Cairine Reay Mackay Wilson (February 4, 1885 – March 3, 1962) was

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

's first woman to become senator. She served as a Senator for Quebec from 1930 until her death.

Personal life

Cairine Reay Mackay was born in Montreal on February 4, 1885. She was born into a family of Scottish-Canadians that were very wealthy and influential. She was a student at

Trafalgar School for Girls Trafalgar School for Girls (abbreviated as Traf) is an all-girls independent school located in Downtown Montreal, Quebec. The school serves students at Secondary I – V levels, i.e. ages 11–12 to 16–17. The total enrollment is 200, the studen ...

. Cairine was the daughter of Jane and Hon Mackay. Robert Mackay, a

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

Senator and personal friend of Sir

Wilfrid Laurier Sir Henri Charles Wilfrid Laurier, ( ; ; November 20, 1841 – February 17, 1919) was a Canadian lawyer, statesman, and politician who served as the seventh prime minister of Canada from 1896 to 1911. The first French Canadian prime minis ...

. Cairine Wilson was introduced to her future husband by Laurier's wife, Zoe, at a 1905 state ball. In 1909, she married Norman Wilson, the Liberal

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...

for Russell, who died on July 14, 1956 due to having failing health for some time. Before his death, however, they moved to

Cumberland, Ontario Cumberland is a former municipality and now geographic township in eastern Ontario, Canada. It was an incorporated township from 1800 to 1999, when it was incorporated as the City of Cumberland, then ceased to be a separate municipality in 2001 ...

and raised eight children together.

Career

In 1918, Wilson and her family moved to Ottawa, where Cairine performed extensive volunteer work. This includes working with underprivileged children, refugees and the poor, as well as running political organizations that influence women and children to get involved in politics. She helped found the Twentieth Century Liberal Association and the National Federation of Liberal Women of Canada, of which she was President from 1938 to 1948. WLMK unveiling plaque to Valiant Five

Wilson was appointed the first female senator of the country at the age of 45 in February 1930 by the government of

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...

William Lyon Mackenzie King William Lyon Mackenzie King (December 17, 1874 – July 22, 1950) was a Canadian statesman and politician who served as the tenth prime minister of Canada for three non-consecutive terms from 1921 to 1926, 1926 to 1930, and 1935 to 1948. A L ...

; this was just four months after the Persons Case judgment was handed down by the

Judicial Committee of the Privy Council The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (JCPC) is the highest court of appeal for the Crown Dependencies, the British Overseas Territories, some Commonwealth countries and a few institutions in the United Kingdom. Established on 14 Aug ...

. Previously, women had not been allowed to serve in the Senate, as tradition and lower courts had not considered women to be "qualified persons" as written in the BNA Act, and were prohibited from being called to the Senate. As president of the League of Nations Society of Canada in 1938, Senator Wilson spoke out against the

Munich Agreement The Munich Agreement ( cs, Mnichovská dohoda; sk, Mníchovská dohoda; german: Münchner Abkommen) was an agreement concluded at Munich on 30 September 1938, by Germany, the United Kingdom, France, and Italy. It provided "cession to Germany ...

's appeasement of Hitler. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

, the government of William Lyon Mackenzie King was resistant to permitting Jewish refugees from Germany to settle in Canada, but she arranged the acceptance of 100 orphans. In 1949, at the request of King's successor Louis St. Laurent, Wilson became Canada's first female delegate to the

United Nations General Assembly The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA or GA; french: link=no, Assemblée générale, AG) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), serving as the main deliberative, policymaking, and representative organ of the UN. Curr ...

. She was the chairman of the Canadian National Committee on Refugees and the first woman to chair Senate Standing Committee (Immigration and Labour). She was given the Cross of the Knight of the Legion of Honor by France in 1950 for her work with child refugees. Wilson again made

parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

ary history in 1955 when she became the first woman Deputy

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of the Canadian Senate.

Achievements

Wilson was recognized for her continuous dedication to advocacy-related work. She served as the Chairman of the Canadian-American Women’s Committee, President of the Princess Alice Foundation for the Training of Youth Leaders, Vice-President of the Victorian Order of Nurses, Honorary President of the Ottawa Young Women’s Christian Association and the Save the Children Fund. In 1930, Wilson established the National Organization of Young Liberals, with the support of her friends and family. Wilson would send groups of youth across Canada on a periodical basis, in hopes of providing them with a better understanding of politics.

Death

Cairine Wilson died suddenly of a heart attack at the age of 77 years on Saturday, March 3, 1962. She spent three weeks at the Civic hospital in Ottawa with complications that were emerging from her hip fractures that she suffered from a year before her death. Wilson's funeral services took place on a Tuesday at the St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church in Ottawa. A secondary school in Orleans, Ontario is named after Wilson.

References

External links