The Royal Canadian Mint is remembering a special day in history with an all new loonie released on International Women’s Day.
The new $1 coin commemorates the 100th Anniversary of Women's Right to Vote, depicting a woman casting a ballot, while her daughter, who represents the future, looks on.
A century ago, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta granted most women the right to vote in provincial elections.
This hard-won victory in the Prairie Provinces was the result of years of campaigning by women's groups, beginning as early as 1890.
Based on this change, women could also hold political office allowing them the opportunity to influence social and political change.
Canadian artist Laurie McGaw designed the coin, which has a personal touch.
"As I researched this topic, I thought of my Manitoba-born grandmother. Married in 1916, she passed on to her four children, including my mother, a strong sense of fairness, responsibility, and curiosity about the world,” said McGaw, in a statement. “Politics, I remember, was a favourite topic of conversation around the kitchen table. Community involvement was important.
“For her to vote for the first time must have been a powerful experience! And now my daughter is a strong, accomplished woman who values the efforts—as I do—of those who fought so hard to secure the vote for women and their place in society."
Still, this victory in the Prairies in 1916, didn’t change everything.
Ontario and British Columbia granted women the right to vote provincially in 1917, but women in Quebec didn’t get to vote until 1940. First Nations men and women weren't able to vote federally until 1960.
The "Persons Case," was brought forward by the Famous Five: Nellie McClung, Louise McKinney, Henrietta Muir Edwards, Emily Murphy, and Irene Parlby in 1927. They requested that the Supreme Court clarify if the word "persons" in the British North America Act included women, and therefore, if women could serve in an appointed office.
The Supreme Court's ruling declared women non-persons, so the Famous Five took their case to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in Britain, Canada's highest court of appeal at the time.
On October 18th, 1929, the Council ruled in their favour, and not long after Cairine Wilson took her place as the first female Senator in Canada in 1930.
For $5, customers can receive a limited-edition keepsake of five $1 coins, with free shipping.
