'Insubordinate' women spotted at Old Stone House (10 photos)

The annual Lilac and Lavender celebration at the Ermatinger-Clergue National Historic Site (ECNHS) is paying tribute to Canada’s Suffragettes this weekend.

Commemorating 100 years since the first Canadian women were granted the right to vote – Manitoba in 1916 – the weekend includes historical reenactments, film screenings, information displays, and refreshments.

Friday and Saturday afternoon, event organizers screened 2015’s Suffragette, a British historical drama highlighting the early feminist movement.

Kathy Fisher, ECNHS curator, told SooToday that the Canadian government has designated five Suffragettes – known as the ‘Famous Five’ – as national historic figures to mark the 100th anniversary.  

They are Emily Murphy, Henrietta Muir Edwards, Nellie McClung, Louise Crummy McKinney and Irene Parlby.

On International Women’s Day 2016, the federal government issued an open call for nominees to select a notable Canadian woman to be featured on the first bank note of the next series.

Suffragette Nellie McClung was ultimately named to the 12-woman short list from more than 450 eligible nominations.

A final decision is forthcoming.

“Suffrage is something to commemorate and celebrate,” Fisher said. “This year, it was nice to change up the event to add this historic moment.”

The Lilac and Lavender celebration continues Sunday afternoon with a screening of Mary Poppins at 2 p.m.

Woman’s right to vote in Canada:

January 28, 1916 - Manitoba
March 14, 1916 - Saskatchewan
April 19, 1916 - Alberta
April 5, 1917 - British Columbia
April 12, 1917 - Ontario
April 26, 1918 - Nova Scotia
May 24, 1918 - Canada (federal elections)
April 17, 1919 - New Brunswick
May 20, 1919 - Yukon
May 3, 1922 - Prince Edward Island
April 3, 1925 - Newfoundland/Labrador
April 25, 1940 - Quebec
June 12, 1951 - Northwest Territories
1960 - Aboriginal women

According to Sault Star excerpts on display inside the Old Stone House, City Council passed a resolution allowing women’s suffrage in Sault Ste. Marie on February 27, 1917, six weeks prior to the provincial government granting women the right to vote.