Louise McKinney

Louise McKinney
A statue of Louise McKinney
Member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta
In office
7 June 1917 – 18 July 1921
Preceded by William Moffat
Succeeded by Thomas Milnes
Constituency Claresholm
Personal details
Born Louise Crummy
22 September 1868
Frankville, Ontario
Died 10 July 1931 (aged 62)
Claresholm, Alberta
Political party Non-Partisan League
Other political
affiliations		 United Farmers
Occupation Women's rights activist and politician

Louise McKinney née Crummy (22 September 1868 – 10 July 1931) was a provincial politician and women's rights activist from Alberta, Canada. She was the first woman sworn into the Legislative Assembly of Alberta and the first woman elected to a legislature in Canada and in the British Empire. She served as MLA from 1917 to 1921, sitting with the Non-Partisan League caucus in opposition. Later she was one of the Famous Five that pursued successfully the right of Canadian women to be appointed to the Senate. She was a former schoolteacher who came to Alberta in 1903 as a homesteader.[1]

Political career

Full view of statue, Calgary, Alberta

McKinney ran for a seat to the Alberta Legislature in the 1917 Alberta general election. She won the electoral district of Claresholm as a candidate for the Non-Partisan League by defeating Liberal incumbent William Moffat in hotly contested race.[2]

McKinney believed in temperance education, stronger liquor control, women's property rights and the Dower Act. She was one of two women sworn into the Alberta Legislative Assembly on 7 June 1917, the other being Roberta MacAdams. McKinney became one of "The Famous Five" (also called "The Valiant Five"),[3] along with Irene Parlby, Henrietta Muir Edwards, Emily Murphy and Nellie McClung

She ran for a second term in the 1921 Alberta general election, running under the United Farmers banner. She was defeated and lost her seat to Independent Farmer candidate Thomas Milnes in a hotly contested race.[4]

Late life and honours

Among other honours, in October 2009 the Senate voted to name McKinney and the other members of the Famous Five as Canada's first "honorary senators".[5] She died at Claresholm, Alberta, in 1931.[6]

References

  1. ↑ Sanderson, Kay (1999). 200 Remarkable Alberta Women. Calgary: Famous Five Foundation. p. 19.
  2. ↑ "Election results for Claresholm, 1917 (Alberta general election)". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved 8 September 2010.
  3. ↑ Kome, Penney (1985). Women of Influence: Canadian Women and Politics (1st ed.). Toronto: Doubleday Canada. pp. 31–32. ISBN 978-0-385-23140-4.
  4. ↑ "Election results for Claresholm, 1921 (Alberta general election)". Alberta Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved 8 September 2010.
  5. ↑ "Alberta's Famous Five named honorary senators". The Globe and Mail. 11 October 2009.
  6. ↑ "The Famous 5 Heroes for Today: Louise McKinney". Heritage Community Foundation. Retrieved 8 September 2010.

External links