the Privy Council** (then Canada's highest court) that **women are 'persons' under the Constitution** and therefore eligible for appointment to the Senate. Five Alberta women — the **Famous Five** (Emily Murphy, Nellie McClung, Henrietta Muir Edwards, Louise McKinney, Irene Parlby) — brought the case after the Supreme Court of Canada had ruled women were not 'persons'.