Celebrating BC's first 100 women members of the legislative assembly.

• Author: Reid, Linda
• Position: Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians

Approaching the 100th anniversary of the election of BC's first woman Member of the Legislative Assembly in 2018, the author reflects on some of the achievements of the first 100 women MLAs elected in the province. She notes that these women have often proven to be excellent role models for young people aspiring to a career in politics and public service.

Hon. Linda Reid, MLA

In 2013 British Columbia achieved an important milestone with the election of its 100th woman Member of the Legislative Assembly. We are also approaching the 100th anniversary of the by-election victory of Mary Ellen Smith, the first woman elected to BC's Legislative Assembly, in 1918.

Between 1891 and 1914, 16 women's suffrage bills were introduced and defeated in British Columbia's Legislative Assembly. In April 1917, following a referendum A on the issue undertaken in conjunction with the province's 1916 general election, British t Columbia became the fourth province in Canada to grant women who qualified as British subjects the right to vote in provincial elections and to stand for provincial office. While this legislation heralded a great step forward for women's rights, the voting franchise would not become universal in BC until 1949, when it was finally broadened to include First Nations women and men, and women and men of Japanese background.

I would like to take this milestone as an opportunity to celebrate the strength, character, and contributions of some of these remarkable provincial leaders.

Mary Ellen Smith

Born and raised in England, Mary Ellen Smith immigrated to British Columbia with her husband in 1891. Smith had been a passionate activist on the drive for women's suffrage in the province in the decades leading up to the successful 1916 referendum, so it was perhaps fitting when she was called upon to run in her husband's vacated seat following his sudden death in 1917. First elected as an "Independent Liberal," she was re-elected in 1920 and 1924 under the banner of the Liberal party of the day.

As an MLA, Smith continued her advocacy work on behalf of women, children and the r underprivileged, introducing a bill calling for a minimum wage for women that remained in effect until 1972. She is additionally recognized as the first female member of cabinet and the first woman to preside over parliamentary proceedings as an acting Speaker anywhere in the British Empire.

Nancy Hodges

In 1950 British Columbia marked another first when Nancy Hodges was...