Remembering Agnes MacPhail

 

I've seen a couple of reminders that tomorrow marks the 100th anniversary of the election of Canada's first woman Member of Parliament, Agnes MacPhail. I was aware of her name, but knew nothing about her personal story, so went on a search. 

MacPhail grew up on a farm in Grey County and eventually became a teacher. She was determined, clever, and had a quick and sometimes biting sense of humour when she was heckled by men. She was a feminist long before that term was coined and was passionate about a variety of social justice causes. 

MacPhail had a rather eclectic religious path which included several years as a Mormon before she became a Methodist. She read the bible thoroughly and was moved by the messages of the Hebrew scripture prophets. In 1925 most Methodists became members of the United Church of Canada because of church union and she was one of them. 

MacPhail served multiple terms in parliament and became an effective orator in the House of Commons. She said that she was guided by prayer as she addressed the challenging issues of her time. 

In an article from the Canadian Encyclopedia of Christian Leaders I found this: 

Agnes supported the Progressives’ anti-imperialism and their quest for Canadian autonomy, but it was her championing of the advancement of women, peace, and prison reform that really set her apart.

By working to remove laws that treated women differently from men in such matters as citizenship and divorce, Agnes strove to enhance the position of her gender. “I desire that women have equal rights,” she said. As a regular on the Canadian Chautaugua circuit in the 1920s, she once was confronted by a male heckler who yelled, “Don’t you wish you were a man?” She retorted, “Yes, don’t you?”

In 1929, her activity in the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom along with Lucy Woodsworth led to her being appointed as Canada’s first woman delegate to the League of Nations in Geneva. 

Later in life MacPhail was asked the same question about whether she would prefer to be a man and she responded by saying that she was a woman who wanted to be treated equally with men.

Agnes MacPhail was a remarkable Canadian and Christian, peacemaker and rabble-rouser. We can all give thanks for her life and witness.