The Media Club of Canada was a

professional organization A professional association (also called a professional body, professional organization, or professional society) is a group that usually seeks to advocacy, further a particular profession, the interests of individuals and organisations engaged in ...

Canadian Canadians () 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 their being ''C ...

journalists, active from 1904 to the early 1990s. It was originally known as the Canadian Women's Press Club (CWPC) before 1971, when it was only open to

women journalists A woman is an adult female human. Before adulthood, a female child or Adolescence, adolescent is referred to as a girl. Typically, women are of the female sex and inherit a pair of X chromosomes, one from each parent, and women with functi ...

. The organization was established after Margaret Graham convinced a railway publicity agent to transport 16 women journalists to the

Louisiana Purchase Exposition The Louisiana Purchase Exposition, informally known as the St. Louis World's Fair, was an World's fair, international exposition held in St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri, United States, from April 30 to December 1, 1904. Local, state, and federa ...

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Miss ...

, and the agent subsequently suggested they form their own press club. Early members of the group included

Kit Coleman Kathleen Blake "Kit" Coleman (born Catherine Ferguson, 20 February 1856 – 16 May 1915) was an Irish-Canadian newspaper columnist. Coleman was one of the earliest accredited female war correspondents, covering the Spanish–American War for ...

Nellie McClung Nellie Letitia McClung (; 20 October 18731 September 1951) was a Canadian author, politician, and social activist, who is regarded as one of Canada's most prominent suffragists. She began her career in writing with the 1908 book ''Sowing Seed ...

Emily Murphy Emily Murphy (born Emily Gowan Ferguson; 14 March 186826 October 1933) was a Canadian women's rights activist and author. In 1916, she became the first female magistrate in Canada and the fifth in the British Empire after Elizabeth Webb Nichol ...

, and Helen MacGill. The organization's activities included an annual awards presentation for the best work in journalism by its members. Non-fiction author

Erna Paris Erna Paris (6 May 1938 – 3 February 2022) was a Canadian non-fiction author. Biography Erna Paris was born Erna Newman in Toronto to an essentially secular Jewish family. She was the niece of classical pianist Beth Lipkin. After earning a Ba ...

produced a radio documentary on their work. The Media Club of Canada unincorporated in the early 2000s.

History as CWPC

In June 1904,

journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...

and

feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideology, ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social gender equality, equality of the sexes. Feminism holds the position that modern soci ...

Margaret "Miggsy" Graham, Ottawa correspondent of the ''

Halifax Herald ''The Chronicle Herald'' is a broadsheet newspaper published in Halifax, Nova Scotia, owned by Postmedia Network. History Early years Founded in 1874 as ''The Morning Herald'', the paper quickly became one of Halifax's main newspapers. The same ...

'', went to see Col. George Ham, publicity agent for the

Canadian Pacific Railway The Canadian Pacific Railway () , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadian Pacific Kansas City, Canadian Pacific Ka ...

, at Montréal’s

Windsor Station Windsor station or Windsor railway station may refer to: Australia * Windsor railway station, Brisbane * Windsor railway station, Sydney * Windsor railway station, Melbourne Canada * Windsor Station (Montreal) * Windsor station (Nova Scotia) * Wi ...

. Graham reportedly asked him directly, "Can you tell my why your road has taken men to all the excursions and Fairs and other things and has ignobly ignored us, the weaker sex?" Ham promised that if Graham could find 12 professional women journalists, he would send them to the

.James, Donna, and Moira Dann. 2006 February.
Canadian Women's Press Club
" ''The Canadian Encyclopedia''. Historica Canada. Last Edited March 1, 2016. Retrieved 2023-07-08. Graham found 16 qualified women (half anglophone, half francophone) and they traveled in style daily to St. Louis by private railway car, with stops in

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

and

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

so they could file stories about their visits. On their return to

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

ten days later, the women discussed their professional exclusion from male journalists' gatherings and press clubs. Col. Ham, who traveled with them and was smoking his pipe nearby, quietly suggested they form their own

press club A press club is an organization for journalists and others who are professionally engaged in the production and dissemination of news. A press club whose membership is defined by the press of a given country may be known as a National Press Club ...

, which they promptly did as presswomen were barred from joining the all-male Canadian Press Club.Muir, Shirley, and Penni Mitchell. 2012.
Winnipeg Women Journalists Have Always Led the Way
" ''Manitoba History'' 70(1):47–48.

, a popular columnist and foreign correspondent for the ''

Toronto Globe ''The Globe'' was a Canadian newspaper in Toronto, Ontario, founded in 1844 by George Brown as a Reform voice. It merged with ''The Mail and Empire'' in 1936 to form ''The Globe and Mail''. History ''The Globe'' is pre-dated by a title of the s ...

'' who had covered the war in Cuba, was chosen as the first president. The CWPC held its first convention in 1906 in

Winnipeg, Manitoba Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...

. Col. Ham was made an honorary member. Until 1971, he was the only male member of CWPC. When Ham died in 1926 after 35 years as publicity agent for CPR, CWPC dedicated a

plaque Plaque may refer to: Commemorations or awards * Commemorative plaque, a plate, usually fixed to a wall or other vertical surface, meant to mark an event, person, etc. * Memorial Plaque (medallion), issued to next-of-kin of dead British military p ...

in his honour on the wall of Montreal's

. The early Winnipeg journalists, who would become core members of the CWPC, founded their Winnipeg Branch in 1907. Its members included: Cora Hind, agriculture editor of the ''

Manitoba Free Press The ''Free Press'' (or FP; founded as the ''Manitoba Free Press''; previously known as the ''Winnipeg Free Press'') is a daily (excluding Sunday) broadsheet newspaper in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. It provides coverage of local, provincial, natio ...

'', who was known internationally for her accurate prediction of prairie wheat

crop yield In agriculture, the yield is a measurement of the amount of a crop grown, or product such as wool, meat or milk produced, per unit area of land. The seed ratio is another way of calculating yields. Innovations, such as the use of fertilizer, the ...

s; writer sisters

Francis Francis may refer to: People and characters *Pope Francis, head of the Catholic Church (2013–2025) *Francis (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Francis (surname) * Francis, a character played by YouTuber Boogie2 ...

and Lillian Beynon, who would later become central figures in

Wendy Lill Wendy Lill (born November 2, 1950) is a Canadian playwright, screenwriter and radio dramatist who served as an NDP Member of Parliament from 1997 to 2004. Her stage plays have been performed extensively in theatres across Canada as well as inte ...

’s 1980s play ''Fighting Days''; Kate Simpson Hayes, women’s editor at the ''Manitoba Free Press''; and

, who would help lead the charge for the vote for women in Manitoba in 1916. CWPC grew rapidly and over the years notable members, in addition to the above, included

Lucy Maud Montgomery Lucy Maud Montgomery (November 30, 1874 – April 24, 1942), published as L. M. Montgomery, was a Canadian author best known for a collection of novels, essays, short stories, and poetry beginning in 1908 with '' Anne of Green Gables''. Sh ...

Emmeline Pankhurst Emmeline Pankhurst (; Goulden; 15 July 1858 – 14 June 1928) was a British political activist who organised the British suffragette movement and helped women to win in 1918 the women's suffrage, right to vote in United Kingdom of Great Brita ...

Byrne Hope Sanders Minnie O'Byrne Hope Sanders (22 May 1902 – 24 June 1981) was a South African-born Canadian journalist. She was the editor of ''Chatelaine'' magazine from 1926 to 1952. Early life Sanders was born in Port Alfred, South Africa, on 22 May 1902. ...

, Marshall Saunders, Miriam Green Ellis,

Doris Anderson Doris Hilda Anderson, (November 10, 1921 – March 2, 2007) was a Canadian author, journalist and women's rights activist. She is best known as the editor of the women's magazine ''Chatelaine'', mixing traditional content (recipes, décor) w ...

, and

Charlotte Whitton Charlotte Elizabeth Whitton (March 8, 1896 – January 25, 1975) was a Canadian feminist and mayor of Ottawa. She was the first woman mayor of a major city in Canada, serving from 1951 to 1956 and again from 1960 to 1964. Whitton was a Canadi ...

. By its Golden Jubilee in 1954, the club had over 500 members with branches from Victoria to Halifax.

Renaming in 1971

In 1971, at a general meeting in Toronto, it was decided to change the club's name to Media Club of Canada, which made the name readily translatable into

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

, and opened the doors to male members. The club celebrated its 90th birthday in Halifax in 1994. The need for networking among young women journalists was no longer as great, however, and the club declined until it was finally unincorporated during their Centennial celebrations in 2004. The Ottawa Media Club continues with a small membership.

Notable members

Founding members

Kathleen Blake Coleman Kathleen Blake "Kit" Coleman (born Catherine Ferguson, 20 February 1856 – 16 May 1915) was an Irish-Canadian newspaper columnist. Coleman was one of the earliest accredited female war correspondents, covering the Spanish–American War for ...

of the ''

Mail and Empire ''The Mail and Empire'' was a Canadian newspaper formed from the 1895 merger of ''The Toronto Mail'' (owned by Charles Alfred Riordan and managed by Christopher William Bunting) and ''Toronto Empire'', both conservative newspapers based in Toron ...

'', Toronto * "Francoise" Barry of ''La Journal de Francoise'', Montreal * Kate Simpson Hayes, 'Mary Markwell" of the ''

'', Winnipeg * Mary Adelaide Dawson of the ''Telegram'', Toronto * Irene Currie Love, of the ''

Advertiser Advertising is the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a product or service. Advertising aims to present a product or service in terms of utility, advantages, and qualities of interest to consumers. It is typically used ...

'', London, Ontario * Katherine Hughes, of the ''

Bulletin Bulletin or The Bulletin may refer to: Periodicals (newspapers, magazines, journals) * ''Bulletin'' (online newspaper), a Swedish online newspaper * ''The Bulletin'' (Australian periodical), an Australian magazine (1880–2008) ** Bulletin De ...

'', Edmonton * Alice Asselin of ''La Nationalist'', Montreal * Margaret Graham of the ''Press'', Ottawa * A. Madeleine Gleason of '' La Patrie'', Montreal * Marie Beaupre of ''La Press'', Montreal * Grace E. Dension of ''Saturday Night'' * "Peggy" Balmer Watt of the ''Sentinel Review'', Woodstock * A. (Amintha) Plouffe of ''Le Journal'', Montreal

Other members

* Francis Beynon, editor of women’s pages of '' The Grain Growers’ Guide'' * Lillian Beynon * Cora Hind, agriculture editor of the ''

'' *

Lily Laverock Lily Laverock (14 June 1880 – 1969) was a Scottish journalist, impresario and suffragist. She emigrated to Canada when she was ten years old. Biography Laverock was born in 1880 in Edinburgh, Scotland. She emigrated to Canada in the 1890s. ...

, secretary and treasurer of the first Vancouver branch *

* Marshall Saunders * Miriam Green Ellis *

References

Sources

* Muir, Shirley, and Penni Mitchell. 2012.
Winnipeg Women Journalists Have Always Led the Way
" ''Manitoba History'' 70(1):47–48. * Lang, Marjory. 1999. ''Women Who Made the News: Female Journalists in Canada, 1880-1945''. McGill-Queen's Press. ISBN 0773567747. * Rowland, Robin. 1978 May. "Kit Watkins: the journalist who opened the way for Canadian newspaper women." ''Content'' (May 1978):13–20. * Rex, Kay. 1995. ''No daughter of Mine: The Women and History of CWPC 1904–1971''. University of Toronto Press. * Turcotte, Dorothy. 1979 May. "Kit Coleman – a gusty female – pioneer journalist." ''Early Canadian Life''. * —— 1979 May. "Media Club celebrates 75 years of news women." ''Early Canadian Life''. * ''Newspacket'', publication of Canadian Women's Press Club, Golden Jubilee Issue, 1954

External links

Media Club of Canada
1904 establishments in Canada Canadian journalism organizations Defunct organizations based in Canada Press clubs Women's organizations based in Canada {{Canada-org-stub