Agnes Macphail

Agnes Macphail: Woman of Change

Politicians are more than capable of changing the way people live, and Agnes Macphail was no exception. She is the reason why gender discrimination is seen differently through politics, as well through the lifestyle of citizens. Women were incapable of displaying their beliefs and judgement; which is why freedom of speech was something that they were urging for but were unable to successfully achieve. Macphail established the foundations of gender equality in politics, which are currently in place today. Agnes Macphail was a positive and influential force for women and for change in Canada due to her rebellious actions towards the government.

Before the First World War, politicians had turned down every request of women’s groups to allow them to vote or to allow them to enter the Parliament.1 Agnes Macphail used her determination and persistence to find a way to get freedom of speech, not only for her but also for women around the world; she refused to let women’s voices be unheard of from the government. During her 20s, around the 1920s, Agnes not only joined in political discussions, but involved herself in the problems of the people she knew best: the farmers.2 Her first public speech at a meeting of the United Farming made her voice more valuable and more important than ever.3 In the 1921 federal election, Agnes Macphail defeated ten men to become the United Farming Organization candidate, portraying her confidence as a female politician, believing that she succeeded her first step in enforcing a change.4 Though Agnes herself was barred from speaking in certain halls and clubs because she was seen as “left-wing” and therefore a threat to security, it got her even more determined to speak out whenever she could on behalf of not only the farmers but also the ordinary man and women.5 When women had been allowed to vote in federal elections since 1918, and Macphail was the first to succeed in taking a seat in the House of...