Tag: OTD » On This Day

Persons Day 2021

Five Alberta women activists, later known as the “Famous Five”, secured the rights of women as “persons” in Canada and throughout the Commonwealth. The difficult legal battle, begun in 1927, is a turning point in the struggle for women’s equality in Canada.

This gave some women the right to be appointed to the Senate of Canada and paved the way for women’s increased participation in public and political life. Though this decision did not include all women, such as Indigenous women and women of Asian heritage and descent, it did mark critical progress in the advancement of gender equality in Canada.

So, October 18 is celebrated as “Persons Day” in Canada!

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On This Day » September 16, 1974

Thirty-two women, the first female troop, join the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP).

The above video, produced for and published by the RCMP in 2015, features interviews with five women – three from the first female troop and two other officers – who blazed the trail for female RCMP officers.

Today, women make up approximately one fifth of the police officers in the RCMP.

The RCMP’s first female commissioner was Bev Busson, who took the helm of the force in 2006.

More »

• RCMP page on Women in the RCMP