I+' National Library BibliBth6que nationale of Canada " du Canada Canadian Theses sirvice Services des theses canadiennes ' , Ottawa, Canada K1 A ON4 CANADIAN THESES - <- AVlS The quality of this microfiche is heavily dependent upon the La qual1t6de cette microfiche d6pen quality of the original thesis submitted for microfilming. Every de la these soumisaau microfilmage. effort has been made to ensure the highest quality of reproduc- assurer une qualit6 sup6rieure de r tion possible. If pages are missing, contact the university which granted the S'il manque des pages, veuillez communiquer avec I'univer- degree. site qui a conkre le grade. Some pages may have indistinct print especially if the original . La qualit6 d'impression de certaines pages peut laisser A pages were typed with a poor type-writer ribbon or if the univer- dksirer, surtout si les pages originales ont 6t6 dactylographiees ' .sity sent us an inferior photocopy. 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Veuillez prendre connaissance des formules d'autorisation qui accompagnent cette th6se. -- - - - -- -- THIS DISSERTATION LA THESE A'ETE HAS BEEN MICROFILMED MICROFILMEE TELLE QUE EXACTLY AS RECEIVED NOUS L'AVONS RECUE .Nat~onal Library Btblioth@cpe nationale CANADIAN THESES TH~SESCANADIENNES - of Canada du Canada ONWCRWCHF SUR 11(7Cm7- -- I$ * NAME OF AUTHOR/NOM DE L'AUTEUR Susan Walsh TITLE OF THESIS/TITRE DE LA [H~SE Equality, Emancipation (2nd a More Just World: Leading W~rnei-~in the British Co~urnbia.Cooperative -- - -- - - - Commonwealth Federation. ' i UNIVERSIP(/UMIV~RSITE' Simon Fraser Universit:~ DEGREE FOR WHlC THESIS WAS WESENTED/ 9 cmor poun i.%L cmETHESE wTPR~STNT~ M.A. NAME OF SUPERVISOR/NOM DU DlRECTEUR DE TH~SE Professor V. Strong-Boag I' Perm~ssion IS hereby granted to the NATIONAL LIBRARY OF 'L'autorisation est, par la prgsente, bccord&e B la BIBLIOTH$- a CANADA to microf i lm this thesi s and to lend or sel l copies QUE NATIONALE DU CANADA de microfilmer cette thBse et -, of the film. de prefer ou de vendre des exemplaires du film. , The author reserves other publication rights, and neither the L'auteur se rdserve Ies autres droits de publication; ni'la thesis na 'extensive extracts from it may be printed or other- th8seni de longs-extraits,de celle-ci ne doivent Btie imprimes WI se reproduced without the author's written permission. ou autrement reproduits sans l'autorisat~onBcrite de l'auteur. - - EQUALITY, EMANCIPATION AND8A MORE JUST WORLD: LEADING WOMEN IN THE BRITISH COLUHBIA B.A., Slmon Fraser University, 1980 A THES~SSUBMITTED IN PARTIAL 'PULPILLUENI'OF THE REQUIREHENTS FOR TEE DEGREE OF MASTEPS'OF ~TS - in the Department @ Susan Walsh 1983 SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY December 1983 All rights reserved. This thesis may not be reproduced in whole or in.part, by photocopy or other means, without permission of the author. ' APPROVAL Name : Susan Walsh .. Degree: Masters of Arts Title of Thesis: Equality, Emancipation and a. More Just World: Leading Women in the B.C. CCF, , , , Examining Committee: Chairperson: Bry.an Palmer - - ,. 'L Veronica Strong-Boag Senior Supervis.or . --- -- - 7 {~aryLynn ~tewart-~c~6u~all 1. a V~.Allen Seager - Arlene T. ~c~aren DATE APPKOVED: 6 ~anuary'1984. a I hereby. grant to' S Ikon ~raserUn i vers I ty f he r l ght to lend my thesis, proJect or extended' essay (the title of which is shown be.low) - to users of the Simon Fraser Un-iversi ty Lib'cary, and to hake partial or . single copies only for such users or in response to a request from the l i brary of any other un hersi ty, or other educat iona l i nst i tut'ion, on ' its own behalf or for one of its users. I further agree that permission for-mu1 tipie copying of this wo$k for scholarly purposes may be granted by me or the Dean of Graduate Studies. It is understood that copying or pub1 lca+ion of this work for financial gain shall without my written permission. Title of Thesis/Project/Extended Essay , ~quality,Emancipation and a More Just World: Leading Women in the British Columbia Cooperative - Commonwealth Federation. Author: - (signature) ' Susan Walsh - - - - - iii ABSTRACT *- , In .the wake of suffrage victories,'many early twentieth century Canadian women worked hard to make that equality meaningful and to extend' it- to all areas of women's lives. For those who predictGd great however, too few took their hard-earned rights the poiling station.. Most expressed their concerns and goals within the more familiar world of women's organizations. Helena Gutteridge, Laura. Jamieson, Dorothy Steeves and Grace MacInnis were among the notable exceptions. While maintaining important ties with women's groups, .t,hey sought and won public office, ' pioneering important paths for generations of Can-adian women &+ye political trai.1 blazers stand out for another , . important reason. They chose to establish their careers and fest their political- rights in a socialist party -- t he Cooperative Commonwealth Federation -- pledged to sexual emancipation and equal opportunities for women. They were, in short, dual rebels -- as feminists and socialists -- in a sex and class-ordered world. Canada's third-party, socialist alternative gave these four wgmen a very warm reception. All four emerged as t \ leaders within the British Columbia CCF after a relatively brief apprenticeship. But the champi.oning of both causes was at the same time theoretically and, in practice, arduous. The CCF had difficulty 'living up to its promise of f sexual egalitarianism. When class aspiJrations clashed with gender ones, the latter suffered. Nor did the majority of women within the party take the "great leap forward" which socialist theory forecasted. Through its investigation of Gutteridge, Jamieson, Steeves and MacInnis' respective paths to po1i.tical power and- leadership, this thesis demonstrates that for leading wom.en within the CCF, in particular the British Columbia CCF, the balancing of class and gender loyalties was no easy. task. Personal, political and party ambitions worked against a whole-hearted campaign ,.for sexual equality. Still, attempts to give equal amounts of attention to both allegiances were made and in Gutteridge and Jamieson's case, a relatively comfortable balance was found. - Steeves and MacInnis, on the other hand, chose socialist goals over feminist ones. For these still more prominent women,L balanced loyalties were unrealistic and too costly. Para- doxically, they came considerably closer than their older sisters to the power and cloutwhich the franchise triumphs of 1917 and 1018 heralded. t My: warm thanks to Veronica Strong-Boag for the experience, insight and patience she shared with me during * the cours,e of my research and wrfting. Her astut greatly facilitated my task. Mary Lynn ~c~ou~alfand Allen Seager also deserve a special note of thanks for their help- ful guidance: I would also like to express my appreciation to those Interviewed •’'or this - thesis. Grace MacInnis graciously opened her door ta me on three occassions. Her frank and perceptive recollections, were invaluable. Hilda' Kristiansen, Daisy Webster, Mildred Farnhi, Jessie atid Harold Winch, a:nd Christine Cameron likewise offered thoughtful observations about the lives and timestof the % women this thesis profiles. Finally, thank-you to those friends, both wirhin and outside the university, who were patient, understanding and encouraging.. A spe'cial thanks goes to my family and Gustavo who always made me feel this > day would come! / P/C TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter . Page 4- From Ho,memaker To Politician: ............... 15 P The ~x~erienceof sisterhood The CCF And The'Woman Question:............. 45 Following European Footsteps The Bloomer Girl and the Judge B lancing Class and Gender Loyalties\ The Peacock and .the G-uinea Hen:. ............ 153 Socialists First, Feminists Second PAGE 1 The road to 'female enfranchisement in Canada was iong' I and arduous. After thirty five years of relentless cam- paigning 'by a determined few, on May 24, 1918, women finally > obtained the federal franchise. The right to political re- presentation, however, did not bring with it unqualified equality. As 'late as 1928, for example, the Supreme Court ruled that "women were not qualified for the Senate and were not, therefore, legally personsM.l It took another year and the persistance of five Alberta women bef oreBthe Privy 1 Council overrul'ed this decision. h Women's involvement in political' parties is one expres- sion of the degree to which the victories of 19.18 and 19'29 i satisfied early feminist expectation@ and ambitions. Yet, in proportion to their numbers, the role of women in poli- ", tics has been disappointing to those who predicted great changes. Between 1919 and 1975, only twenty five women were elected to the House of Commons while only a slightly larger group of sixty-seven became' provinc'ial legislator^.^ In her study of Nellie McClung and female activism in the 1920s, Veronica Strong-Boag concludes that "the failuq of pre-suffrage feminists to develop and'clearly define at- tractive and satisfying models of an activist femininity 0 PAGE 2 P made the future loom as tractless- and obscure."!3 This ex- . ,plana'tion, in part, illuminates women's poor political record.- Maternal responsibilities, educational barriers and a host of gender-specific obstacles within the Canadian -political arena further weakened their drive and ability to hold public office.