Emily Murphy

Emily Murphy was the first woman police magistrate in Alberta, in Canada and in the British Empire. A strong advocate for the rights of women and children, Emily Murphy led the "Famous Five" in the Persons Case which established the status of women as persons under the BNA Act.

March 14, 1868 in Cookstown, Ontario

October 17, 1933 in Edmonton, Alberta

Woman's rights activist, author, journalist, police magistrate

Emily Murphy was active in many reform activities in the interests of women and children, including women's property rights and the Dower Act. Emily Murphy also worked on getting changes to the laws on drugs and narcotics.

• Emily Murphy wrote four popular books of patriotic travel sketches under the pen name Janey Canuck between 1901 and 1914.

• She was the first woman appointed to the Edmonton Hospital Board in 1910.

• Emily Murphy was active in pressuring the Alberta government to change the Dower Act in 1911.

• She was a member of the Equal Franchise League and worked with Nellie McClung on the vote for women.

• in 1916, when prevented from attending a trial of prostitutes because it was not suitable for mixed company, Emily Murphy protested to the Attorney General and demanded that a special police court be set up to try women, and that a women magistrate be appointed to preside over the court. The Attorney General agreed and appointed Emily Murphy as the police magistrate for the court in Edmonton, Alberta. She became the first woman police magistrate in Alberta, in Canada and in the British Empire.

• On her first day in court, Emily Murphy's appointment was challenged by a lawyer because women were not considered "persons" under the BNA Act. The objection was overruled frequently and in 1917, the Alberta Supreme Court ruled that women were persons in Alberta.

• Emily Murphy allowed her name to be put forward as a candidate for the Senate, but was turned down by Prime Minister Robert Borden because the BNA Act of 1867 did not recognize women as persons.

• From 1917 to 1929 Emily Murphy spearheaded the campaign to have a woman appointed to the Senate, and led the "Famous Five" in the Persons Case which established the status of women as persons under the BNA Act in 1929.

• Emily Murphy became president of the new Federation of Women's Institutes in 1919.

• In 1922 Emily Murphy wrote "The Black Candle" on drug trafficking in Canada, advocating changes to laws on drugs and narcotics. Her writing reflected the belief, typical of the times, that poverty, prostitution, alcohol and drug abuse were caused by immigrants to the West.