Jeanne Mance. Baptised Langres, France November 12, 1606 Died June 18, 1673. As a young reader she had enjoyed reading the Jesuit Relations, published reports of priests in the new world and thus she became interested in foreign missions, Jeanne joined the Société Notre-Dame de Montréal. She sailed as the first lay nurse for New France May 9, 1641 and founded first hospital in New France in 1642. The, Hotel-Dieu Hospital of Montreal was completed by 1645. She would return to France twice, in 1645 and 1657 to attain additional financial support for her work in Montreal. Canada Post issued a commemorative stamp in her honour in 1973. She has been declared a National Historic Person of Canada by Canada’s Historic Sites and Monument Board.

James Miranda Stuart Barry. (née Bulkeley [?]) Born England 1795. Died 1865. In the day when medicine only accepted men as students one woman disguised herself as a men and entered the Edinburgh University in 1809. As a doctor in the British army she served in the far corners of the British Empire and gained a reputation as an outstanding surgeon. In 157 Dr. Barry was posted to Canada where he was well respected for his fight to provide cleaner hospital facilities and better food for the working soldiers. An odd small “man” with little or no facial hair Dr. Barry was considered an eccentric. It would not be until death, when the body was being prepared for burial that it would be discovered that the renowned doctor was indeed a woman! It must have cause a stir in the Victorian society to have had the first “woman” doctor in the British Army!!!

Emily Howard Stowe (née Jennings). Born Norwich, Upper Canada (Ontario) May 1, 1831. Died April 30,1903.  A life long champion of women’s rights. With no Canadian institution allowing women to study medicine she studied in the United States and  in 1868 became the first Canadian woman to practice medicine in Canada. It was she who organized the Women’s Medical College in Toronto in 1883. She was also founder and first president of the Dominion Women’s Enfranchisement Association in 1889.

Anne Augusta Stowe-Gullen.  (née Stowe). Born Mount Pleasant, Canada West (Ontario) July 27,1857. Died September 25, 1943. She was the daughter of the famous Canadian Emily Stowe and she was the first woman to gain a medical degree in Canada. She graduated from Victoria College in Coburg in 1883.

Jenny (Jennie) Kidd Trout (née Gowanlock) Born Kelso, Scotland April 21, 1841. Died November 10,1921. After her marriage in 1865 Jenny decided to become a medical doctor.  However, no Canadian medical school accepted women.  She studied in the United States.  In 1875 on passing the Ontario registration exam she became the first Canadian woman licensed to practice medicine in Canada.

Octavia Grace England (née Ritchie) Born Montreal, Quebec January 16, 1868. Died February 1,1948. She would be the first woman to be valedictorian at McGill University even though she was originally refused entry because she was a woman. She was the first woman to graduate from a medical school in Quebec.

C. L. Josephine Wells.  The first woman to graduate and gain certification from the Royal College of Dental Surgeons in 1893. Dr. Wells was a distinguished practitioner for 36 years. She was the first dentist in Canada to work entirely in hospital dentistry.

Jessie Catherine Gray. Born Augusta, Georgia, U.S.A. August 26, 1910.  Died October 16, 1978. A distinguished and internationally recognized surgeon, lecturer and researcher, Dr. Gray has so many “firsts” that “The Canadian Encyclopedia” calls her Canada’s first lady of surgery. From 1941 until retirement in 1965 she worked with the Women’s College Hospital in Toronto, as associate and as surgeon-in-chief. Here is the list of firsts: 1934, first woman gold medalist in medicine at the University of Toronto; 1939 first woman to hold a master of surgery degree; 1941 first woman resident surgeon a the Toronto General Hospital; 1941 first Canadian woman to become a “fellow” in the Royal College of Surgeons; first woman member of the Central Surgical Society of North America; 1966 first woman elected to the Science Council of Canada.

Sylvia Olga Fedoruk. Born Canora, Saskatchewan May 5, 1927. An excellent academic achiever she established her reputation for achievement in nuclear medical research early in her career. She was instrumental in the development of the first cobalt radiation unit which is now in side use as a chemotherapy treatment for cancer. She was the first woman named to the position of Chancellor at the University of Saskatchewan. She was also the first woman trustee of the Society of Nuclear Medicine and in 1973 she was the first woman appointed to the Atomic Energy Control Board of Canada. She was Lieutenant Governor of Saskatchewan from 1988 to 1994. A balanced achiever she enjoys sports and is a member of Canada’s Curling Hall of fame. She was appointed to the Order of Canada in 1986.