Events
listed relate to Canadian women with a few extra items added
to give the timeline perspective.
This timeline is not all inclusive.
|
LAST UPDATED
January 2022
Copyright © 1998-2024 Dawn E. Monroe. All rights
reserved
|
ISBN: 0-9736246-0-4 |
|
DATES |
EVENTS |
1950 |
January 1, 1950 -
Inuit people gain the right to vote but ballot boxes were not
placed in northern communities until the 1962 federal election
1950 - 1953 - Women once again volunteer for military service
when when Canada commits itself to the Korean War
(1950-1953).
More than 5,000 women serve Source:
National Defence and the Canadian Armed Forces, Fact sheet.
Online (Accessed March 2014)
February 14, 1950 -
Nancy Hodges
(1888-1969)
is appointed as Speaker of the House in the
British Columbia legislature the 1st woman in the British
Commonwealth to hold such a position
1950
- Inuit
Canadians are given the right to vote
March
1950 -
several women’s organizations amalgamate to create the Congress of
Canadian Women to lobby for equal rights for women in all aspects of
life
1950 - Muriel McQueen Fergusson
(1899-1997) is the 1st woman elected to the
Fredericton City Council in New Brunswick and was the 1st woman
deputy mayor in 1953
1950 - Mariss Scott-Louisy
graduates from the St
Joseph Hospital School of Nursing in Guelph, Ontario
as one of the 1st Black graduates in nursing in
Ontario. having paved the way for other Black nursing students.
1950 - The Canadian Press names
Bobby Rosenfeld (1904-1969) as Top
Female Athlete of the Half-century
1950 - Marion Orr
(1918-1995) of Maple, Ontario begins her own flying school.
During her career as a
flight instructor she trained over 600 pilots
Source: Women in Canadian History. Susan
Merrwill (accessed June 3, 2004)
1950 - Acclaimed engineer Dormer Ellis
(1925 - ) becomes the 1st woman
professor of electrical engineering at Ryerson Institute of
Technology, Toronto
1950 - Canadians invent the green garbage bag
Source: Canuck Chicks and Maple Leaf Mamas by Ann Douglas Toronto, McArthur and Co., 2002. pg
18.
1950's - Poutine appears in
rural Quebec snack bars. It was widely popularized across Canada by
the 1990's. Poutine may be found anywhere from fine dining menus at
top restaurants to fast-food chain menus. It has become an iconic
symbol of Québécois cuisine and culture
Births 1950:
1950 -
Born Linda R. Bull (1950-2015) internally acclaimed indigenous rights
advocate 1950 - Born Cathy Kerr (1951-2004) social activist for the disabled
March 6, 1950 - Born Marlys Edwardh (1950- ) lawyer
who worked tirelessly to overturn wrongful convictions March 16, 1950 -
Born Kate Nelligan (1950- ) actor April 18, 1950 -
Born Jane Austin (1950- ) co-op,
musician April 25, 1950 - Born Joyce Ann C. Douthwright (1950-
) champion basketball player
May 1, 1950 - Born Judith Shamian (1950- )
internationally acclaimed nurse
June 13, 1950 - Born Judi Leinweber-Chapman (1950- )
skier June 17, 1950 - Born Cathy Sherk (1950- ) champion golfer
June 25, 1950 - Born Barbara Gowdy (1950- )
author
July 12, 1950 - Born Barbara Astman (1950- )
photographer &
multimedia artist July 19, 1950 - Born Karen Gay Kulyk (1950- )
acclaimed artist & art gallery owner July 20, 1950 - Born Tantoo Cardinal (1950- )
acclaimed actor July 23, 1950 - Born Belinda Montgomery (1950- )
well respected support actress worked mainly in TV August 14, 1950 -
Born Katherine Edna Swinton (1950-
) lawyer
August 21, 1950 - Born Margo Gwendolyn Kane (1951-
) actor, singer, dancer, & playwright
August 25, 1950 - Born Heather Anne Elyse Lilian Munroe-Blum
(1950- ) 1st woman to serve as McGill University's
President
September 8, 1950 - Born Lea Pool (1950- )
award winning filmmaker
September 15, 1950 - Born Sheila Fraser (1950- ) appointed Auditor General of Canada
September 20 1950 - Born Jocelyne Bourgon (1950- )
1st woman Clerk of the Privy Council and also Secretary to Canadian
Cabinet
September 28, 1950- Born Catherine Robbin (1950- )
mezzo-soprano October 23, 1950 - Born Barbara Louise Jackman (1950-
) immigration lawyer & Senator
November 2, 1950 - Born Wendy Lill Playwright (1950-
) journalist, community development worker, historian, & MP November 9, 1950 -
Born Rachelle Halpenny (1950-2012) sport personality who saw no disability to entering the "Game"
November 22, 1950 - Born Linda Granfield (1950- )
author November 29, 1950 - Born Anne Goodman (1950-2013) educator
December 20, 1950 - Died Edith Rayside (1872-1950) World War 1
Nursing Matron
Deaths 1950: 1950 -
Died Julia Arthur (1869-1950) international stage actor & movie
star
1950 - Died Adeline Elizabeth Browning (1896-1950) social
activist & one of first women to run for St. John's town council 1950 - Died
Marion Coutts Carson (1861-1950) social activist in
Alberta 1950 - Died
Eleanor 'Ella' Johnson (1875-1950) journalist & 1st woman taxi driver
in British Columbia
1950 - Died
Mathilde Masse (1871-1950) second Quebec woman to become a doctor
February 19, 1950 - Died Sarah Reitman (1881?-1950) businesswoman and co-founder
of Reitmans clothing stores
June 2, 1951 -
Died Mabel Bruce-Evans (1878-1951) World War l Nursing Sister
June 25, 1950 -
Died Janet Hall (1872-1950) indomitable early woman doctor
July 11, 1950 - Died Margaret Ellen Douglass (1878-1950)
distinguished early woman doctor July 13, 1950 - Died
Marion Young Coutts Curson (1861-1950) activist in Calgary
July 29, 1950 - Died Alice Massey (1880-1950) wife of Governor General Vincent Massey (1887-1967)
August 9, 1950
- Died Annie Norman Hennigar-Sanford (1873-1950) early woman
rural doctor in Nova Scotia
October 8, 1950 - Died Annie Belle Alguire (1880-1950)
physician, poet, & song writer
October 8, 1950 - Died Grace Bagnato (1891-1950) 1st Italian
Canadian woman to become a court interpreter
November 2, 1950 -
Died Jane ‘Jennie’ Stewart Bloomfield (1861-1950) indomitable early
women doctor
December 20, 1950 - Died
Edith Rayside (1872-1950) World War l Matron-in-Chief of Nursing
Sisters, O B E |
1951 |
January 1, 1951 -
Indigenous women gain the right to vote in band councils as the
Canadian government changes the Indian Act.
1951 -
All three services of the Canadian military begin
to recruit women in the reserves Source:
Women in the Military. The Canadian Encyclopedia Online (accessed March 2005).
April 1, 1951 - Canada's Post Office now provides mail
deliveries only once a day
June 12, 1951 - Women in the Northwest Territories gain the
right to vote and to stand for office
July 3, 1951 -
The 1st
80 recruited enlisted women in the Royal Canadian Air Force arrive
at St Jean , Quebec for basic training
Source: A Brief History. RCAF Women.
www.rcafwomen.ca
1951 -
The
Canadian Negro Women's Association is founded
1951 -
The Ontario government passes the Female Employees Fair
Remuneration Act requiring equal pay for women who do the same
work as men
Source:
Shirley Tillotson, "Human Rights Law as a Prism: Women's
Organizations, Unions, and Ontario's Female Employees Fair
Remuneration Act, 1951," Canadian Historical Review (1991)
72#4 pp 532-557
1951
-
The Quebec government passes law that gives married women the power
to exercise her civil rights in her own name rather than through her
husband
1951 -
Charlotte Whitton (1896-1975) is
the 1st woman to become mayor of a major Canadian city, Ottawa
1951 - Addie Aylestock becomes
the 1st Black woman to be ordained as a Minster in Canada.
Source: Black History
Month (accessed May 2005)
August 16, 1951 -
Winnie Roach-Leuszler
(1926-2004)
becomes
the 1st Canadian woman to swim the English Channel
(Information from her family)
October 2, 1951 -
The 1st enlistees in the Woman's Division of
the Royal Canadian Navy begin their training
Source: “Doreen Nettie Paterson Reitsma” by Raymond Reitsma ,
The Vancouver Hall of Fame, online (Accessed December 2012.)
1951 - Hilda Ramsay, running for
the C C F party, is the first woman candidate to campaign for a seat
in the Prince Edward Island Legislative Assembly
November 12, 1951 - National Ballet of Canada is founded
1951 - The Canadian Press does not present the Bobbie
Rosenfeld Award for Tope Female Athlete this year
1951 - Marlene Streit (1934-
) champion golfer, is voted by the Canadian Press as winner
of the Lou Marsh Award as Canada's Outstanding Athlete of the Year
Births 1951:
1951 -
Born Cheryl Marlene Davidson (1951-1997) lawyer & judge in
Manitoba
1951 -
Born Meerlae Cho (1951 - ) lawyer
1951 - Born Linda Kay (1951-2018) Pulitzer Prize winning
journalist & author
1951 -
Died
Edith
Frances Macey (1886-1951) World War 1 Nursing Sister
1951 -
Born
Micheline Rawlins ( 1951 - )
1st Black woman
appointed the bench in Ontario in 1992
1951 - Born Jane Ash Poitras (1951-
) aboriginal artist & painter
January 28, 1951 -
Born Jennifer Hodge de Silva (1951-1989) acclaimed Black filmmaker
February 22, 1951 - Born Elaine Tanner- Watt (1951-
)
considered
Canada's best competitive swimmer
February 24, 1951 - Born Helen Shaver (1951-
) actor & member of Canada's Walk of Fame
March 2, 1951 - Born Louise V. Charron (1951- )
appointed to the Supreme Court of Canada on August 30, 2004
March 7, 1951 - Born Diane Helen Jones Konihowski (1951-
) medal winning track star & recipient of the Order of Canada
March 12, 1951 - Born Susan, Musgrave (1951- )
poet
March 25, 1951 - Born Ethel Blondwin-Andrews (1951-
) 1st aboriginal woman elected to Canadian Parliament & 1st appointed
to Cabinet
March 28, 1951 - Born Karen Kain (1951- ) prima ballerina.
May 6, 1951 - Born Louise Portal (1951- ) award winning actor, author,
& composer
May 1, 1951 - Born Nadia Kazymyra-Dzioba (1951-2023) archivist
May 7, 1951 - Born Janina Frakowska (1951- )
international renowned pianist
May 8, 1951 - Born Sylvie Belanger (1951-2020)
multidiscipline artist
May 20, 1951
- Born Christie Marie Blatchford (1951-2020) award winning
journalist, first woman sports columnist
June 4, 1952 - Born Maryann Kovalski (1951- )
Illustrator for books
July 4, 1951 - Born Beverly Boys (1951- ) champion
diver in springboard & platform diving
July 5, 1951 - Born Marie M. Klawe (1951- )
businesswoman
July 13, 1951 - Born Sheila M. MacQuarrie (1951-1988)
champion rifle sharp shooter
July 19, 1951 - Born Elizabeth Jo-Anne 'Jo' Bannatyne-Cugnet
(1951- ) author of books for children &
novelist.
August 5, 1951- Born Carole Laure, accomplished actor, director
& producer of films.
August 23, 1951 - Born Bev (Beverly) Busson ( 1951-
) 1st woman appointed Commissioner of the Royal Canadian
Mounted Police. (2006)
September 14, 1951 - Born Elizabeth Ann 'Liz' Carruthers
(1951- ) champion diver
September 17, 1951 - Born Sylvia Elizabeth Dockerill (1951-
) champion swimmer
September 24, 1951 - Born Lorraine Pintal (1951- )
actor, director, producer & playwright
October 5, 1951 - Born Wanda Koop (1951- ) painter
and visual artist
October 9, 1951 - Born Thelma Sonia Wright (1951- )
medal winning track & field star
October 22, 1951 - Born Elizabeth
Grace Hay (1951- ) award winning author
November 11, 1951 - Born Wendy Irving-Dell (1951- )
champion equestrian
December 3, 1951 - Born Linda Kay (1951-2018) author
December 13, 1951 - Born Anne-Marie Alonzo (1951-2005)
playwright, novelist, poet, critic & publisher who was quadriplegic
December 22, 1951 - Born Judith 'Judy' MacPherson
Crawford-Rawley (1951- ) champion alpine skier
Deaths 1951:
1951 -
Died
Edith 'Daisy' Campbell
(1871-1951) Nursing Sister and Matron World War l
1951 - Died Jane Constance Cook (1870-1951) Aboriginal
rights activist in British Columbia
1951 -
Died Flores (Florence) La Due (1883-1951) world champion trick &
fancy roper, rancher
January 15, 1951 - Died
Edith Frances Macey (1886-1951) World War l Nursing Sister
February 7, 1951 - Died Edna May Diefenbaker (1899-1951) wife
of John George Diefenbaker (1895-1979) 13th Prime Minister
Note some sources report birth date as 1901
February 25, 1951 -
Died Mabel Helen Taylor-Lucas (1880-1951) World War 1 Nursing
Sister
March 11, 1951 -
Died Daisy Amelia Hulse Roberts Wright (1866-1951) poet
May 19, 1951 -
Died Effie Charlotte Storer (1867-1951) 1st woman journalist
in the North West Territories
May 20, 1951 - Died Dorothy Greensmith (1890?-1951) lawyer,
King's Council
June 4, 1951-
Died Isabel Jaffares-Gibb (1895-1951) World War 1 Nursing Sister
June 17, 1951 -
Died
Sadie Iveson (1884-1951) teacher in Ontario
June 27,
1951 -
Died Mary Alexander Bell Eastlake (1864-1951) artist
July 22. 1951 -
Died Lola Bell (1885-1957) World War l Nursing Sister
August 23, 1951 -
Died Anna Bernice Kilbourne-Cowell (1891-1951) World War l
Nursing Sister
August 29, 1951 -
Died Irene Gurney Evans (1870?-1951) cultural activist
October 5, 1951 - Died Francis Marion Beynon (1884-1951) journalist,
editor,
feminist, & social reformer
December 31, 1951 - Died
Sarah Evelyn 'Sadie'
Drysdale (1865-1951) teacher in South African Boer War |
1952 |
January 1952 -
Status Indians gain the right to vote in Manitoba elections
1952 - The Public Service, which had previously fired
female workers upon their marriage, removes restrictions on married
women working in the federal Public Service.
1952 -
The province of Manitoba passes a law allowing women to sit on a
jury
1952 -
The Ontario Training Schools for Girls was established for young
female offenders under the age of 16. the schools will close in
1960
1952 - Tillie
Jean Rolston
(1887-1953)
is appointed the Minister of Education in British Columbia becoming
the 1st woman to hold a provincial cabinet position with
a portfolio in Canada. Women who had held provincial cabinet
positions prior to this date were not given a specific portfolio
1952
- Elsie Knott, a member of the Ojibwa tribe, is the
1st Aboriginal woman elected chief
September 6, 1952 -
Canada's 1st television station
begin broadcasting in Montreal and Toronto.
CBC
and Radio-Canada broadcast their 1st television show from
Montreal, Quebec, this is followed in two days with broadcasts from
Toronto, Ontario
September 8, 1952 - Laddie Dennis (1920-2009)
is the 1st Canadian woman to appear on Canadian TV
Source: Canadian Broadcast Museum Foundation
(accessed
March 2009)
1952 -
The Canadian Press resumes votes Marlene
Streit (1934- ),
winner of the Canadian Women's Closed Golf Championship, winner of
the Bobbie Rosenfeld Award as Canada's Top Female Athlete of the
Year
1952 -
Ethlyn Trapp
(1891-1972) is the 1st woman doctor to become head of the
National Cancer Institute of Canada
Source: Vancouver Hall of Fame (Accessed December 2012)
1952 - The Boys' and Girls' Clubs, originally founded in
the Agricultural District of Waterloo, Ontario in 1915, change their
name to 4-H Clubs
My Head for clearer thinking
My Heart for greater loyalty
My Hands for larger service
My Health for better living
1952 -
Hanaka Muraoka, a Japanese woman who learned English at school and
became a translator, published her translation in Japanese of Anne
of Green Gables...Akage-no An (Red haired Anne)
Source: Canadian Women Missionaries at Toyo Eiwa in Japan
1882-2006. Translated by Seiichi Ariga and Wayne Irwin. (Toyo
Eiwa Jogakuin, 2012)
1952 -
The first known recipe for Nanaimo bars appeared in the Women's
Auxiliary of the Nanaimo Hospital Cookbook and was labeled chocolate
square.
Births 1952:
1952 -
Born Marsha Elaine Boulton (1952- ) listed in the Canadian
Who's Who as a shepherd & author
1952 - Born Carole Corbeil (1952-2000) author in both English &
French
1952 - Born Cathy Crowe (1952- ) street nurse and
advocate for the homeless
1952 - Born Rosaline Delisle (1952-2003) ceramic sculptor
1952 - Born Marie Elizabeth DeYoung (1952-2022) librarian
1952 - Born Gabrielle Goudreau (1952 2006) author, lecturer &
journalist
1952 - Born Susan Mabel Hare (1952- ) one of the 1st
aboriginal lawyers in Ontario 1995
1952 - Born Anne Leahy (1952- ) career diplomat with
Canadian Foreign Service
January 10, 1952 - Born Angela Grauerholz ( 1952- )
internationally known photographer
January 19, 1952 - Born Alix Cleo Roubaud (1952-1983) Canadian
photographer in France
January 20. 1952 - Born Ruth Elizabeth Borson (1952-
) acclaimed poet
January 25, 1952 - Born Patricia Martens (1952-2015) science
researcher
January 31, 1952 - Born Di Brandt (1952- )
acclaimed poet
February 4, 1952 - Born Shirley Blumberg (1952- )
acclaimed architect
February 19, 1952 - Born Constance Barbara Backhouse (1952-
) educator
& author in women's issues
February 27, 1952 - Born Maureen McTeer (1952- )
author, journalist, lawyer & politician, wife to Prime Minister Joe
Clark
March 11, 1952 - Born Norah McClintock (1952-2017) author of
young adult fiction
March 19, 1952 - Born Jeanne Beker (1952- ) journalist, TV
broadcaster, fashion editor, author, & newspaper columnist
March 21, 1952 - Born Margaret Franssen (1952- )
social activist for international women's rights
March 25, 1952 - Born Elizabeth Legge (1952- )
artist & curator of fine arts
April 4, 1952 - Born Karen Magnusson (1952- ) world champion figure
skater
April 9, 1952 - Born Diana Zoe Coop (1952- ) visual
artist
April 11, 1952 - Born Indira Vasanti Damarasekera (1952-
) award
winning mechanical engineer
April 12, 1952 - Born Pearl Ester Isabella Elphnstone - Ellis
(1952 -1987) WREN
April 14, 1952 - Born Hélène
Pedneault (1952-2008) author, playwright, and feminist
April 22, 1952 - Born Kathy Stinson (1952- )
outstanding author of books for children
May 13, 1952 - Born Mary Walsh (1952- ) award
winning actor, comedian, writer & role model
May 19, 1952 - Born Sarah Ellis, (1952- ) author of books
for children & youth
June 18, 1952 - Born Shirley Cheechoo (stage name
Cactus Rose) (1952- ) artist, actor, writer, director singer, & producer
July 5, 1952 - Born Susan Riva Bellan (1952-
) import &
retail executive & author
July 5, 1952 - Born Laurelea Vorna Conrad (1952-2009) artist &
business C E O
July 25, 1952 - Born Linda Marie Giesbrecht (1952-2013)
lawyer
August 15, 1952 - Born Jan Wong (1952- )
journalist & author often reporting from or on China
August 31, 1952 - Born Carrie-Jo (C. J.) Taylor (1952-
) artist & author
of books for teens
September 17, 1952 - Born Nancy Margaret Reid (1952-
) award winning statistician
October 4, 1952 - Born Angela Coughlan (1952-
) champion freestyle swimmer
October 22, 1952 - Born Peggy Laurayne Baker (1952-
) known for her modern dance.
November 27, 1952 - Born Jacqueline Guest (1952- )
Métis Children's author.
December 11, 1952 - Born Goldie Semple (1952-2009) stage actor
December 31, 1953 - Born Sharon Anne Firth twin sister of
Shirley (1953- ) champion cross country skier
December 31, 1953 - Born Shirley Firth twin sister of Sharon
(1953- ) champion cross country skier.
Deaths 1952:
1952 - Died Arabelle "Belle" Frances Patchen (
-1952) Northwestern
pioneer
1952 - Died Anna M. Tilley (1872-1952) social worker, O B
E
January 4, 1952 - Died Elizabeth Anne Mellinger (1870-1952)
Titanic survivor
January 5, 1952 -
Died Pearl Brannick Patterson Ackeroyd (1894-1952) teacher
January 9, 1952 - Augusta Edith Ariss (1871-1952)
Nurse & Deaconess, Methodist Church, Founder Nursing School, Grand
Falls, Montana, U.S.A.
January 23, 1952 - Died Anna "Annie" Jamieson (1871-1952)
education activist
April 8, 1952 -
Died Alice Evelyn Thorn-Morrison (1890-1952) medical doctor
and businesswoman
April 9, 1952 - Died Harriet
Tremaine Meiklejohn (1876- 1952) World War l Nursing Sister &
acclaimed nursing administrator
April 12, 1952 - Died Margaret May McWilliams (1875-1952) author
& founder, Canadian Federation of University Women
May 12, 1952 - Died Lillian Margaret Hendrie (1870-1952)
teacher & author
May 25, 1952 -
Died Irene Louise Sharpe (1890-1952) World War 1 Nursing
Sister
June 22, 1952 - Died Emma Gendron (18951952) journalist, playwright,
screenwriter, & author
July 16, 1952 - Died Catherine 'Kate'
Motherwell (1866-1952) educator
September 14, 1952 - Died
Josephine 'Jo' Belle Peters (1989-1952) early public health nurse
November 3, 1952 - Died Minnie Julia Beatrice Campbell
(1862-1952) social activist & prominent volunteer
|
1953 |
January 1, 1953 - National Library of
Canada is established in Ottawa
January 9, 1953 - Marguerite Pitre is the last woman hanged
in Canada. She was sentenced to death for her role in the bombing of
a passenger airplane
Source: Canada’s History December 2011-January 2012 page 11.
January 1953 - 5 women, including Mrs.
Irvin McLean are the 1st women to serve on a jury in Ontario Source: Cochrane
Northland Post January 22, 1953. pg.2.
July 13, 1953 - Stratford Festival opens under a
tent for its 1st season
July 27, 1953 - Korean
conflict ends
1953 -
The Canadian government passed the Fair Employment Practices Act
to help end discrimination in the labour force
1953 - Vitamin D is now added to milk
1953 -
There are
3,133 women enlisted in the RCAF Source: A Brief
History. RCAF Women.
1953 -
Nancy Hodges becomes the 1st woman senator in British
Columbia's legislature Source:
British Columbia Federation of Labour.
1953 - Stella Panarites
(1924-1986) is the 1st woman lawyer of Greek Heritage to be
called to the bar in Ontario
Source: Diversifying the bar: Lawyers Make history. Law
Society of Upper Canada Online
1953 - Canada's Outstanding womens Athelete of
the year was Ernestine Russell Weaver,
(1938- ) Champion Gymnast. (Also won this title for
1954 & 1955)
1953 - Frances Dafoe (1929 - )
and her skating partner Norris Bowden (1926-1991)
are the 1st Canadians to win a World Pairs Skating title
Source: Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame Online (Accessed January 2013)
1953 -
The Canadian Press votes Marlene Streit (1934-
) winner of the British Ladies Amateur Gold Championship, as the
winner of the Bobbie Rosenfeld Award as Tope Female Athlete of the
Year for the second year in a row
1953 - Simpson's Department Stores merges with American Sears and the
1st
Simpson's Sears catalogue is issued. Source: Before
e-commerce : a history of mail order catalogues
(Accessed December 15,2004.)
1953 - Woodward's Catalogue, a tradition in Western
Canada, closes & assets are purchased by the Hudson's Bay Company Source: Before e-commerce : a history of
mail order catalogues
(Accessed December15, 2004.)
Births 1953:
1953 -
Born Shari Andrews (1953- ) writer & poet
1953 -
Born Bonnie Brooks (1953- ) businesswoman and former
CEO Hudson Bay Company
1953 -
Born Micheline Charest (1953-2004) business woman in animation
industry
1953 -
Born Rachna Gilmore (1953- ) author of books for
children & youth
1953 -
Born Roberta Jamieson (1953- )1st aboriginal & 1st woman
Ontario Ombudsman, Chief of Six Nations, Grand River
1953 - Born Catherine Kim McArthur(1953 - ) head of
McArthur & Company Publishers
1953 -
Born Helen R. Pierce (1953- ) appointed to the Supreme Court of Justice, Thunder Bay, & may be the 1st
Métis judge in Ontario
1953 - Born Tricia Jeanne Trepanier (1953-2011) civil servant
January 30, 1953 - Born Patricia Kim Alletson (1953- )
medal winning figure skater
February 12, 1953 - Born Linda Pauline Griffiths (1958-
) actor & playwright
February 27, 1953 - Born Libby Davies (1953- )
provincial & federal politician
March 10, 1953 - Born Debbie Brill (1953- ) medal winning track and field star
who has been awarded the Order of Canada.
March 10, 1953 - Born Jacqueline Gareau (1953- ) 1st
Canadian women to win the Boston Marathon
March 10, 1953 - Born Hélène Madeleine Grégoire (1953 -
) champion water skier
April 12, 1953 - Born Paddy Tutty (1953- )
musician & singer of Celtic music
April 18, 1953 -
Born Louise Bernice Halfe, (1953- ) aboriginal
author & poet
May 2, 1953 -
Born Susan Violet Groves (1953-2016) military pharmacist
May 21, 1953 -
Born Kathleen O’Day Wynne (1953- ) 1st openly Lesbian
provincial cabinet minister in Canada and 1st LBTQ
Premier of Canadian province
June 17, 1953 -
Born Beverly 'Bev' Cameron (1953- ) champion in the
sport of curling
July 9, 1953 -
Born Margie Gillis ballerina (1953- ) cultural ambassador,
appointed to the Order of Canada
July 12 1953 -
Born Debbie Muir (1953- ) national award winning coach
of synchronized swimming
July 13, 1953 -
Born Milica "Mila" Mulroney ( 1953- ) wife of Prime Minister
Brian Mulroney (1939 - )
July 31, 1953 -
Born Sylvie Fortier (1953- ) champion synchronized
swimmer
August 1, 1953 - Born Wanda Thomas Elaine Bernard (1953-
) 1st Black Canadian to have academic tenure & become a full
professor at Dalhousie University
August 8, 1953 - Born Miriam Alleyne Priscilla Renouf
(1953-2014) archeologist
August 14, 1953 - Born Jennifer Marie Diachun-Palmer (1953-
) champion gymnast
August 14, 1953 - Born Debora Turney Zagwyn (1953-
) author & illustrator
August 15, 1953 - Born Rhea Tregebov (1953- ) award
winning author & poet
September 1953 - Born Anne Laurel Carter (1953- )
author of books for youth.
September 5, 1953 - Born Valerie Pringle (1953 -
) radio & TV broadcaster & philanthropist
September 9, 1953 - Born Deanne 'Dee' Brasseur (1953 -
) 1989 she & Captain
Jane Foster became the 1st women fighter pilots in
the world
October 5, 1953 - Born Rosemary McCarney (1953- )
activist & author of books on children's rights
October 15, 1953 - Born Elizabeth Anne 'Betsy' Clifford (1953-
) champion alpine skier
October 18, 1953 - Born Janet Ecker (1953- )
politician
November 1953 - Born Wendy Duggleby (1953- )
Queen Elizabeth ll Jubilee Medal holder
December 2, 1953 - Born Sheila Watt-Cloutier (1953- )
champion against persistent organic pollutants
December 31, 1953 -
Born Shirley Firth (1953-2013) Métis Olympic medal winning cross
country skier
December 31, 1953 -
Born Sharon Firth (1953- ) Métis Olympic medal winning
cross country skier
Deaths 1953;
1953 -
Died Helena Jane Coleman (1860-1953) journalist & novelist
1953 - Died Sara Mary Lynch-Stanton
(1864-1953) western Canadian pioneer & artist
1953 -
Died
Rosetta Amos Richardson
(1857-1953) early Black woman entrepreneur
1953 -
Died
Martha 'Mattie' Jane Warner (1850-1953)
Black pioneer of Saskatchewan
January 26, 1953 -
Died Isabelle McTavish (1881-1953)
Presbyterian medical missionary to China
February 21, 1953 - Died Janet Wishart
Carter (1870-1953) renowned educator in Ontario
February 28, 1953 - Died Constance Wilson Samuel (1908-1953)
international champion figure skater solo and pairs.
March 13, 1953 - Died Elizabeth Bell Ross (1878-1953) World War
1 Nursing Sister
March 15, 1954 -
Died
Florence C. Casler (1869-1954) developer and builder
April 3, 1953 -
Died
Mary Foster Bliss (1882-1971) World War l Nursing Sister
May 7,
1953 -
Died
Nellie Lyle Pattinson (1878-1953) educator
& author of Canada's 1st mass
produced cookbook
May 11, 1953 - Died Jean Adair (1873-1953) movie actor
May 26, 1953 - Born Maureen Adele Crowley (1953-
) champion in track & field
June 6, 1953 - Died Mary Elizabeth
Crawford (1876-1953) indomitable woman doctor
July 28, 1953 - Died Florence Livesay (1874-1953) journalist &
poet
October 8, 1953 - Died Helen
MacMurchy (1862-1953)1st woman doctor to intern at Toronto
General Hospital
October 12, 1953 - Died Pearl Beatrix Foley ( ? - 1953) author
October 12, 1953 - Died Tilly Rolston (1887-1953)
2nd
woman in British Columbia to be appointed to the cabinet & 1st woman
in Canada to hold a specific portfolio
November 1953 - Died
Arthamise Fortin (1879-1953) pioneer of
Northern Ontario
December 3, 1953 - Died
Partial Edith Fanny Kirk (1858-1953) water colour landscape artist
December 11, 1953 - Died
Dr. Jennie Wildman (1863-1953)
established the Department of Gynecology at the Women’s College
Hospital
December 16, 1953 - Died Rebecca (Becky) Buhay
(1896-1953) radical political organizer.
December 18, 1953 - Died
Eva Finkelstein Abremovich ( 1877-1953)1897
graduated as one of the 1st Jewish person from Manitoba College.
December 31, 1953 -
Born Shirley Firth-Larson (1953-2013) medal winning Olympic cross
country skier
|
1954 |
January 1, 1954 - Status Indians gain the
right to vote in Ontario elections
June 7, 1954 - The Canadian
government declares Onésime Dorval
(1845-1932) the 1st certified teacher in the Red River
District a Person of National Historic significance
Source: Dorval, Onésime (1845-1932) Encyclopedia of Saskatchewan.
Online (Accessed May 2014)
1954 -
The province of New Brunswick passes a law that allows women to sit
on a jury
1954 -
The Quebec
government passes a law allowing a wife to seek separation from
her husband on the simple grounds of adultery
June 2, 1954 -
Violet Pauline King Henry
(1929-1982) becomes the 1st Black woman lawyer in Canada
September 9, 1954 - Long distance swimmer, Marilyn Bell
(1937-
) becomes the 1st person to swim across Lake Ontario, a
distance of 51 km. The Canadian
Press votes Marilyn winner of the Bobbie Rosenfeld Award as Top
Female Athlete of the Year for 1954 & the Lou Marsh Trophy as
Canada's Overall Top Athlete of the year
1954 - Olivia Poole
(1889-1975) a mother of seven children who lives in
Vancouver, British Columbia, invents the Jolly Jumper.
The device can be hung in any doorway and
the baby is safely harnessed in such manner as to allow exercise and
fun with bouncing Source : Canuck Chicks and Maple
Leaf Mamas : women of the Great White North by Ann Douglas Toronto,
McArthur and Co., 2002.
1954 -
Canada's Outstanding Womens Athlete
of the year was Ernestine Russell Weaver
(1938- ) champion Gymnast (Also won
this title for 1953 & 1955)
1954 - Frances Dafoe
(1929 -
) & skating partner Norris Bowden (1926-1991) win the World Pairs Skating competition for the
2nd year in a row. They also hold 1953-1956 the North American
Championship titles
Source:
Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame Online (Accessed January 2013)
1954 -
St John's General Hospital in
Newfoundland names its new nurse's residence after pioneer nursing
educator, Mary Southcott (1862-1943)
Source
: 100 Canadian Heroines: Famous and Forgotten Faces by Merna Forester.
Toronto : Dundurn Press, 2004.
1954 - General Electric introduces the portable
home dishwasher
Source : Canuck Chicks and Maple Leaf Mamas: women of the
Great White North by Ann Douglas Toronto, McArthur and Co., 2002.
pg 18
1954 - Swanson and Sons introduced the
TV Dinner
Source: Canuck Chicks and Maple Leaf Mamas by Ann Douglas Toronto, McArthur and Co., 2002. pg
18.
Births 1954:
1954
- Born Janice Acoose (1954-2020) journalist, author, filmmaker &
professor
1954 -
Born Gillian Chan (1954- ) author of books for
youth 1954 - Born during winter seal hunt Rosemarie Kuptana (1954
- ) social Activist & Native Leader, Officer, Order of
Canada 1954 - Born Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch (1954- ) author
of books for youth 1954 - Born Denise Robert (1954- ) multi award
winning film producer January 6, 1954 - Born Judith 'Jude' Marian Johnson (1954-
) jazz singer & social activist for children & arts
January 9, 1954 - Died
Katherine Skead-Bell (1864 1954) community activist
January 23, 1954 - Born Carole Lavallée (1954-2021) member of
the Canadian parliament
February 2, 1954 - Born D. J. McCawley (1954- )
Canadian lawyer & judge February 21, 1954 - Born Katherine Heinrich (1954-
) educator March 4, 1954 - Born Catherine O'Hara (1954- )
comedienne, actor of stage & film April 6, 1955 -
Born Catherine 'Cathy' Theresa Mary Andrea
Jones (1955- ) actor & comedienne from CODCO and
This Hour has 22 Minutes
July 15, 1954 -
Born Allison Brewer (1954- ) Gay rights activist & politician September 20, 1954 -
Born Judith Claire Francesca Marie Bernadette
Thompson (1954- ) award winning playwright September 22, 1954 -
Born Nicole Juteau (1954- ) 1st
woman police officer in the Province of Quebec October 18, 1954 -
Born Lesley Elizabeth Harris (1954-
) champion badminton player October 19, 1954 - Born
Cynthia Lai (1954-2022) Asian Canadian municipal councilor
December 6, 1954 - Born Janis
Elaine Lockwood (1954-2020) social activist
December 12, 1954 - Born Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch (1954-
) writer of books for young readers
Deaths 1954:
1954 - Died
Kathleen Barrett Blanchard
(1872-1954) music historian
1954 - Died Thyrza Young Burkett (1884-1954) artist &
playwright
1954 - Died
Phyllis Carlisle
(1912-1954) architect
1954 - Died
Ada Victoria Cuddy-Morgan (1887-1964) World War l Nursing Sister
1954 - Died Rachel Fogerty (????-1954) World War l Nursing Sister 1954 - Died
Mary Riter Hamilton (1873-1954) artist of World War l European
battlefields February 13, 1954 - Died Agnes Macphail (1890-1954) a founder of
the Elizabeth Fry Society & 1st woman elected to the Canadian
parliament
February 15, 1954 -
Died
Born Nance Ann Rodger Chenoweth (1873-1954) indomitable
early woman doctor March 23, 1954 -
Died
Stella May Jenkins (1881-1954) World War l Nursing Sister April 2, 1954 -
Died
Gertrude Ethel Comerford-Durling (1892-1954) World War 1 Nursing
Sister April 14, 1950 -
Died
Inezlie Beryl Gray (1907-1950) author & playwright
April 18, 1954 - Died Winifred Eaton (1875-1954) A.K.A. Onoto
Watanna, 1st known author of Asian descent to have works published
in America
May 15, 1954 - Died
Sarah Ann ‘Annie’ Gray Caswell (1873-1954) journalist &
novelist
May 27, 1954 - Died Alice Ravenhill (1859-1954) social
activist & author
June 19, 1954 -
Died
Meta Holt (1882-1954) Nursing Sister World War l
July 5, 1954 - Died Ray/Rae Lewis A. K. E. Ray/Rae Levinsky
(1893-1954) performer, poet, & scriptwriter
August 6, 1954 -
Died Emilie Dionne (1934-1954) one of the Dionne quintuplets
August 20, 1954 - Died Clara McLeod (1875-1954) World War l
Nursing Sister
September
26, 1954 - Died Minnie Alice McDonald (1878-1954) indomitable
early woman doctor
November 26, 1955 -
Died Isabella 'Belle' Mary Abbott-Plummer (1890-1955) painter
November 29, 1954
- Died Isabella Smith Wood (1873-1954) indomitable early woman
doctor December 23, 1954 -
Died
Edith Effie Lumsden (1875-1954) World War 1 Nursing Sister
|
1955 |
1955 -
Restrictions on the employment of married women in
the federal public service are removed
1955 -
The Canadian Army and Navy begin to recruit women for regular services
not just reserves. By 1955 more than 5,000 women are
serving
Source: National
Defence and the Canadian Armed Forces, Fact sheet. Online
(Accessed March 2014)
1955 -The
Ontario government amends its Mothers Allowance legislation to
include unwed mothers
1955 -
The
Ontario Women’s Treatment Center is established for the treatment of
alcoholism, drug addiction & psychiatric disorders. It would
become by 1965 part of the Mercer Complex in Brampton, Ontario
1955 - Lucille Teasdale-Corti
(1929-1996) is the 1st woman in Québec to receive a diploma
as a surgeon
Sources: Dr. Lucille Teasdale. Canadian Medical Hall of Fame Online
(accessed 2005) ; Lucille Teasdale. The Canadian Encyclopedia Online
(Accessed 2005) ; Dawson, Joanna and Beverly Tallon. “Helping
Heroes: Canadians who made a difference in the world.’ In
Canada’s History February- March 2013
1955 - Margaret Gee
is the 1st Chinese Canadian woman lawyer
to be
called to the bar Source: Canadian Chinese
National Council. Moments of Chinese Canadian History. (accessed July 7,
2003)
1955 -
The Canadian Press votes
Marilyn Bell (1937- ), the youngest person
to swim across the English Channel, as the winner of the Bobbie
Rosenfeld Award as Tope Female Athlete of the Year for the second
year in a row
1955 - Canada's Outstanding Female Athelete of the year was Ernestine Russell Weaver,
(1938- ) a champion gymnast
(Also won this title for 1953 & 1955)
1955 - Elizabeth 'Beth' Whittall
(1936-2015) a champion and
Olympic swimmer is voted by the Canadian Press winner of the Lou
March Trophy as Canada's Overall Athlete of the year
1955 - The Canadian Labour Congress is
established
1955 - The Canadian Sports Hall of Fame is established in
Toronto
1955 - Abby Hoffman (1947- )
wants to play hockey. In order to play she has to cut her hair short
and play as a boy. All went well until the all-star game when
players had to submit birth certificates! Abby became an overnight
sensation & other girls soon
appeared to try out for boys hockey teams! Source:
Women's Hockey - backcheck; a hockey retrospective. Library and
Archives Canada (accessed
January 27, 2006)
1955 - Frances Dafoe-Mellick (1929- )
& Norris Bowden (1926-1991) pairs skating champions are
inducted into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame
Source: Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame Online (Accessed January 2013)
1955 - The
Women's Canadian Historical Society of Ottawa allows male members
and changes its name to Ottawa Historical Society
Births 1955:
1955 -
Born Brenda Chapman (1955- ) author of mystery stories for
youth
1955 -
Born
Miriam 'Mern' Coveny (1955-2022) first
Captain of Women's National Hockey team
1955 -
Born
Sigrid Dahle-Kusch (1955?-2020) visual art curator
1955 -
Born Sarindar Dhaliwal (1955- ) artist & feminist of
Sikh descent
1955 -
Born Dawn Elliot (1955-2005) social activist
1955 - Born Dorothy Grant (1955- ) fashion
designer
1955 -
Born Andromache Karakatsanis (1955- ) appointed to the
Supreme Court of Canada 2011
1955 -
Born Kathy Knowles (1955 - ) lay librarian & social
activist
1955 - Born Debbie Palmer (1955- ) social
activist for wives of polygamous marriages
1955 - Born Rachel Elizabeth Proulx (1955?-2012) Northern
Ontario social activist
1955 - Born Barbara Spohr (1955-1987) photographer
1955 - Born Marie Uguay (1955-1981) poet
January 10, 1955 - Born Eva Qamaniq Aariak (1955- )
second premier of Nunavut
February 1, 19555 - Born Donna Brown (1955 - )
internationally acclaimed soprano
February 10, 1955
- Born Brenda Clark (1955- ) illustrator of
Franklin the Turtle books
February 10, 1955 -
Born Jeannie Thib (1955-2013) artist
February 18, 1955 - Born Donna-Marie Gurr (1955- )
Olympic swimmer
February 28, 1955 - Born Rebecca Gail Cowan (1955- ) artist
March 9, 1955 - Born Marilyn C. Bodough (1955- )
businesswoman &
motivational speaker, a member of the 2996 Canadian & World Championship curling teams.
March 11, 1955 - Born Leslie G. Cliff (1955- ) world medalist in swimming
March 26, 1955 - Born Annette Mangaard (1955- ) filmmaker.
April 12, 1955 - Born Claire Samson (1955- ),
businesswoman in communications and broadcasting
May 14, 1955 - Born Mercedes Tharam Richards (1955-2016)
astronomer
May 19, 1955 - Born Sue Holloway (1955- )
Olympic skier & Kayak racer
May 25, 1955 - Born Shelley Harding Smith (1955-2019)
electrician & advocate for women in skilled trades
May 26, 1955 - Born Louise Bédard (1955- ) renowned
dancer on stage, TV & movies
June 15, 1955
- Born Glenda Reiser (1955-2008) medal winning middle distance
runner
June 19, 1955 - Born Renée Elaine Elio (1955- ) professor and author in the
field of computer sciences.
July 17, 1955 - Born Geneviére Cadieux(1955-
), photographic artist.
August 12, 1955 - Born Jane Siberry (1955- ) a singer who owns her own record
label.
August 17, 1955 - Born Manitok Thompson (1955-
) teacher and Inuklitut programs specialist & M P P Northwest Territories.
August 19, 1955 - Born Beverly 'Bev' Faye Desjardins
(1955-2018) member of the Canadian Parliament
September 3, 1955 -
Died Bertha Maud Maria Weston Price (1872-1955) author of
legends of Quebec & poet
November 7, 1955 - Born Shirley Rose Elkhard (1955-2022)
musician and songwriter
October 13, 1955 - Born Teresa Toten (1955- ) writer
October 15, 1955 - Born Kristine Winder (1955- )
model
Deaths 1955:
1955 - Died Mary Margaret "Margery" Brooker (1901-1955)
1st woman appointed School Inspector for the Virden
District , Manitoba, the 1st Canadian women to hold such a
position.
1955 - Died
Mabel Priscilla Penery French (1881-1955) 1st woman
lawyer in New Brunswick.
1955 - Died
Katherine McMillan Martin (1891-1955) World War 1 Nursing Sister
1955? - Born Geralyn Wraith (1955?-2018) makeup artist
January 1, 1955 - Died Victoria Cartier (1867-1955) pianist,
organist and teacher
January 11, 1955 - Died Henrietta Tuzo Wilson (1873-1955) 1st
Canadian born woman mountaineer.
February 1, 1955 - Died Clara Jennings Melville Hays
(1859-1955) Titanic survivor
February 8, 1955 - Died Mary Bernadette McCarthy (1881-1955)
indomitable early woman doctor
March 11, 1955 - Died
Katherine 'Kate' Clare Montgomery (1889-1955) World War l Nursing Sister
March 13, 1955 - Died Mary Walker Dobson (1871-1955) teacher
who received
King’s Coronation Medal
1937
March 24, 1955 -
Died
Fanny Helen Leech Felker-Faucault (1875-1955) pianist in British
Columbia until the 1940's
March 24, 1955 - Died Millie Isaacs (1880-1955) business
woman & community activist in Saint John
April 1, 1955 - Died Margaret
Parks (1876-1955) indomitable early woman doctor
April 10, 1955 - Died Sara "Sadie" Ann Stringer (
1869-1955) Anglican Church Missionary to the Canadian Northwest
April 20, 1955 -
Died Mary Hagen Conquest (1873-1955) 'The Red Cross Lady' of
Alberta
April 30, 1955 -
Died Mary 'Molly' Mackenzie-Smith (18671955) doctor & medical
missionary
May 18, 1955 - Died
Emilie Musgrave Boswell (1886-1955) early journalist
with the Winnipeg Tribune
May 27, 1955 - Died Margaret May McAlpine (1878-1955)
indomitable early woman doctor
May 27, 1955 - Died Hannah Emily Reid (1870-1955) early woman
doctor
July 24, 1955
- Died Lucy Ann Gordon (1867-1955) nurse & midwife P E I
September 4,
1955 -
Died
Violet Irene Guymer
(1885-1955) first Canadian women funeral director
September 14, 1955 - Died
Alice Ann Holling (1867-1955) suffragist
December 28, 1955 - Died
Pearl Hart (1871-1955) woman stagecoach robber
|
1956 |
1956 -
The Canadian government passes the Federal Equal Pay
legislation in an attempt to provide equality in pay for men and
women. However there is still a long way to go for pay equity
January 11, 1956 -
Ann Shipley (1899-1981)
is the 1st woman to move acceptance of the
Speech from the Throne in the House of Commons
Source: Bob Bowman, Dateline: Canada.
Toronto: Holt Rinehart and Winston of Canada, Ltd., 1973.
1956
- The federal government passes law granting women equal pay for
doing "identical or substantially identical" work as men
1956 - Lucille Wheeler
(1935- )
wins a bronze medal in the Olympics,
the 1st ever
Canadian Olympic ski medal.
- Frances Dafoe
(1929- ) & Norris Bowden
(1926-1991) win a Silver Olympic medal in Pairs figure skating.
1956 - Irene MacDonald (1933- ) wins
Canada’s 1st Olympic
diving medal, a bronze, in Melbourne, Australia.
1956 - Ernestine Russell Weaver
(1938- )
becomes
the 1st Canadian Woman to participate in Gymnastics in the
Games in Melbourne, Australia
1956 - Marlene Streit
(1934 - )
wins the U.S. Amateur Women's Golf Open
Tournament & the Canadian Press votes her winner of the Bobbie
Rosenfeld Award as Tope Female Athlete of the Year for the third
time and also wins the Lou Marsh Trophy as Canada's Top Overall
Athlete of the year
1956 - There has been little interest in women's
hockey teams since World War ll. Abigail Hoffman (1947- ) , a pre-teen challenges "boys only" policy in
minor hockey when she demands to play the game.
1956 - The Woman's Canadian
Historical Society of Ottawa is renamed the Ottawa Historical
Society Source: The Ottawa Historical Society Online
(Accessed July 2011)
1956 - Col. Saunders introduces Kentucky Fried Chicken,
in a fast food format, to the world
December 1956 - Eunice Marion
Wishart (1898-1982) is elected the first woman Mayor of Port
Arthur, Ontario
Births
1956:
1956 - Born Lisa De Wilde (1956- ) TV executive &
promoter of educational TV 1956 - Born Glenna Hansen (1956- ) 1st woman of Inuvialuit
descent to become Commissioner of Northwest Territories
1956 -
Born Denise Donlon (1956- ) broadcaster & Member of
Canadian Broadcaster's Hall of Fame
January 1, 1956 -
Born Sheila McCarthy (1956- ) award winning actor
January 9, 1956 - Born Alexandra Bugailiskis (1956-
) diplomat
February 22, 1956 -
Born Denise Donlan (1956- )
broadcaster & corporate administrator
March 11, 1956 - Born Wendy May Clarkson-Carter (1956-
) champion badminton player
April 4, 1956 -
Born Evelyn Hart (1956- )
international prima ballerina April 6, 1956 - Born Sandra Bezic (1956- )
international award winning figure skater April 30, 1956 - Born
Gina Feldberg (1956-2010) an
academic who wrote on the social history of health issues.
May 10, 1956 - Born Dinah Anderson (1956- )
aboriginal artist and woodcarver
May 27, 1956 - Born Catherine Priestner-Allinger (1956- )
medal winning speed skater & Olympic organizer June 13, 1956 - Born Barbara Stymiest (1956- ) one
of Canada's top businesswomen
June 26, 1956 -
Born Madeline-Ann Aksich (1956-2005) businesswoman &
philanthropist
June 28, 1956 - Born Madeline-Ann Aksich (1956-2005)
businesswoman and philanthropist
July 31, 1956 -
Born Pam Withers (1956- ) author of
extreme sports novels for young readers August 15, 1956 - Born Lorraine Desmarais (1956-
) jazz pianist
August 18, 1956 - Born Seana McKenna (1956- ) award
winning stage actor August 21, 1956 - Born Kim Cattral (1956- ) award
winning actress of movies, television & stage who has a Star on
Canada's Walk of Fame August 29, 1956 - Born Carla Jean Hartsfield (1956-
) poet
September 15, 1956 - Born Wendy Elizabeth Cook-Hogg (1956-
) champion & Olympic medal winning swimmer
September 27, 1956 -
Born
Judith Anne LaRocque (1956-1921) public servant & diplomat
October 8, 1956 - Born Arlene Dickinson (1956-
) business woman & TV personality on Dragon's Den
October 17, 1956 - Born
Dr. Sheela Bassrur (1956-2008)
1st woman of colour to be named Toronto’s Chief Medical
Officer of Health
October 25, 1956 - Born Andrea Beck (1956- ) author
& artist of the Elliot Moose stories December 1956 - Born Cathy Lacey (1956- ) artist who uses her art to
raise funds to create awareness of various community groups
Deaths 1956:
1956 -
Born Isabelle Peretz (1956- )
professor of psychology 1956 -
Born Jocelyne Rey-Vienneau (1956-
) 1st Acadian woman to be Lieutenant Governor of New Brunswick
January 1956 - Died
Nora Bateson (1896--1956) librarian & professor at McGill University
January 10, 1956 -
Died
Elizabeth McMaster (1871-1956) doctor & medical missionary
March 21, 1956 -
Died
Mary Ellen ‘Minnie' Affleck (Wolfe) (1874 1956) nurse who served in
Boer War in South Africa
May 4, 1956 -
Died Mina Hubbard (1870-1956) Labrador adventurer, explorer, map
maker & National Historic Person May 18, 1956 -
Died
Nellie Margaret Lewis (1892-1956) teacher & author
June 2, 1956 -
Died Lucetta Martha Morden (1872-1956) indomitable early
woman doctor
August 23, 1956 - Died Isabel Skelton (1877-1956) respected
historian & author
August 26, 1956 -
Died Mary Lillian Cameron (1894-1956) World War l Nursing
Sister
September 3, 1956 -
Died Helen Luttrell Brydon (1884-1956) World War l Nursing
Sister
September 7, 1956 - Died
Amelia Beers Garvin (1878-1956) journalist & editor September 20, 1956 -
Died
Nanette Bordeaux, (1911-1956) actor
October 7, 1956 - Died Maud Allan
(1873-1956) pioneer of modern dance
October 22, 1956 - Died Mary Jane 'Jennie' Mitchell
(1869-1956) doctor & medical missionary
November 12, 1956 -
Died Sybil Bennett (1904-1956) politician & lawyer
December 13, 1956 -
Died Margaret Benedictsson (1866-1956) social activist and
journalist
|
1957 |
June
21,1957 - Rt. Hon. Ellen Louks Fairclough (1905-2004) is the
1st woman appointed to the Canadian federal
cabinet by Prime Minister John Diefenbaker.
She is sworn in as Secretary of Stare on June 22.
1957 - Mabel
Frances Timlin
(1891-1976.) is the 1st woman to be elected to
the executive committee of the American Economics Association
1957 - The Canada Council is established to enhance
the Canadian cultural experience
1957 - Blanche Margaret
Meagher
(1911-1999) she is
the 1st woman to become appointed as an
ambassador from Canada
1957 - Winnie Roach-Leuszler
(1926-2004) is the
1st Canadian woman to
be a baseball umpire
1957 -
The Canadian Press votes
Marlene Streit (1934- ), winner of the
Canadian Closed & Ontario Amateur Gold Championships, as the winner
of the Bobbie Rosenfeld Award as Tope Female Athlete of the Year for
the forth time
1957 - Canada has only 24 women engineers , compared
with Russia's 233,000!
Source: Jean Bannerman, Leading Ladies of Canada (Belleville,
Mika Publishing, 1977);
1957 - Ruth Addison (1897-2005)
is the 1st woman to be a member of the Civil Service
Commission
Source: Jean Bannerman, Leading Ladies of Canada (Belleville,
Mika Publishing, 1977);
1957 - The Canadian Women's Press Club (CWPC) founded in
1904, is at its peak with
675 members in 17 branches across the country. They meet this year
for their triennial national conference
Births 1957:
1957 -
Born Shani Mootoo
(1957- ) visual artist, poet & author
1957 -
Born Mona Nemer (1957- ) cardiac researcher
January 7, 1957 -
Born Raymonde
Gagné
(1957- ) academic &
politician
January 17, 1957 - Born Nancy Argenta (1957- ) soprano
February 3, 1957 -
Born Kim Lumsdon (1957- ) marathon swimmer
February 17, 1957 -
Born Loreena McKennit (1957- ) singer, actor, & writer
February 28, 1957 - Born Margaret 'Meg' Ruffman (1958-
) actor & handy woman contractor
March 10, 1957 - Born Shannon Tweed (1957- ) TV &
film actor
March 23,1957 - Born Amanda Plummer (1957- )
actor
March 24, 1957 - Born Olivia Chow (1957- )
prominent politician and MP of the New Democratic Party
April 3, 1957 - Born Sandra Bell Lundy (1957- ) cartoonist and founder of the
comic strip "Between Friends"
April 6, 1957 - Born Gail (1957- ) Amundrud
Award winning competitive swimmer
April 9, 1957 - Born Kit Brennan Watters (1957-
) actress & playwright
April 25, 1957- Born Francine Pelletier, (1957- )
award winning author
May 1, 1957 - Born Marjorie Blackwood ( 1957- ) award
winning tennis star
May 4, 1957 - Born Kathy Kreiner (1957- )
gold medal Olympian in skiing
May 15, 1957 - Born Lindalee Tracey (1957-2006) journalist, exotic
dancer, & filmmaker
May 21, 1957 - Born Linda Bouchard (1957- ) composer & orchestra conductor
May 26, 1957 - Born Lucille Lessard (1957- )
world champion archer
May 28, 1957 -
Died Minerva Ellen Reid (1871-1957) Chief of Surgery Women's College
Hospital, Toronto
June 5, 1957 - Born Cathy Elliott (1957-2017) Mi'kmaq
activist, artist, playwright, & actor
June 16, 1957 - Born Cindy Shatto
(1957-2011) a true pioneer in the sports of swimming &
diving
June 29, 1957 - Born Janice Rennie (1957- ) award
winning financial consultant
August 20, 1957- Born Cindy Nicholas (1957- ) long
distance swimmer & member Canadian Sports Hall of Fame
September 6, 1957-
Born Michaelle Jean (1957- ) 27th and 1st Afro Caribbean
Governor General of Canada
November 8, 1957 - Born Afua Cooper (1957 - )
Black Canadian historian, author, & poet
December 31 1957 - Born Sonya Biddle (1957-2022) Montreal
politician & actor
Deaths 1957:
1957 -
Died
Mae/Mary Isobel Lovejoy (1874-1957) Yukon gold rush businesswoman
1957 -
Died
Adelaide Morin-Thomas (1847-1957) pioneer in Canadian
northwest
1957 -
Died Marion Leane Smith-Walls (1851-1957) the only Australian
indigenous Nurse in WW 1 to serve for Canada
January 26, 1957 -
Died Ada Bessie Teetgen (1879-1957) author
January 27, 1957 -
Died
Jemima MacKenzie (1872-1957) doctor & medical missionary
February 21, 1957 -
Died Kathleen 'Kate' Eloise Rockwell ( 1876?-1957) 'Klondike
Kate, Queen of the Klondike'
March 8, 1957 -
Died Ella Pearl Hopgood (1890-1957) early woman psychiatrist
April 22, 1957-
Died
Dorothy Duncan (1903-1957) author
May 1957 - Died Helen Bernard McCall (11899-1957) pioneer
photographer in British Columbia
May 28,
1957 -
Died
Minerva Ellen Reid
(1872-1957) medical doctor, Chief of Surgery Women's College Hospital,
Toronto
June 15, 1957 - Died
Gertrude Childs (1881-1957) social
worker awarded the Order of the British Empire 1934
June 21, 1957 - Died Bertha Mabel Dunham (1881-1957) Librarian,
local historian, & author of works for young readers
June 23, 1957 - Died Harriet Dick (1867-1957) social
activist & politician
June 26, 1957 - Died
Virginia K. Copping Norton Kemp (1895-1957) Lady Kemp, social
activist & volunteer
July 15, 1957 - Died Ethel Bennett (1883-1957) World War 1
Nursing Sister
July 15, 1957 - Died Marion Hilliard (1902-1958) medical
doctor who helped develop a simplified Pap test
July 21, 1957 -
Died Abbie Mary Lyon Sharman (1872-1957) author, poet, &
playwright
July 22, 1957 -
Died Lola Bell (1885-1957) World War l Nursing Sister
October 31, 1957 - Died
Martha Louise Black (1866-1957)
adventurer & politician, considered to be the First Lady of the
Yukon
November 1957 - Died
Marjorie McKenzie (1895- 1957) one of the 1st women to become a
Foreign Service Officer in Canada
December 14, 1957 - Died Katherine Elizabeth Wallis (1860-1957)
sculptor who was decorated by Britain & France for her nursing
efforts in World War l
December 16, 1957 -
Died Hazel Kilburn Palmer (1884-1957) early hockey player in
New Brunswick
|
1958 |
1958 - Les Grands Ballets Canadiens
is founded in Montreal
Source: The Timechart of
History of Canada by Meredith Macardle (2004)
1958 - Jean Casselman-Wadds
(1920-2011)
is the third woman elected to the Canadian
Parliament and
along with her father Earle Rowe they became the only father
daughter ever to sit in the same session of Parliament
Sources: Obituary. Ottawa Citizen December 3, 2011.
1958 - Frances Dafoe -Mellick
(1929- )
and Norris Bowden
(1926-1991)
figure skating pairs Olympic Silver Medalists in 1956 are inducted
into the Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame
Source: Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame Online (Accessed January 2013)
1958 – Margaret Meagher (1911-1999)
is appointed to Israel, Canada’s 1st female ambassador.
Source:
Margaret Weiers, Envoys Extraordinary: Women of the Canadian
Foreign Service (Toronto: Dundurn, 1995)
October 22, 1958 -
Blanche Margaret Meagher
(1911-1999)
is the 1st woman appointed as a Canadian Ambassador when she
served in Israel
Sources: Margaret K. Weiers, Envoys Extraordinary: Women of the
Canadian Foreign Service. (Toronto; Dundurn, 1995); Blanche
Margaret Meagher, Canadian Encyclopedia online (Accessed July
2015)
1958 -
The Canadian Press votes
Lucille Wheeler (1935- ), winner of the
downhill & slalom World Ski Championships, as the winner of the
Bobbie Rosenfeld Award as Tope Female Athlete of the Year & winner
of the Lou Marsh Trophy as Canada's Top Overall Athlete of the Year
Births 1958:
1958 -
Born Michelle "Mickey" Colton (1958- ) the 1st Canadian
Herculese pilot to reach 5000 hours of flying
1958 -
Born Luba (Lubomir Kowalchyk) (1958 - ) rock singer
1958 -
Born Louise Penny (1958- ) award winning mystery writer
1958 - Born Sue Richards (1958-2014)
social activist
1958 -
Born Lucinda Turner (1952-2022) carver & social activist
1958 -
Born Susan Ursel (1958 - ) 1st openly Lesbian lawyer in
Ontario 1986
February 12, 1958 - Born Mariann Domonkos (1958- )
champion in table tennis
February 15, 1958 -
Born Chrystine Brouillet (1958- ) award winning novelist
April 5, 1958 -
Born Susan Sloan-Kelsey (1958- ) champion & Olympic
medal swimmer
April 29. 1958 -
Died Beatrice 'Bea' Mary Embree (1886-1958) author
June 4, 1958 -
Born Jeannine Ouellette, (1958- ) bilingual author & Canadian women's historian.
July 26, 1958 -
Born Angela Hewitt ( 1958- ) renowned pianist known for
playing of music by Bach
August 2, 1958 -
Born Heather Kemkaran-Antymniuk (1958- )international
champion skater
September 24, 1958 -
Born Trish Monture-Angus (1958-2010) lawyer, Aboriginal rights
enthusiast, Sociologist, author & teacher
September 24, 1958 -
Born Barbara 'Barb' Lynne Clark-Parolin (1958-
) champions swimmer
September 28, 1958 -
Born Angella Taylor-Issajenko (1958- ) one of Canada's
outstanding sprinter
October 15, 1958 - Born Gerry Sorensen-Lenihen (1958-
) champion alpine skier
October 17, 1958 - Born Fran Rider (1958- ) hockey
player & hockey administrator
October 21, 1958 -
Died Bertha Samson-Beck (1893-1958) World War 1 Nursing
Sister
November 19, 1958 - Born
Elise Partridge (1958-2015) poet
December 18, 1958 - Born Cheryl Lynn Hayes (1958- )
deaf Olympian swimmer
December 24, 1958 - Born Lise Marie Ducet (1958- )
international journalist
December 24, 1958 - Died Eva
Jeannette Fisher (1862-1958)
December 30, 1958 - Born Bridgid Ann Davidson (1958-2013 social
activist
Deaths 1958:
1958 -
Died
Elizabeth Constance Harper (1868-1958) poet
1958 -
Died
Jane Megarry (1881-1958) nurse & medical missionary
1958 -
Died Jessie Georgina Sime (1868-1958) author
January 9, 1958 - Died
Margaret Robertson (1887-1958) World War l Nursing Sister
January 15, 1958 - Died
Elizabeth Scott Matheson (1866-1958) an
early doctor in Manitoba who practiced for 50 years
January 28, 1958 - Died
Jessie Mary Forshaw-Byron (1892-1958) public health nurse
February 16, 1958 - Died Clarissa 'Clara' Archibald Dennis (1881-1958) pioneer photographer of life in Nova Scotia
February 19, 1958 -
Died Nellie Cora Greenwood-Andrews (1864-1958) social
activist & Saskatchewan suffragist
April
17, 1958 - Died Hattie Hatchett
(1863/-1958) Black Composer
April 22, 1958 - Died
Janet McIlvena (1903-1958) music teacher & director
May 25, 1958 - Died
Blanche Lamontagne (1889-1958) poet with a library, a road & a
mountain named for her
June 25, 1958 -
Died
Clara 'Claire' Pauline Milledge McIntosh (1882-1958) poet &
playwright
July 20, 1958 -
Died Jessie Middleton Sedgewick-Roman (1890-1958) World War l
Nursing Sister
July 25, 1958 -
Died Clara Emily Anderson (1871-1958) playwright
August 8, 1958 - Died Mary Eugenia 'Gene' Hinch-Mahar
(1877-1958) Survivor of Halifax explosion
August 20, 1958 -
Died Jessie Isobel Smith (1885-1958( World War 1 Nursing
Sister
September 28, 1958 -
Died Florence Maud O'Donnell-Piers (1877-1958) early woman
doctor & medical missionary
October 2, 1958 - Died Kathleen "Kit" Adeline Martin Cowaret
(1887- 1958) Anglican Church Missionary to the Canadian Northwest
October 21, 1958 -
Died Bertha Samson Beck (1893-1958) World War l Nursing
Sister
December 15, 1958 - Died
Alexandrine Gibb (1891-1958) pioneer woman sports
journalist for women's sports.
December 26, 1958 - Died Eva Gauthier, (1885-1958) internationally
acclaimed mezzo soprano
|
1959 |
May
3, 1959 - Marie-Marguerite d'Youville ( -1771)
is beatified ( a step in the declaration of sainthood by the Roman
Catholic Church). She is the 1st Canadian born candidate for
sainthood
1959 - Canada's Food Rules is renamed and updated to become
Canada's Food Guide
July 1959 - Margaret Paton Hyndman
(1901?-1991), who served the Free France Movement
during World War ll, is awarded a citation from Charles DeGaulle &
received a silver medal from the City of Paris, France
Sources: Toronto Business and Professional Club, website accessed
March 1913. ; Margaret Hyndman, lawyer: no warm welcome 50 years
ago, Ottawa Citizen June 13, 1976.
September 28, 1959 - Betty
Oliphant (1918-2004)
&
Celia Franca (1921- ) founds the National Ballet School
of Canada
June 26, 1959 -
Queen Elizabeth II & President D.
Eisenhower of the U.S.A. officially open the St. Lawrence Seaway
1959 - Olivia Poole (1889-1975)
the inventor of the Jolly Jumper
for pre toddler babies, had began manufacturing the device in the
1950's & by the end of the decade the family factory in North
Vancouver was supplying all of North America, Great Britain & Australia
1959 - Ernestine Russell Weaver
(1938- )
dominates the field of Gymnastics in the Pan
American games winning four gold and two silver medals. This was the first Pan Am games for the event of
Gymnastics.
1959 - Mary and Helen Stewart
win a silver medal in the 4X100 freestyle relay in
the swimming relay at the Pan Am Games
Source: British Columbia Sports Hall of Fame Online (Accessed
June 2008
1959 -
The Canadian Press votes
Anne Heggtveit (1939- ) winner of
multiple European ski events, as the winner of the Bobbie Rosenfeld
Award as Top Female Athlete of the Year
1959 - Barbara
Aileen Wagner (1938- )
&
Robert Paul , champion pairs figure skaters, five-time Canadian
Champions, four-time World Champions (also will be 1960
Olympic Gold medalists) are voted by the Canadian Press as Canada's
Top Overall Athletes of the Year
1959 - Barbara
Aileen Wagner (1938- )
&
Robert Paul , champion pairs figure skaters, five-time Canadian
Champions, four-time World Champions (also will be 1960
Olympic Gold medalists) are voted by the Canadian Press as Canada's
Top Overall Athletes of the Year
December 1959 - Catherine Seppala
(1907-1975) is elected the first woman
Mayor of Fort William, Ontario
Births 1959: 1959 -
Born Lorene Hatelt (1959- ) by 2018 eight time world
champion in International Triathlon in Physically Challenged
event
1959 - Born Nathalie Des Rosiers (1959- ) lawyer provincial
politician, & university professor
1959 -
Born Mandy Kerlann (birth name Harmunderjit Kaur Brar) (1959-
) international textile artist January 4, 1959 -
Born Denise Katrina Mathews (1959-2016) singer, B
movie actor turned evangelist January 12, 1959 -
Born
Helen Vanderburg (1959- ) champion synchronized swimmer March 1959 - Died
Jean Houston (1884-1959) World War l Nursing Sister
March 14,1959 - Born Elizabeth "Betsey"
Carroll Martin (1959-2013) philanthropist
May 30, 1959 - Born Claudia Joan
Alexander (1959- 2015) NASA scientist June 3, 1959 - Born Rebecca 'Becky' Gwendolyn
Smith-Wiber (1959- ) champion & Olympic medalist in
swimming June 20, 1959 - Born Louise Bessette (1959 - )
internationally acclaimed pianist July 26, 1959 - Born Anne Elizabeth Jardin-Alexander (1959-
) champion swimmer July 28, 1959 - Born Cheryl Ann Gibson-Brokop (1959-
) champion golfer September 5, 1959 - Born Stacy Dales-Schuman (1959- )
Womens National Basketball Association player and broadcaster
September 8, 1959 -
Born
Katherine Patricia Mary Barber (1959-2021) lexicographer, ‘Canada’s
Word Lady’
September 8, 1959 - Born Carmen
Campagne (1959- ) French folk singer & activist to
save French language and culture. Order of Canada September 16, 1959 - Born Jennifer Tilly, (1959- )
actor September 20, 1959 - Born Lesley Allison Thompson-Willie
(1959- ) medal winning Olympic rower October 19, 1959 - Born Christine Mary Forgo (1959-
) champion table tennis player October 30, 1959 - Died
Annie May Jackson-Kelcher (1878-1959) first woman in Canada hired as
a police woman
November 10, 1959 - Born Kim Pate (1959- ) social
activist for marginalized women, Senator December 7, 1959 -
Born Tracy Wright (1959-2010) actor
December 21, 1959 -
Born Kay Worthington (1959- )
Olympic medalist in rowing
Deaths 1959:
1959 - Died Constance Garner-Short (1910-1959) one of four women who
were 1st lawyers called to the Bar in Quebec
1959 - Died
Nancy Helena Columbia Palmer (1893-1959) Inuit actress, director and
screenwriter 1959 -
Died
Christine Pilon (1862-1959) pioneer
of the North-west rebellion, Manitoba January 21, 1959 - Died Dr. Frances Gertrude McGill
(1877-1959) 1st Canadian woman &1st medical criminal forensic investigator
January 26, 1959 -
Died Barbara McCallum Hanley (1882-1959) first woman mayor of a town
in Canada
February 2, 1959 - Died Georgina Lilian Crawford
(1882-1959) Indomitable early woman doctor
April 15, 1959
- Died Emma Bliss (1866-1959) Titanic survivor
April 25, 1959 - Died Maude Pettit Hill-Beaton (1877-1959)
journalist who used pen name 'Videre'
May 4, 1959 -
Died Edith Alma Graham (1889-1959) World War 1 Nursing Sister
May 9, 1959 - Died
Elizabeth Cameron (1875-1959) social activist
June 12, 1959 - Died
Ella Cecilia MacKinnon/McKinnon-Pearson (1882-1959) poet &
artist
July 19, 1959 -
Died
Ethel Annie Bennett (1883-1959) World War l Nursing
Sister October 22, 1959 -
Died Florence Eleanor Bennett (1880-1959) indomitable early
woman doctor
November 4, 1959 -
Died Patricia Jenkins Blondal (1926-1959) broadcast journalist,
journalist & novelist
June 17, 1959 -
Died Emma Bliss (1866-1959) Titanic Survivor
December 16, 1959 - Died Roberta Catherine MacAdams (1880-1959) 1st woman in British Empire to introduce legislation in a
parliament (Alberta)
November 10, 1959 - Born Kim Pate (1959- ) social
activist for marginalized women, Senator November 4, 1959 -
Died Patricia Jenkins Blondal (1926-1959) broadcast journalist,
journalist & novelist
June 17, 1959 -
Died Emma Bliss (1866-1959) Titanic Survivor
December 16, 1959 - Died Roberta Catherine MacAdams (1880-1959) 1st woman in British Empire to introduce legislation in a
parliament (Alberta)
December 21, 1959 -
Born Kay Worthington (1959- )
Olympic medalist in rowing
December 24, 1959 - Died
Clara Hopper (1878-1959) poet
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