Florence Elsie Inman ( Macdonald; 5 December 1891 – 31 May 1986) was a long–serving member of the

Senate of Canada The Senate of Canada () is the upper house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Monarchy of Canada#Parliament (King-in-Parliament), Crown and the House of Commons of Canada, House of Commons, they compose the Bicameralism, bicameral le ...

. A

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * Generally, a supporter of the political philosophy liberalism. Liberals may be politically left or right but tend to be centrist. * An adherent of a Liberal Party (See also Liberal parties by country ...

, she was appointed to the Senate 28 July 1955 on the recommendation of Louis St-Laurent, and represented the

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of Murray Harbour,

Prince Edward Island Prince Edward Island is an island Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. While it is the smallest province by land area and population, it is the most densely populated. The island has several nicknames: "Garden of the Gulf", ...

until her death. She was the first female Senator from Prince Edward Island.

Early life

Florence Elise Inman was born in

West River, Prince Edward Island West River is a rural municipality in the Canadian province of Prince Edward Island within Queens County. History The Municipality of West River was originally incorporated in 1974. It incorporated as a rural municipality on January 1, 2018. ...

in Queen's County Her parents where Alexander Macdonald and his wife, Florence (née White). At an early age, she lived with her grandfather on his farm and later moved to the city of

Charlottetown Charlottetown is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Prince Edward Island, and the county seat of Queens County, Prince Edward Island, Queens County. Named after Queen Charlotte, Charlott ...

. In the later years, Inman owned an inn known as the Poole House Inn in Montague located in the eastern end of the island, populated at 1,200 people. She was also the Vice President of the Inn's Association, the only women to hold that position at the time. Inman was married at eighteen to

lawyer George Strong Inman. He had many political aspirations that inspired her to follow in his direction of politics and she was a great aid to him in his campaigns. The two were married from 1910 and had four sons and eight grandchildren. Her four sons consisted of: Commander William Robert (W.R.) Inman located in

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; Dr. George Strong Inman who practices medicine at Montague and on occasion, his children would help his mother at the Poole House Inn; Lt. Commander Wilfred Nelson (W.N.) Inman stationed at

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; and Major Roland Victor (R.V.) Inman, who is on the joint staff in

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. Elise was also interested Imperial Order Daughters of the Empire (IODE) and wanted to offer her aid in the

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. She is responsible for the Blood Donor Clinic set up in Summerside.

Politics

Inman was very inspired by her husband's political achievements. She was an advocate for women's rights to vote and urged women across Prince Edward Island to do so. She also went before the Island Government, accompanied by Mrs. Cecil Stewart, to ask that all women be given the opportunity to vote. After her husband's death in 1937, she remained active in her political work. When the

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was before the Senate, Inman was among 23 members of the

upper house An upper house is one of two Legislative chamber, chambers of a bicameralism, bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the lower house. The house formally designated as the upper house is usually smaller and often has more restricted p ...

to oppose the patriation of the

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Death

Inman died at Ottawa's

National Defence Medical Centre The National Defence Medical Centre (NDMC) was the national and largest hospital of the Canadian Forces in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It served the needs of the members of the military. Constructed in 1961, it was closed in the 1990s due to budget ...

on 31 May 1986 following a heart attack the previous month (29 April). At 95, she was the oldest serving senator at that time and continued to attend some Senate sessions until December 1985 despite having arthritis in her final years.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Inman, Florence Elsie 1891 births 1986 deaths Politicians from Kings County, Prince Edward Island Canadian Anglicans Canadian senators from Prince Edward Island Liberal Party of Canada senators Women members of the Senate of Canada Women in Prince Edward Island politics 20th-century Canadian women politicians 20th-century members of the Senate of Canada