Marion Sybil Bennett (February 7, 1904 – November 12, 1956) was a
Canadian
Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...
politician. She represented the
electoral district of
Halton in the
House of Commons of Canada from 1953 until her death.
Biography
Bennett's parents were from one of the oldest families to have settled in
Halton County
Halton County is a former county in the Canadian province of Ontario, with an area of . It is also one of the oldest counties in Canada.
History
Halton County is named after Major William Mathew Halton (1746-1823), a British Army officer, who w ...
, being of
United Empire Loyalist
United Empire Loyalists (or simply Loyalists) is an honorific title which was first given by the 1st Lord Dorchester, the Governor of Quebec, and Governor General of The Canadas, to American Loyalists who resettled in British North America du ...
origin from
.
She was also a
second cousin
Most generally, in the lineal kinship system used in the English-speaking world, a cousin is a type of familial relationship in which two relatives are two or more familial generations away from their most recent common ancestor. Commonly, " ...
to
R.B. Bennett.
She obtained degrees from the
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institu ...
and
Osgoode Hall
Osgoode Hall is a landmark building in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The original -storey building was started in 1829 and finished in 1832 from a design by John Ewart and William Warren Baldwin. The structure is named for William Osgood ...
, where she took active part in political debates.
Bennett was
called to the bar in 1930,
and, in 1945, became the fourth woman in the
British Commonwealth
The Commonwealth of Nations, simply referred to as the Commonwealth, is a political association of 56 member states, the vast majority of which are former territories of the British Empire. The chief institutions of the organisation are the C ...
to be named as a
King's Counsel
In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel (post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of a queen, is a lawyer (usually a barrister or ...
. She was one of the first women in Canada to enter private practice in law, setting up in partnership in
Brampton
Brampton ( or ) is a city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Brampton is a city in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) and is a lower-tier municipality within Peel Region. The city has a population of 656,480 as of the 2021 Census, making it the ...
and later opening a law office in
Georgetown.
She had the reputation of being a gifted
orator
An orator, or oratist, is a public speaker, especially one who is eloquent or skilled.
Etymology
Recorded in English c. 1374, with a meaning of "one who pleads or argues for a cause", from Anglo-French ''oratour'', Old French ''orateur'' (14th ...
.
A member of the
Progressive Conservative Party, Bennett first ran for election in the
1949 election, but was defeated by Liberal incumbent
Hughes Cleaver
Ellis Hughes Cleaver Jr. (12 September 1892 – 31 October 1980) was a Liberal party member of the House of Commons of Canada. He was born in Burlington, Ontario and became a lawyer by career.
Biography
He was called to the bar in 1914 and ...
. Cleaver did not run again in
1953, and Bennett won the riding over new Liberal candidate Murray McPhail. On becoming an MP, she sat in the same seat in the chamber that her cousin once had.
Along with
Margaret Aitken
Margaret Aitken (July 3, 1908 – November 19, 1980) was a Canadian author, columnist, journalist, and politician.
Background
Aitken was born in Newcastle, New Brunswick. She attended Branksome Hall in Toronto. She was the daughter of J. Mauns ...
,
Ellen Fairclough
Ellen Louks Fairclough (née Cook; January 28, 1905 – November 13, 2004) was a Canadian politician. A member of the House of Commons of Canada from 1950 to 1963, she was the first woman ever to serve in the Canadian Cabinet.
Early life and ...
and
Ann Shipley
Marie Ann Shipley (April 8, 1899 – March 22, 1981) was a Canadian politician.
Born in Lawrence Station in Southwold, Ontario, she moved to Ottawa when she was 12, attended country school, Osgood Public School. She was then educated at Otta ...
, she was one of four women elected to the House of Commons in 1953, only the second election in Canadian history in which more than one woman was elected to Parliament.
Bennett died at her home on November 12, 1956, being the first female MP in Canada ever to do so in office. She died just four days after her law partner LeRoy Dale, with whom she had been in partnership since 1936.
No
by-election
A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election ( Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election use ...
was held following her death; she was succeeded by
Charles Alexander Best
Charles Alexander Best (July 7, 1931 in Toronto, Ontario – March 25, 1978) was a Canadian politician, farmer, nurseryman and scientist. He was elected to the House of Commons of Canada in the 1957 election as a Member of the Progressive Co ...
in the
1957 election.
Electoral record
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bennett, Sybil
1904 births
1956 deaths
Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Ontario
Progressive Conservative Party of Canada MPs
People from the Regional Municipality of Halton
Women members of the House of Commons of Canada
Women in Ontario politics
20th-century Canadian women politicians