1. Louise McKinney was a Canadian politician, temperance advocate, and women's rights activist.
19 Facts About Louise McKinney
1. 2.
Louise McKinney was the first woman elected into the Legislative Assembly of Alberta and the first woman to serve in a legislature in the British Empire.
3.
Louise McKinney served in the Alberta legislature from 1917 to 1921 as a member of the Non-Partisan League.
4.
Louise McKinney supported stricter immigration laws and the creation of institutions for "feeble-minded" people.
5.
Louise McKinney's father had emigrated from Ireland to settle in Upper Canada in 1842, later bringing his wife in 1857.
6.
Louise McKinney graduated from Athens High School intending to become a physician but faced difficulty entering medical school due to her gender.
7.
Louise McKinney taught for four years in Ontario before moving to North Dakota, where she taught for three more years.
8.
Louise McKinney was elected as the North Dakota WCTU's District President in 1898 and represented her area at the National Convention the following year.
9.
Louise McKinney served as president of the Alberta WCTU for 22 years, from 1908 to 1930.
10.
Louise McKinney ran for a seat in the Alberta Legislature for the electoral district of Claresholm in the 1917 general election, the first election in which women were allowed to vote.
11.
Louise McKinney defeated Liberal incumbent William Moffat as a candidate for the Non-Partisan League.
12.
Louise McKinney ran for a second term in the 1921 Alberta general election as a United Farmers candidate.
13.
Louise McKinney was defeated by independent candidate Thomas Milnes by a margin of 46 votes.
14.
Louise McKinney remained active in the social and political sphere, especially with the WCTU.
15.
Louise McKinney was one of four women, and the only woman from Western Canada, who signed the Basis of Union for the United Church of Canada in 1925.
16.
Louise McKinney was one of the Famous Five, along with Irene Parlby, Henrietta Muir Edwards, Emily Murphy and Nellie McClung, a group of five women who fought for the right to be considered "persons" and be eligible to serve in the Senate of Canada.
17.
Louise McKinney fell ill during the WCTU World Convention in June 1931, and her sickness became worse after her return to Claresholm.
18.
Louise McKinney died after returning home the following month, less than two years after her victory in the Persons Case.
19.
Louise McKinney's death came as a shock to the WCTU, and tributes came from across the country and the world.