Persons Day Celebration – Sun. Oct 16, 2016

Each year, we celebrate the day that women in Canada were legally defined as “persons”.

The historic decision to include women in the legal definition of “persons” was handed down by Canada’s highest court of appeal—the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council of Great Britain—on October 18, 1929. This gave women the right to be appointed to the Senate of Canada and paved the way for women’s increased participation in public and political life.

The five women who pursued the case have become known as the Famous Five. They were journalists, magistrates and politicians who were influenced by a number of reform movements that took root in the early twentieth century. Their arduous legal quest, which began in 1927, resulted in a milestone victory and was a turning point for equality rights in Canada.

Watch the 3-Minute Video

Watch the 10-Minute Video