Our predecessors at CFUW worked hard to gain the rights we enjoy today. We now must do our part to ensure what they achieved is not lost and we continue to move forward to a more equal society.

Women Should Vote: A short history of how women won the franchise in Ontario tells the story of the struggle for women’s suffrage in Ontario at the turn of the 20th century.

This documentary was produced by the Legislative Assembly of Ontario’s Broadcast and Recording Service. It was nominated for a 2020 Canadian Screen Award for Best Writing, Documentary.


An Abridged Historical Timeline of Women’s Rights

1918 Some women in Canada were granted the right to vote in federal elections
1921 Agnes Macphail was the first women elected to the House of Commons
1929 Women were declared “persons”
1960 All Canadian women were given the right to vote
1977 The Canadian Human Rights Act was created
1981 Women’s rights were enshrined in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms
But then,
2022 Women in Afghanistan lose the right to education and freedom of movement
2022 Women in the U.S. lose reproductive rights with the overturning of Roe v Wade

“We can’t take rights in a democracy for granted. It’s not like you achieve it once and it’s there forever … All rights can be eroded …
There is no inevitability about women’s rights”

Chystia Freeland Interview – CBC The House, July 2, 2022

Our Mission is to continue to enhance our role as a national, bilingual, independent organization striving to promote equality, social justice, fellowship and lifelong learning for women and girls.