McClung, Nellie (1873-1951), was a leading Canadian feminist and an author. She fought successfully for political and legal rights for Canadian women. In 1912, she helped found the Winnipeg (Manitoba) Political Equality League, which campaigned for woman suffrage (voting rights) in Canada. Manitoba was one of several provinces that in 1916 gave women the right to vote. Woman suffrage became nationwide in 1918.
From 1921 to 1926, McClung served in the Alberta legislature. She was one of five women who began a court battle in 1927 to determine whether women were “persons” under the British North America Act, which then served as Canada’s constitution. The Privy Council in England, the highest judicial authority in the British Empire, ruled in their favor in 1929. This ruling enabled women to serve in the Canadian Senate.
McClung wrote several books about Canadian life and the women’s movement. They included In Times Like These (1915) and Purple Springs (1921). McClung was born Helen Letitia Mooney on Oct. 20, 1873, in Chatsworth, Ontario. She married Robert Wesley McClung, a pharmacist, in 1896. She died on Sept. 1, 1951.
See also Famous Five .
