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The feminist movement in Canada emerged in the 19th century which was sparked due to inequality women had to face while also combatting the issues of the history of slavery and colonialism. It was led by Indigenous and Black women and had been supported by women of all backgrounds in Canada. -
The goal of this movement was to allow women the right to own property, being able to access higher education, be able to be independent, and given the right to vote. Women were deemed inferior and not strong enough to do what men do, and instead must be just stay at home and reproduce.
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The National Council of Women in Canada was formed alongside others to fight for the right to get political citizenship and be recognized under law as an individual with power. Though this wasn't their only goal, instead it was meant to be a stepping stone into achieving greater power. They were supported by women around the country including immigrants from countries like Finland and Iceland.
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This was an era in which slavery was still at large/ had just been abolished in which black women and other women of colour had found white women who did support the feminist movement were still against women of colour gaining that power. The areas in Canada that did support the movement only supported white women as way a way to push the agenda of displacing Indigenous people.
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There was a delay in improvements and intense fear of how to manage all newcomers and controlling the working class due to the influx of immigrants as well as urbanization and industrialization of society.
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Throughout the entire movement there were 2 prominent groups: the progressive and the conservative. The conservative group, though they wanted rights awarded to women in society, they did not want to include women of colour in their path to success. They had considered them enemies and beneath them which deterred their goal for a bit.
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Manitoba were the first to be granted the right to vote and to be part of provincial office, followed by Saskatchewan.
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After decades of struggle and protest, some women were given partial franchise in which they were able to vote if they had male relatives who were Canadian soldiers. Only those who were British immigrants were able to do so, leaving non-british immigrants to have to fight even more.
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All provinces except for Quebec had given black and white women the right to vote. Yet, other groups of women such as Indigenous and Asian women had still struggled to fight for their rights. Many had even given up on supporting after being awarded the right to vote because they didn't the others deserved it.
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Throughout many years Indigenous and Asian women continued to fight for the right to vote across all provinces, struggling to be supported since they had lost some supporters. They had been finally granted the right (without exceptions) in 1960 to vote in Federal elections.
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Women across Canada are joining the work force and higher education but are dealing with the wage gap between them and men, trying to be able to reach top positions that are normally taken by men, and going into male-dominated fields trying to be taken seriously by their colleagues. Though the movement has achieved so much and a lot has changed in over a century, there is still much that needs to be done.
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Women of colour are discriminated against significantly more than white women because not only do they deal with the pressures as women, but also all the hate there is to their ethnicity/race. With the struggles there is for women today, it is even worse for women of colour. Though there are laws against discrimination, people still find way to be hateful through loopholes. Nevertheless, the evolution of acceptance in society allowed women to achieve things their ancestors dreamed to achieve.