Women are going to form a chain, a greater sisterhood than the world has ever known. (Nellie McClung, 1916)
Nellie Letitia McClung, née Mooney, suffragist, reformer, legislator, author was born at Chatsworth, Ontario, 20 Oct 1873. From 1880 she was raised on a homestead in the Souris Valley, Manitoba, and did not attend school until she was 10. She received a teaching certificate at 16 and then taught school until she married Robert Wesley McClung in 1896. In Manitou, where her husband was a druggist, she became prominent in the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union, of which her mother-in-law was provincial president. In 1908 McClung published her first novel, Sowing Seeds in Danny, a witty portrayal of a small western town. It was a national best-seller and was followed by numerous short stories and articles in Canadian and American magazines. (2)
The women’s suffrage movement was just getting underway in Manitoba, and Nellie McClung soon found herself in the forefront. Sir Rodmond Roblin was premier at that time, confident and self satisfied, and completely convinced that women should be kept “in their place.” He and Nellie were born adversaries. Nellie and her fellow suffragettes put on a play “The Women’s Parliament;’ and the stage was a replica of the Legislative Assembly made up entirely of women. As the play progressed, a delegation of men arrived, humbly asking to be granted the right to vote. They also asked for joint guardianship of their children, and the right to their own earnings. The play was a huge success and ran for two nights in Winnipeg and one night in Brandon. The proceeds financed the women’s campaign, and was influential in turning the tide of public opinion in favour of the vote for women. (2)
A woman as a public figure was something of a novelty in those days, and Nellie was well aware that she was the subject of much criticism and that her family affairs made a popular topic of discussion. Since her critics were not able to find any really juicy gossip about her by way of indiscretions or infidelity, they resorted to accusations that she was neglecting her family by spending so much time in the public interest. She sometimes began her speeches by saying to her audience, “Settle down now, and don’t worry about my children. They are well and happy and clothed and fed.” (1)
In 1914 the McClungs moved to Calgary, and Nellie was a member of the Alberta Legislature from 1921 to 1926. (1)
She was one of The Famous Five (also called The Valiant Five), with Irene Parlby, Henrietta Muir Edwards, Emily Murphy and Louise McKinney. The five put forward a petition, in 1927, to clarify the term “Persons” in Section 24 of the British North America Act 1867. This section had served to exclude women from political office. The petition was successful, clearing the way for women to enter politics in Canada. (3)
Nellie McClung was the first woman to serve on the Board of Governors of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, a position which she held for six years. Always a devoted church member, she was the sole delegate from the Methodist Church of Canada to Ecumenical Conference in London, England, in 1921. (1)
In Alberta she continued the fight for female suffrage and for prohibition, dower rights for women, factory safety legislation and many other reforms. She gained wide prominence from addresses in Britain at the Methodist Ecumenical Conference and elsewhere (1921) and from speaking tours throughout Canada and the US, and was a Liberal MLA for Edmonton, 1921-26.
In 1933 the McClungs moved to Vancouver Island, where Nellie completed the first volume of her autobiography, Clearing in the West: My Own Story (1935, repr 1976), and wrote short stories and a syndicated column. In all, she published 16 books, including In Times Like These (1915, repr 1975). (2)
(1) by Betty Burton Manitoba Pageant, Summer 1975, Volume 20, Number 4 http://www.mhs.mb.ca/docs/pageant/20/mcclung.shtml
(2) http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/nellie-letitia-mcclung/
