OTTAWA, TODAY – Mr. Stéphane Ouellette, President and CEO, Merchant Navy Commemorative Theme Project (MNCTP), joined the Government of Prince Edward Island (PEI) in celebrating the Island’s Women’s Suffrage centennial.

On May 3, 1922, after many years of perseverance, some women won rights to vote and to hold provincial office in PEI. Unfortunately, these new voting rights did not include all women. First Nations women, for example, could not vote in provincial elections until the 1960’s.

Throughout time immemorial, countless of women have played an essential role in shaping our world and advancing Canadian society. Indubitably, the First and Second World Wars brought enormous changes to women’s lives as Canada was being propelled towards national self–awareness, unity, and ultimate sovereignty. Women were critical to the Canadian war effort and to the success of Canada's Victory Campaign.

On September 20, 1917, Parliament passed the Wartime Elections Act. Women that were British subjects and who were wives, mothers, and sisters of soldiers serving in First World War, were permitted to vote on behalf of their male relatives. Women (mainly nurses) serving in the military could also vote. In December of that same year, over 500,000 women voted for the first time in a federal election, when Prime Minister Robert Borden extended the right to vote to Canadian women 21 years of age and older.