It was not until 1921 that women on Prince Edward Island had the right to vote, and it took another 30 years before a woman -- Hilda Ramsay of Indian River -- put her name on the ballot to campaign for a seat in the Legislative Assembly. Ramsay was a candidate in the 1951 provincial election for the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF) in the district of 3rd Prince and was defeated by Liberal candidate Frank L. MacNutt.
Liberal Jean Canfield, in 1970, became the first woman, elected to the Legislative Assembly of Prince Edward Island, elected as the Member for the district of 1st Queens in the May 11, 1970, general election. She had originally stood for office in the 1966 provincial election in 1st Queens, but failed in her election bid, losing to incumbent Frank Myers.
She again made history in 1972 by becoming Prince Edward Island’s first woman cabinet minister, appointed the role of minister without a portfolio and Minister Responsible for the PEI Housing Authority, a position she held from Oct. 10, 1972, to May 2, 1974.
Canfield was re-elected to a second consecutive term in 1974 and, this time, was not the lone woman MLA.
In the 1974 provincial election, the Hon. Catherine Callbeck, who later became the first woman to serve as Premier of Prince Edward Island and the first woman in Canada elected Premier, won her seat for the Liberals in the dual-riding district of 4th Prince.
Callbeck served as Minister of Health, and Minister of Social Services from May 2, 1974, to April 27, 1978, and was the only woman in Premier Alex Campbell's cabinet. She was the first woman to receive a full cabinet appointment. In 1978, she opted not to seek a second term in elected office, and turned her focus back to the family business. Years later, Callbeck was elected the Member of Parliament for Malpeque, sitting one term as a Liberal Opposition member before winning the provincial Liberal leadership and, with it, becoming Premier of Prince Edward Island.
In the years that followed, many women put their names forward for election, offering in districts across Prince Edward Island to represent the various political parties.
See full list of Women MLAs of PEI
Significant Dates for PEI Women and Politics
- 1888 – Unmarried women in Charlottetown win the right to vote in municipal elections.
- 1892 – Unmarried women in Summerside win the right to vote in municipal elections.
- 1899 – Women win the right to sit on school boards in Charlottetown and Summerside.
- 1917 – Women with close relatives in the Armed Forces win the right to vote in federal elections.
- 1918 – Women over the age of 21 who are Canadian citizens win the right to vote in federal elections, with the exception of Indigenous women.
- 1922 – Island women win the right to vote in provincial elections, with the exception of Indigenous women.
- 1929 – British Privy Council declares women to be “persons” and able to serve in the Senate.
- 1951 – Hilda Ramsay (CCF) from Indian River is the first woman candidate to campaign for a seat in the provincial Legislature.
- 1955 – Elsie Inman is the first Island woman appointed to the Senate of Canada.
- 1960 – Indigenous people living on reserve win the right to vote in federal and provincial elections without losing their registered status.
- 1960 – Mary Bernard is the first woman elected chief of Lennox Island First Nation.
- 1961 – Margaret Mary Smith MacDonald (PC) is the first PEI woman, as well as the first woman east of Ottawa, elected to the House of Commons. To this date, only two other PEI women have followed in her footsteps.
- 1968 – Dorothy Corrigan is the first woman elected mayor of Charlottetown.
- 1970 – Jean Canfield (Liberal) is the first PEI woman elected to the Legislative Assembly.
- 1972 – Jean Canfield (Liberal) is the first woman appointed to cabinet, responsible for the PEI Housing Authority.
- 1979 - Hon. Marion L. Reid becomes the first woman to serve as Deputy Speaker in PEI.
- 1979 – Frances Perry is the first woman elected mayor of Summerside.
- 1983 – Hon. Marion L. Reid (PC) is the first woman in PEI to hold the office of Speaker of the Legislative Assembly.
- 1990 – Pat Mella (PC) is the first woman in PEI elected leader of a provincial political party.
- 1990 – Hon. Marion L. Reid (PC) is the first woman Lieutenant Governor for PEI.
- 1993 – Hon. Catherine Callbeck (Liberal) is the first woman in PEI and in Canada elected premier.
- 1993 – Pat Mella (PC) is the first woman in PEI to hold the position of Leader of the Official Opposition.
- 2004 – Lennox Island First Nations elects an all woman band council that includes Chief Darlene Bernard, Emily Bernard, Tabatha Thomas and Mary Moore Phillips.
- 2006 – Olive Crane (PC) wins a byelection to bring the percentage of women in the PEI legislature to a record-breaking 26 per cent.
- 2008 – One third of PEI candidates in the 2008 federal election are women. Gail Shea (PC) becomes the third women MP in PEI history.
- 2010 – Two of four political parties are led by women, including Olive Crane as leader of the PC Party and Sharon Labchuk as leader of the Green Party.
- 2017 – Hon. Antoinette Perry is the first Acadian woman appointed Lieutenant Governor of PEI.
- 2017 – Hannah Bell is the first woman Green Party member elected to the Legislative Assembly.
PEI Women in Government 2019
- None of the MPs representing Prince Edward Island are women.
- 25.9 per cent -- or seven of the 27 PEI MLAs -- are women.
- The governing Progressive Conservative Party has two women MLAs -- Darlene Compton, who, on May 9, 2019, was sworn in as Deputy Premier, Minister of Finance, and Minister Responsible for the Status of Women; and Natalie Jameson, who was elected to represent District 9 in the July 15, 2019, deferred election.
- Women -- five of the eight elected Green Party members -- make up the majority of the Official Opposition.
- There are no women MLAs elected for the Third Party, the Liberals.
- Only one appointed Senator is a woman.
- Two of the four members of the Lennox Island Band Council are women -- Chief Darlene Bernard and on-reserve councillor Madelene Sark.
- One of the four members of the Abegweit First Nation Band Council is a woman -- Sheri Bernard.
- Three woman – Deputy Mayor Norma McColeman, Carrie Adams, Barb Ramsay -- sit on Summerside City Council.
- Two women -- Alanna Jankov and Julie McCabb -- sit on Charlottetown City Council.
- None of the four major political parties on PEI – Liberals, Progressive Conservatives, Green Party and New Democratic Party – have women leaders.
PEI Women in Government 2022
- 0% of MPs in PEI are women
- 26% of MLAs are women
- 0% of PEI Senators are women
- 50% of Lennox Island Band Council are women
- 25% of Abegweit Band Council members are women
(Source: www.peiwomeningovernment.ca)
PEI Women in Government 2023
- 47 women ran in the provincial election; 7 were elected
- There are no women MLAs elected for the Opposition Party, the Liberals.
- The City of Charlottetown has a female Deputy Mayor, Alanna Jankov, Ward 1. The only other female councillor is Julie McCabe, Ward 9
- The City of Summerside has 3 women councillors: Carrie Adams (Ward 8-Wilmot), Barb Gallant (Ward 5 Hillcrest-Platte River), Norma McColeman (Ward 6 Center East-Downtown)
- Jane MacAdam was appointed as a Senator in May 2023, currently the only woman senator representing PEI
- Karla Bernard was appointed as the Leader of the Third Party in July 2023, the first woman MLA to be Leader of a Third Party on PEI
(Provided with references from PEI Coalition for Women in Government)
