Famous 5 Ottawa

Prior to 1929, Canada’s constitution said that only “qualified persons”—meaning men only—could be appointed to the Senate. It was in that year that five courageous and idealistic Canadian women stepped onto the world stage to challenge these antiquated laws and conventions. By insisting that women be officially recognized as persons in the fullest legal sense of the word the “Famous Five”, as they became known, set a stirring example of leadership that altered all Commonwealth nations’ laws and, with it, the course of history.