20 Facts About Irene Parlby

Mary Irene Parlby was a Canadian women's farm leader, activist and politician.

Irene Parlby served as MLA in the United Farmers of Alberta government from 1921 to 1935, serving as Minister without portfolio in the Cabinet of Alberta during that time.

Irene Parlby worked to implement social reforms that helped farm women and children and was an advocate of public health programs.

Irene Parlby lived in India for six years, from 1868 until 1871 and from 1881 to 1884, due to her father's job in the Royal Engineers.

Irene Parlby's family was in the upper middle class, and the children were taught by governesses instead of attending school.

Irene Parlby was interested in writing and acting, creating plays for family and friends.

Irene Parlby received a good education, studying music and elocution, and was interested in theatre, though such a career was considered inappropriate for a woman of her social status.

In 1884, when Irene Parlby was 16, her father retired from his work in India and returned with his family to England, where they rented a farm in Limpsfield, Surrey.

Irene Parlby enjoyed her social life, but felt that her life was aimless; she later described this as "killing time as pleasantly as possible".

In 1896, Alix Westhead, a family friend from their time in India, invited Irene Parlby to stay with her in the Northwest Territories.

Irene Parlby called the campaign "nasty", due to the harassment she received for being female.

Herbert Greenfield was chosen to be the Premier, and Irene Parlby was selected to be the Minister without Portfolio in the Cabinet, making her the second woman in the British Empire to hold a ministerial position, after Mary Ellen Smith of British Columbia.

Irene Parlby supported immigration, and in a time when nativism was on the rise, felt that people of all ethnic origins should embrace their heritage and value and preserve their culture.

Irene Parlby introduced and sponsored a large number of bills, including the Minimum Wage for Women Act, which made Alberta the first province to pass a minimum wage for women.

Irene Parlby attempted to pass the Community of Property Act, which would have allowed women to own all property they brought into a marriage, along with gifts and inheritance, but this was not passed as it was seen as too radical.

Irene Parlby expressed sympathy for the mothers of mentally ill children and stated that the "great and only solution to the problem" was the sterilization of feeble-minded persons.

Irene Parlby was one of the Famous Five, a group of five women including Henrietta Muir Edwards, Nellie McClung, Louise McKinney, and Emily Murphy, who petitioned the federal government for the right of women to serve as senators.

Irene Parlby died on 12 July 1965 at a nursing home in Red Deer, Alberta.

Irene Parlby was the last surviving member of the Famous Five.

In May 1966, Irene Parlby was recognized as a Person of National Historic Significance by the government of Canada.