Events
listed relate to Canadian women with a few extra items added
to give the timeline perspective.
This timeline is not all inclusive.
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LAST UPDATED
January 2021
Copyright © 1998-20201 Dawn E. Monroe. All rights
reserved
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ISBN: 0-9736246-0-4 |
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DATE |
EVENTS |
2016 |
2016 -
Women in the Canadian Armed Forces account for only 15% of the
Canadian Military
2016 -
The Manitoba legislature passes law to give victims of domestic
violence paid and unpaid leave
February 2, 2016 - Melanie Mark
(1976- ) is the 1st Aboriginal woman elected to the Legislature of British Colombia
February 15, 2016 -
The formation of the Preston Rivulettes Women's Hockey Club is named
a National Historic Event. A federal historical marker reflecting
this status is unveiled in Cambridge, Ontario December 22, 2017
April 2016 - Ratma Omidvar (1949-
) is appointed to the Canadian Senate
August 19, 2016 - Bardish Chagger (1980-
) is sworn in as Leader of the Government, the 1st woman to
hold this position
October 14, 2016 - Janet Morrison Miller-Murray
(1891-1946) who had applied to be examined for the Barr in 1910
was proclaimed an honourary lawyer by the Newfoundland and Labrador
Law Society
November 2016 -
Ontario is the 1st province to pass the Al Families are Equal Act,
which allows up to four people to be legal parents of a child they
plan, conceive & raise together. The legislation protects the
relationship between the children and all their parents, including
non-biological parents
December 8, 2016 - Viola Desmond
is chosen as the 1st Canadian woman to appear on the face of a
circulating Bank of Canada note. The ban note will be issued in 2018
2016 - Wanda Thomas Elaine Bernard
(1953- ) is
the 1st Black Nova Scotia woman to serve in the Senate of Canada
2016 - Penny Oleksiak (2000- )
wins four Olympic Medals in swimming
is voted by the
Canadian Press as winner of the Bobbie Rosenfeld Award as Canada's
Top Female Athlete of the Year & winner of the Lou Marsh Trophy as
Canada's Top Overall Athlete of the year
Deaths 2016:
2016 -
Died Nancy Mackay (1922-2016) medal
winning sprinter in 1948 Olympic Games
January 16, 2016 - Died
Constance Elizabeth Beresford-Howe
(1922-2016) author of short stories & novels
January 19, 2016 - Died
Felicitas Svejda (1920-2016) geneticist
February 9, 2016 – Died
Elizabeth Joan Smith (1928-2016) Ontario politician & cabinet
minister
February 15, 2016 - Died Constance Glube (1931-2016) 1st woman
appointed to the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia
March 12, 2016 - -
Died Hilda Patricia Barry (1921-2016) World War ll decoder
March 24, 2016 -
Died
Marie-Claire Kirkland-Casgrain (1924-2016) 1st woman appointed to the Quebec provincial cabine
April 23, 2016 - Died
Madeleine Louise Helene Sherwood
(1922-2016) 1st woman to direct a short film for the American Film
Institute
April 24, 2016 - Died Christine Lorna Beckett (1926-2016) played
with the All American Girls Baseball League
May 8, 2016 - Died
Geneviève Salbaing (1922-2016) co-founder of Les
Ballets Jazz de Montréal
May 13, 2016 - Died Jackie Shymanski (1965-2016) journalist with
CTV & CNN
July 2, 2016 - Died Simone Eileen Roach (1922-2016) nun &
nursing educator
July 9, 2016 -
Died Geneviève Castrée-Elverum (1981-2016) cartoonist,
illustrator, and musician
July 13, 2016 - Died Elsie Doreen Wingrove Earle (1923-2016)
played with the All American Girls Baseball League
July 18, 2016 - Died Margaret Elizabeth Cooper
(1919-2016) decoder during World War ll
August 1, 2016
- Died Elaine Ling (1946-2016) photographer, musician, & medical
doctor
August 30, 2016 - Died Elsie Eleanor Wayne
(1932-2016) 1st woman Mayor of Saint John, New Brunswick &
Member of Parliament
September 2, 2016 - Died Margaret 'Marmie'
Perkins Hess (1916-2016) specialist in Inuit art and aboriginal
crafts
September 12, 2016 - Died Ellen Burka (1921-2016) sport coach who is a member
of the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame
September 15, 2016 - Died
Thelma Finlayson (1914-2016) professor emeritus in biology at Simon
Fraser University
September 19, 2016 - Died
Annie Pootoogook (1969-2016) award winning Inuit artist
September 22, 2016 - Died Ursula Martius Franklin (1921-2016)
scientist, researcher, & professor
September 23, 2016 - Died Frances Helen Dafoe-Mellik (1929-2016)
champion pairs figure skater.
September 24, 2016 - Died
Raymonde 'Ray' Bowen (1919-2016) social activist for peace and
women's rights
October 1, 2016 - Died Daphne Odjig, (1919-2016) prolific
Aboriginal artist
October 30, 2016 - Died
Tammy Grimes (1934-2016) actor on stage & in movies
November 26, 2016 - Died Jean Elinor Stenton Portugal (1921-2016)
journalist & author who chronicled stories of war veterans
November 30, 2016 - Died Kay Sigurjonsson
(1933-2016) feminist & activist for women's rights
December 2, 2016
- Died Margaret Joan Chalmers (1928-2016) activist for the arts
December 14, 2016 - Died Shirley Theresa Dysart (1928-2014)
1st woman to serve as leader of the opposition in New Brunswick
legislature |
2017 |
January 2017 -
Friends Natasha Bakht & Lynda Collins
make legal history in Canada as the 1st platonic co-parents named on
a birth certificate. They call each other 'co-mommas' of their child
January 11, 2017 -
New Brunswick leaders for Women for 50% to ensure 50% of
candidates from all parties in New Brunswick 2018 election are women
2017 - Gabrielle Bouchard
is elected President of the Federation des femmes du Queebec,
the first trans woman to lead the feminist organization
October 17, 2017 -
Stratford Shakespearian Festival, Stratford, Ontario announces
it will put female actors in traditional male roles for 2018 season
October 23, 2017 -
The founding of the National Council of Jewish Women of Canada
in 1897) is recognized an Event of National Historic Significance
October 25, 2017 -
Ontario's safe access to abortion services act allows for safe
access zones to be established around facilities that offer abortion
services as well as the homes and offices of regulated abortion
providers
November 5, 2017 - Valerie Plant
(1974- ) is elected as the 1st woman mayor of the city of
Montreal.November 15, 2017 - Valerie Plant
(1974- ) is sworn in as 1st woman mayor of the City of
Montreal
November 15, 2017 -
The 1st G7 Ministerial meeting on Gender Equality is
held
November 16, 2017 - Halifax Women's History
Society unveiled a bronze monument, a tribute to the women
volunteers during World War ll. It is the 1st monument dedicated to
women in the City of Halifax

2017 - Brooke Henderson
(1997- )
winner of two Ladies Professional Gold Association (LPGA) events
is voted by the
Canadian Press as winner of the Bobbie Rosenfeld Award as Canada's
Top Female Athlete of the Year
December 22, 2017 -
A federal historical marker reflecting the Formation of the
Preston Rivulettes Women's Hockey Club as a National Historic Event
is unveiled in Cambridge, Ontario
Deaths 2017:
January 8, 2017 - Died
Dorothy Charlotte Johnson (1925-2017)
president of the Women's Institutes & community volunteer
January 20, 2017 - Died
Joy Dorothy
Coghill-Thorne (1926-2017) actor & promoter of theatre arts
January 26, 2017 - Died
Barbara Howard (1920-2017) track runner, 1st Black
Canadian to compete internationally
January 27, 2017 - Died Betty Stanhope-Cole (1937-2017)
champion amateur golfer
February 17, 2017 - Died Dorothy Elizabeth 'Dodi' Robb
(1921?-2012) queen of Canadian children's television
March 4, 2017 - Died Bonita 'Bonnie' Amelia Burnard (1945-2017)
award winning author
March 14, 2017 - Died Arleene 'Johnnie' Johnson (1924-2017
played with the All American Girls Baseball League
March 20, 2017 - Died
Betty Kennedy
(1926-2017) well known radio & television personality, appointed to
the senate in 2000
April 24, 2017 - Died
Anne Marguerite Squire (1920-2017) Moderator of the United Church of
Can
April 30, 2017 - Died
Flora Minnie Leone Bagnall (1923-2017) award winning teacher & provincial politician
June 12, 2017 - Died
Mary Dohey (1933-2017)
stewardess & heroine saving lives of passenger & crew from a
hijacker in 1971
June 21, 2017 - Died Born
Patricia Gwen Barlee (1963-2017) British Columbia environmentalist
August 8, 2017 - Died Cathleen Synge Morawetz (1923-2017)
award winning mathematician
September 4, 2017 - Died
Beatrice 'Bea' Caroline Rowly (1917-2017) poet
September 7, 2017 - Died Adele Wilson ( -2017) local
singer and TV personality in Kirkland Lake, Ontario.
September 9, 2017 - Died
Gretta Chambers (1927-2017) university leader, columnist,
broadcaster, & 1st woman chancellor of McGill University
October 2, 1917 - Died Vicki Bisaro (1917-2017) community
volunteer
October 15, 2017 -
Died Cathy Elliott (1957-2017) Mi'kmaq activist, artist, playwright,
& actor
October 17, 2018 -
Died Margaret Becklake (1922-2018) academic & epidemiologist
October 26, 2017 - Died
Juliette Augustina Sysak Cavazzi (1926 -2107) singer & CBC TV
personality
November 26, 2017 - Died
Francess Marie Gage (1924-2017) acclaimed sculptor
November 30, 2017
- Died Unity Langford Bainbridge Brewster (1916-2017) portrait &
landscape painter & poet
December 21, 2017 - Died June Rowlands (1925-2017) 1st
woman to be mayor of Toronto
December 25, 2017 - Died Francess Georgina Halpenny (1919-2017)
editor & educator |
2018 |
January 31, 2018 - The Canadian
Senate passed a bill to make the national anthem 'O Canada' gender
neutral. The words ' In all our sons command' became ' In all of us
command'
August 24, 2018 - Hailey
Wickenheiser (1978- ) is hired as a coach by
the Toronto Maple Leafs Hockey team
Deaths 2018:
January 23, 2018 - Died Rosaleen Diana
Dickson (1921-2018) journalist & playwright
January 27, 2018 - Died Mary
Patricia Weaver (1927-2018) 1st woman lawyer to be a partner in a
law firm in Northern Ontario
February 2018 - Died
Jacqueline Park (1925-2018) author
February 17, 2018 - Died Lauren Donna 'Becca' Schofield
(1909-2018) social activist on social media
February 17, 2018 - Died Dorothy Wetherald Rungeling
(1911-2018) pilot & author
February 24, 2018 - Died
Betty Peterson (1917-2018) pacifist &
social activist
February 27, 2018 - Died Violet Alice Lovelace
(1936-2018) archer & archery businesswoman
March 7, 2018 - Died
Marjorie Jane Hodgson (1932-2018) artist
March 10, 2018 -
Died Renete Wera Pratt (1929-2018) activist for peace
March 20, 2018 - Died Ina Ethel Cummings (1939-2018)
pioneer doctor in palliative care
March 20, 2018 - Died
Vera M. Good (1915-2018) executive producer of TVOntario, Polka
Dot Door.
April 5, 2018 -
Died Cynthia Chalk (1913-2018) nature photographer
April 21, 2018 -
Died Hugette Tourangeau (1938-2018) acclaimed international
opera singer
April 24, 2018 - Died
Christine Lorna Beckett (1926 -2018) member of the All American
Girls Professional Baseball League
May 13, 2018 - Died
Margaret 'Margot' Ruth Kidder (1948-2018) actor in film and on TV
June 23, 2018
- Died Gisele Lamoureux (1942-2018) photographer, botanist &
ecologist
July 4, 2018 - Died Carmen Champagne (1959-2018) singer of
songs for children
July 22, 2018 - Died
Kathleen 'Kay' Jean MacRitchie-MacBeth
(1922-2018) played basketball with the Edmonton Grads
July 24, 2018 - Died Corinne
Gallant (1922-2018) university professor & devout feminist
August 14, 2018 - Died
Mary Frances Pratt
(1935-2018) her paintings
look so real you think they are photographs!
October 12, 2018 - Died
Linda Kay (1951-2018) Pulitzer Prize
winning journalist & author
December 9, 2018 - Died
Elisapee Ishulutag (1925-2018) Inuit artist |
2019 |
May 30, 2019 - The Canadian Coast
Guard introduces its new vessel, icebreaker Captain Molly Kool.
In 1939 Molly became the first woman in North America registered as
a sea captain
September 7, 2019 - 19 year old Bianca Andreescu
becomes Canada's first ever tennis Grand Slam Champion in the
singles event
Deaths 2019:
January 11, 2019 -
Died Margaret ‘Marge’ Callaghan-Maxwell (1921-2019) All
American Girls Baseball League & member of the Canadian Baseball
Hall of Fame
January 25, 2019 -
Died Elizabeth Selena James (1922-2019) opera singer,
teacher, & coach
January 26, 2019 - Died
Jane Millgate (1937-2019) author &
academic
February 2019 - Died
Jackie Shane (1940-2019) soul singer who filled nightclubs in Toronto
in 1960's.
February 13, 2019 -
Died Edith Iglauer Hamburger Daly (1917-2019) author
February 15, 2019 - Died
Erminie Cohen
(1926-2019) social activist & Senator from New Brunswick
February 22, 2019 -
Died Chantal duPont (1942-2019) photographer, Painter, sculptor &
graphic artist
May 13, 2019 - Died Velma Demerson (1920-2019) activist for
minority rights
May 22, 2019 - Died
Jessie Annie Middleton
(1912-2019) nurse serving in World War ll
May 25, 2019 - Died Margaret-Ann Armour (1930-2019) science
educator
July 15, 2019 - Died Margaret Agnes Todd (1918-2019) champion
golfer
August 19, 2019
- Died Bette Stephenson (1924-2019) 1st woman president Canadian
Medical Association
September 13, 2019
- Died Constance A. Timberlake (1930-2019) American Civil Rights
leader
December 15,2019
- Died Monique Leyrac (1928-2019)1st great international star from
French Canada |
2020 |
Winter 2020 - Corona virus / Covid 19 pandemic rears
its ugly head with millions of deaths. While the virus does not
differentiate race nor age deaths seem highest among seniors
July 2020 - The Generation Equality Form is
established to mark Beiging +25, and Canada, along with The
Netherlands, are named co-leads on the Feminist Movement and
Leadership Coalition. The goal is to press for action on issues
where progress still needs to be made, to honour those who have
paved the way, and celebrate those who are working to advance gender
equity in their communities.
Deaths 2020:
January 15, 2020 -
Died Edna Lenora Perry (1923-2020) Anglican Priest
January 26, 2020 - Died
Loa Henry (1938-2020) social activist,
teacher, theatre director, & choir director
January 29, 2020 - Died Pearl
Keenan (1920-2020) preserved and taught of Tlingit language
February 21, 2020 -
Died Lois Etherington Betteridge (1928-2020) acclaimed sculptor
March 5, 2020 - Died
Edith Hayman (1932-2020)
acclaimed badminton coach
March 7, 2020 - Died Marjory 'Marj' McGillivray Gilles
(1923-2020) journalist
March 13, 2020
- Died Dorothy Maclean (1920-2020) author of spiritual works
April 6, 2020 - Died
Patricia 'Pat' Capponi (1949-2020)
activist on behalf of mental illness & author
April 6, 2020 -
Died Jean Little (1932-2020) blind award winning children's
author
April 15, 2020 - Died Margaret
'Peggy' Letty Gillard Colonello (1922-2020) acclaimed golfer
May 24, 2020 - Died
Megan Witfield (1968-2020) Black unionist
May 30, 2020 - Died Dolores Wawia (Muk Ke
Queh) (1944-2020) Indigenous educator & social activist
June 1, 1920 -
Died Jessie McEwen (1845-1920) social activist
July 30, 2020 - Died
Irma Ellen Wansbrough-Kalela (1930-2020)
August 8, 2020 -
Died Salome Bey (1933-2020) Lady of the Blues
September 4, 2020 -
Died Lucille Marie Raymonde Savoie Starr (1938-2020) 1st
Canadian women to sell 0ne million copies of a country hit song
September 9, 2020 - Died Nancy Jane Drake (1943-2020) stage
actor, director, & teacher
October 18, 2020
- Died Naomi Ruth Binder-Wall (1939-2020) activist supreme
October 31, 2020 - Died Sigrid Dahle-Kusch (1955?-2020) visual
art curator
November 5, 2020 - Died Christine Elizabeth Byquist
(1922?-2020) public health nurse
November 7, 2020 - Died
Mariette Orlov (1932-2020)
acclaimed pianist & master class teacher & mentor
November 18, 2020
- Died Patsy Rodgers-Henderson (1925-2020) first Queen of the
Calgary Stampede
December 8, 2020
- Died Mary Martha Cecilia McCarthy (1932-2020) historian
December 29, 2020 -
Died Elaine Jean McCoy (1946-2020) MLA in Alberta and member
of Canadian Senate
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2021 |
March 11, 2021 - To help prevent the
Covid-19 pandemic from rolling back progress on gender equity,
Minister Monsef announced over $250K for the Woman Abuse Council of
Toronto (WomanACT) and over $250K for the North York Women's Centre
(N Y W C). These organizations are part of more than 250 women's and
Indigenous organizations which receive funding under Women and
Gender Equity Canada Capacity-building Fund so they can continue to
provide vital programming and supports for women and girls across
Canada
Deaths 2021:
January 11, 2021 -
Died Kathleen Heddle (1965 -2021) gold medal Olympic rower
February 10, 2021 - Died Jean Hamilton Kennedy Campbell
(1930-2021) nurse & educator
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