Persons Case

Five Canadian women created legal history by joining together in the Persons Case to fight for, and win, the right of women to be recognized as persons under the BNA Act.

The first woman police magistrate in Canada, Emily Murphy was an advocate of the rights of women and children. She took the lead in the Persons Case to establish the legal status of women as persons under the BNA Act.

A best-selling writer, lecturer and Alberta MLA, Nellie McClung was an outspoken activist for the rights of women and for temperance, and was a key member of the Famous Five who fought the Persons Case.

A legal expert on laws affecting women, Henrietta Muir Edwards was a co-founder of the National Council of Women and the Victorian Order of Nurses. One of the Famous Five women in the Persons Case, she was in her eighties before it was resolved.

Temperance organizer and Prohibition advocate, Louise McKinney was one of the first two women elected to the Alberta Legislative Assembly, where she worked on legislation for women and immigrants. She was the second person to sign the judicial appeal in the Persons Case.

An English immigrant and Alberta homesteader, Irene Parlby fought to help rural women and children, became the first woman cabinet minister in Alberta, and joined the other Famous Five in the Persons Case.