Nellie McClung: A Complex Legacy

Nellie McClung was a suffragist, a politician, an author and a social justice advocate. For these reasons, the founding members of the Nellie L. McClung Educational Society chose her as the namesake for a program that empowers girls to lead, challenge, and change the world.

Nellie L. McClung was also an advocate for the Alberta Sexual Sterilization Act, which legalized involuntary sterilization of Albertans deemed “mentally deficient” from 1928 to 1972. The Nellie L. McClung Educational Society in no way endorses or represents the ideology behind that legislation. 

Like many prominent historical Canadians, Nellie L. McClung has a complex legacy, and we encourage everyone to consider those complexities – both her transformational achievements and her unacceptable actions. As a Society, we have committed ourselves to participating in the conversation around her legacy.

Profile

Nellie McClung, a member of the Famous Five, is celebrated in Alberta and across Canada as a women’s right activist. In 1927, Nellie McClung and the four other members of the Famous Five launched the "Persons Case." The case contended that women should be recognized as persons and should, therefore, be eligible to sit in the Senate. The Supreme Court of Canada ruled against the case, but the case was eventually won in an appeal to the Judicial Committee of the British Privy Council. Women are now persons in Canada. 

Suffragist 

In 1914 and 1915, Nellie McClung campaigned in Manitoba on the issue of women having the vote. In January 1916, women were granted the right to vote in that province. Part of the campaign included participating in a mock parliament (Nellie McClung played the role of the Premier) which exposed the absurdity of resistance to women’s suffrage. In 1916, Alberta followed suit in giving women the right to vote.

Politician 

Nellie L. McClung was an elected Member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta from 1921-1926. During that time, she fought for women’s suffrage, dower rights for women and factory safety legislation, amongst other reforms.

Author

Nellie McClung was a prolific, nationally best-selling author, writing fiction and non-fiction books including “Sowing Seeds in Danny” a picture of small-town life in Manitoba and “In Times Like These” which reflected her maternal feminist beliefs.

Champion of Human Rights

Nellie McClung fought for many causes in her life. In addition to her advocacy for women and labourers in Alberta, she championed enfranchisement of Japanese Canadians, and opening the border to Jewish refugees. 

Maternal Feminist

Like many suffragists from her time, Nellie L. McClung was an adherent of maternal feminism. The maternal feminism movement posited that women had the responsibility to carry and raise the future members of “the race.” For some, this meant increasing the proportion of people in future generations with desirable genetic traits and decreasing the persistence of traits that they deemed undesirable. For others it meant maintaining the numbers of British-Canadians. 

In order to succeed as “guardians of the race,” maternal feminists argued that women must be able to vote and hold office. Women needed to be able to drive changes to legislation in order to build a better future for mothers and babies. for example, advocating for access to medical care.

As an adherent to that belief system, Nellie L. McClung accepted the principles of the eugenics movement. Along with her friend Emily Murphy, Nellie McClung advocated for Alberta's Sexual Sterilization Act. From 1928 to 1972, the Act legalized the involuntary sterilization of thousands of people considered “mentally deficient” and disproportionately affected Indigenous peoples and immigrants. A quote from “In Times Like These” encapsulates the beliefs that led to her support for involuntary sterilization:

…to bring children into the world, suffering from the handicaps caused by ignorance, poverty, or criminality of the parents, is an appalling crime against the innocent and hopeless, and yet one about which practically nothing is said. Marriage, homemaking, and the rearing of children are left entirely to chance, and so it is no wonder that humanity produces so many specimens who, if they were silk stockings or boots, would be marked “seconds.” 

Our Commitment

The Nellie L. McClung Educational Society in no way endorses or represents the ideology of maternal feminism or eugenics. We recognize the injustices and suffering that arose out of this legislation and aim as an organization to empower a generation to women who speak out and act in situations of injustice.

Read More

There are many internet resources with information about Nellie L. McClung. Here are a few to get you started:

• Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nellie_McClung

• The Canadian Encyclopedia: https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/nellie-letitia-mcclung

• Women, Suffrage and Beyond: https://womensuffrage.org

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