Nellie McClung (far left), Emily Murphy (far right) and Laura Jamieson, March, 1916.
These women were the leaders of the feminist cause in western Canada. Closely allied, their abilities brought them widespread recognition from western women. This picture, taken at the time of the third reading of the Franchise Bill in the Provincial Legislature of Alberta, commemorates the victory for western suffragettes. In April 1916, the women of Alberta were granted the franchise. A much less promising situation faced French Canadian women. Madame Gerin-Lajoie, a French Canadian by birth and marriage, showed unusual courage in creating the Federation Nationale St. Jean Baptiste in 1907. This was Quebec's leading women's organization and the counterpart to the National Council of Women of Canada. Hampered by fears of conservative nationalists like Henri Bourassa and intimidated by bishops within the Catholic Church, Gerin-Lajoie's support for women suffrage tended to be restrained.
