Nancy Hodges (October 28, 1888 – December 15, 1969) was a

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 ...

journalist and politician. Over her career, she served as a Member of the

Legislative Assembly of British Columbia The Legislative Assembly of British Columbia () is the deliberative assembly of the Legislature of British Columbia, in the province of British Columbia, Canada. The other component of the Legislature is the lieutenant governor of British Columbi ...

, as the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, and as a member of the

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. She was the first woman in the

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to become Speaker, and was known as a powerful women's rights activist in the Commonwealth.

Personal life

Born in

London, England London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, Nancy Hodges attended King's College at the

London University The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degr ...

. She and her husband, Harry P. Hodges, moved to

Victoria, British Columbia Victoria is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of British Columbia, on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific Ocean, Pacific coast. The city has a population of 91,867, and the Gre ...

, in 1916 due to him needing a dry climate for recovery for his

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

. She then found a job as the women's editor for the ''Victoria Day Times'', where she had a daily column. Through 30 years of being an esteemed journalist, she produced over 2,550 columns. Along with her passion for the paper, she was involved in the Victoria Business and Professional Women's Club, where she became a

charter member A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified. It is implicit that the granter retains superiority (or sovereignty), and that the reci ...

, and later

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. An unsuccessful candidate in the 1937 provincial election, she ran again in 1941 and succeeded, staying in office until 1953.

Political life

Hodges first ran for office in the 1937 election in the multi-member riding of Victoria City, as a member of the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

. She was the first woman to run as a Liberal. She campaigned on increasing the quality of social conditions, resulting in better old-age pensions. Other ideas included bettering medical services and insurance, protection of single women, and compensation benefits for the

working class The working class is a subset of employees who are compensated with wage or salary-based contracts, whose exact membership varies from definition to definition. Members of the working class rely primarily upon earnings from wage labour. Most c ...

. She came in seventh place and failed to be elected. She ran again in the 1941 election and was elected to the legislature. When the 1941 election produced only a plurality of seats for the governing Liberals, Hodges was one of the MLAs who supported forming a

coalition A coalition is formed when two or more people or groups temporarily work together to achieve a common goal. The term is most frequently used to denote a formation of power in political, military, or economic spaces. Formation According to ''A G ...

with the

Conservatives Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilizati ...

; when Liberal premier and leader Duff Pattullo argued that "coalition with the Conservatives will be the end of the Liberal Party in British Columbia.", Hodges responded "Coalition won't kill any party that hasn't germs of decay in it already." The coalitionists ultimately won out, and Pattullo was replaced as premier by John Hart. Hodges took interest in the Victoria Business and Professional Women's Club, where her slogan was born: "Equal pay for equal work!" She had a strong belief that more women should be entering into politics to make a positive change. Hodges' principles occasionally led her to work across party lines with the other women in the legislature ( Tilly Rolston, Conservative;

Dorothy Steeves Dorothy Gretchen Steeves (née Biersteker; May 26, 1891 – May 9, 1978) was a Dutch-born political figure in British Columbia. She represented North Vancouver in the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia from 1934 to 1945 as a Co-operative ...

, Laura Jamieson, Grace MacInnis, CCF) to promote women's issues; in one instance, Hodges and the other women convinced the government to buy seven Emily Carr paintings before she was nationally renowned, making the purchase a bargain upon Carr's recognition. Hodges was re-elected in

1945 1945 marked the end of World War II, the fall of Nazi Germany, and the Empire of Japan. It is also the year concentration camps were liberated and the only year in which atomic weapons have been used in combat. Events World War II will be ...

and

1949 Events January * January 1 – A United Nations-sponsored ceasefire brings an end to the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947. The war results in a stalemate and the division of Kashmir, which still continues as of 2025 * January 2 – Luis ...

. She attended a public meeting conference for the

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in 1945 for International Peace in

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. In this meeting, the

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was first signed. In 1947, she attacked the Coalition government for laying off single women to provide jobs for returning veterans, and threatened to campaign for pensions for women at 40 if the practice continued. The firing of women stopped. During this time, Hodges advocated for women to be eligible for worker's compensation benefits, and for married women to receive property rights. When John Hart stepped down in 1947, Hodges supported Boss Johnson as his successor, nominating him in a passionate speech at the convention; Johnson won by eight votes. Following his victory, there was speculation among the press that Hodges would receive a cabinet post as a reward, but Hodges quashed rumours, and said she would not accept a cabinet post. In 1950, she was elected as

Speaker of the Legislative Assembly Speaker of the Legislative Assembly is a title commonly held by presiding officers of parliamentary bodies styled legislative assemblies. The office is most widely used in state and territorial legislatures in Australia, and in provincial and terr ...

, becoming the first woman in the

to hold that office. During her time as Speaker, Hodges toured

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, including visits to The Californian Business and Professional Women's Club, The Canadian Federation of Liberal Women, and The Women's Canadian Club in Ottawa. In July 1950, Hodges was invited to The Halifax Convention of the Federation of Canadian Business and Professional Women's Clubs where she was named Canadian Woman of 1950. Hodges was defeated in the 1953 election by the

Social Credit Social credit is a distributive philosophy of political economy developed in the 1920s and 1930s by C. H. Douglas. Douglas attributed economic downturns to discrepancies between the cost of goods and the compensation of the workers who made t ...

candidate, Lydia Arsens. Shortly after, in 1953, she was appointed to the

representing the senatorial division of

, and served until her resignation in 1965. Increase in salary for underpaid government workers, teachers, and mothers were among the causes she took up as a senator. She later became the President of the National Association of Liberal Women. During her time as a senator, Hodges was a member of numerous committees, including the Standing Committee on Immigration and Labour, the Standing Committee on Internal Economy and Contingent Accounts, and the Standing Committee on Divorce. Along with being a member of Senate committees, she was also a member of various Joint Committees including those of Restaurant and Parliament, and Capital and Corporal Punishment and Lotteries.

References

External links

*
''Canadian Parliamentary Review'' article
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hodges, Nancy 1888 births 1969 deaths Speakers of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia Canadian senators from British Columbia Liberal Party of Canada senators Women members of the Senate of Canada British Columbia Conservative Party MLAs Women MLAs in British Columbia 20th-century Canadian women politicians Women legislative speakers British emigrants to Canada 20th-century members of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia 20th-century members of the Senate of Canada