Each October, Canada marks Women’s History Month to recognize the contributions of women who have shaped the country’s history, institutions and public life. The month also includes Persons Day on October 18, which commemorates one of the most important milestones in Canadian women’s rights.

Persons Day marks the 1929 Persons Case, a landmark legal decision that changed Canadian history. At the time, women were not legally considered “persons” under a section of the British North America Act relating to Senate appointments. This meant women could not be appointed to the Canadian Senate. After years of advocacy, Canada’s highest court initially rejected the challenge - but the decision was overturned by the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in Britain, which ruled that women were indeed legal “persons.”

The case was led by the Famous Five, a group of five Alberta women - Emily Murphy, Nellie McClung, Henrietta Muir Edwards, Louise McKinney and Irene Parlby - who fought to expand women’s participation in public life. They were activists, reformers and suffragists who challenged laws that excluded women from political leadership.

Women’s History Month offers teachers an opportunity to explore how rights change over time and how legal systems can both limit and expand equality. One simple classroom activity is to ask students to research a Canadian woman who helped create social change - in politics, education, science, law or human rights.

Discussion questions might include: What barriers did women face? How were those barriers challenged? What inequalities still exist today?

By studying these stories, students can better understand that rights are not automatically granted - they are often achieved through persistence, advocacy and civic engagement.

‍