Ellen Fairclough
Encyclopedia
Ellen Louks Fairclough, (January 28, 1905 – November 13, 2004) was the first female member of the Canadian Cabinet.
Born in Hamilton, Ontario
, Fairclough was a chartered accountant
by training, and ran an accounting firm prior to entering politics. She was a member of Hamilton City Council
from 1945 to 1950.
in a 1950 by-election
after being defeated in the 1949 federal election
. She then represented Hamilton West for the Progressive Conservatives
until she lost her seat in the 1963 election
. As a Member of Parliament
, she advocated women's rights
including equal pay for equal work
.
When the PC Party took power as a result of the 1957 federal election
, new Prime Minister
, John Diefenbaker, appointed her to the position of Secretary of State for Canada
. In 1958, she became Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, and from 1962 until her defeat in 1963, she was Postmaster General
. As Immigration Minister in 1962, Fairclough introduced new regulations that mostly eliminated racial discrimination in immigration policy. She also introduced a more liberal policy on refugees, and increased the number of immigrants allowed into Canada. However, she was said to be fiercely opposed to hiring homosexuals to important positions. Her firing of Alan Jarvis as director of the National Gallery was fictionalized in the novel What's Bred in the Bone
by Robertson Davies
.
Fairclough was also the first female Acting Prime Minister
of Canada from February 19 to February 20, 1958. In 1993, she formally nominated Kim Campbell
for the Progressive Conservative Party leadership
, after which Campbell became Canada's first woman prime minister.
In 1979, she was made an Officer of the Order of Canada
, and was promoted to Companion in 1994. In the fall of 1996, she received the Order of Ontario
, the highest honor awarded by the province.
Fairclough was active in the Consumers Association of Canada, the Girl Guides, the I.O.D.E., the United Empire Loyalist Association, and the Zonta Club of Hamilton and Zonta International, before, during and after her stay in office. In 1982, a government office tower on the corner of McNab and King Street in Hamilton was officially named the Ellen Fairclough Building
.
She was granted the rare honour of having the title Right Honourable bestowed upon her in 1992 by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II
, one of very few Canadians
to have the title who had not been Prime Minister of Canada
, Governor General, or Chief Justice of Canada
. This was done, in part, because she had been Acting Prime Minister from February 19–20, 1958, the first woman to do so. In 1995, she published her memoirs, Saturday's Child: Memoirs of Canada's First Female Cabinet Minister.
She died in a Hamilton, Ontario
nursing home
on Saturday, November 13, 2004. Her husband Gordon and son Howard both predeceased her.
On June 21, 2005, Canada Post
issued a postage stamp in honour of Fairclough and other notable Canadian women.
Born in Hamilton, Ontario
Hamilton, Ontario
Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Conceived by George Hamilton when he purchased the Durand farm shortly after the War of 1812, Hamilton has become the centre of a densely populated and industrialized region at the west end of Lake Ontario known as the Golden Horseshoe...
, Fairclough was a chartered accountant
Chartered Accountant
Chartered Accountants were the first accountants to form a professional body, initially established in Britain in 1854. The Edinburgh Society of Accountants , the Glasgow Institute of Accountants and Actuaries and the Aberdeen Society of Accountants were each granted a royal charter almost from...
by training, and ran an accounting firm prior to entering politics. She was a member of Hamilton City Council
Hamilton City Council
The Hamilton City Council is the governing body of the City of Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.The current council consists of the mayor plus fifteen councillors, one elected from each of the city's wards. The incumbent council was elected in a municipal election on November 13, 2006...
from 1945 to 1950.
Political career
She was first elected to the Canadian House of CommonsCanadian House of Commons
The House of Commons of Canada is a component of the Parliament of Canada, along with the Sovereign and the Senate. The House of Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 308 members known as Members of Parliament...
in a 1950 by-election
By-election
A by-election is an election held to fill a political office that has become vacant between regularly scheduled elections....
after being defeated in the 1949 federal election
Canadian federal election, 1949
The Canadian federal election of 1949 was held on June 27 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 21st Parliament of Canada. It was the first election in Canada in almost thirty years in which the Liberal Party of Canada was not led by William Lyon Mackenzie King. King had...
. She then represented Hamilton West for the Progressive Conservatives
Progressive Conservative Party of Canada
The Progressive Conservative Party of Canada was a Canadian political party with a centre-right stance on economic issues and, after the 1970s, a centrist stance on social issues....
until she lost her seat in the 1963 election
Canadian federal election, 1963
The Canadian federal election of 1963 was held on April 8 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 26th Parliament of Canada. It resulted in the defeat of the minority Progressive Conservative government of Prime Minister John Diefenbaker.-Overview:During the Tories' last year in...
. As a Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
, she advocated women's rights
Women's rights
Women's rights are entitlements and freedoms claimed for women and girls of all ages in many societies.In some places these rights are institutionalized or supported by law, local custom, and behaviour, whereas in others they may be ignored or suppressed...
including equal pay for equal work
Equal pay for equal work
Equal pay for equal work is the concept that individuals doing the same work should receive the same remuneration. In America, for example, the law states that "employers may not pay unequal wages to men and women who perform jobs that require substantially equal skill, effort and responsibility,...
.
When the PC Party took power as a result of the 1957 federal election
Canadian federal election, 1957
The Canadian federal election of 1957 was held June 10, 1957, to select the 265 members of the House of Commons of Canada. In one of the great upsets in Canadian political history, the Progressive Conservative Party , led by John Diefenbaker, brought an end to 22 years of Liberal rule, as the...
, new Prime Minister
Prime minister
A prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. In many systems, the prime minister selects and may dismiss other members of the cabinet, and allocates posts to members within the government. In most systems, the prime...
, John Diefenbaker, appointed her to the position of Secretary of State for Canada
Secretary of State for Canada
The position of Secretary of State for Canada was a Canadian Cabinet position with a corresponding department. It was established in 1867 as the official channel of communication between the Dominion of Canada and the Imperial government in London...
. In 1958, she became Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, and from 1962 until her defeat in 1963, she was Postmaster General
Postmaster General of Canada
The Postmaster General of Canada was the Canadian cabinet minister responsible for the Post Office Department . In 1851, management of the post office was transferred from Britain to the provincial governments of the Province of Canada, New Brunswick, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward...
. As Immigration Minister in 1962, Fairclough introduced new regulations that mostly eliminated racial discrimination in immigration policy. She also introduced a more liberal policy on refugees, and increased the number of immigrants allowed into Canada. However, she was said to be fiercely opposed to hiring homosexuals to important positions. Her firing of Alan Jarvis as director of the National Gallery was fictionalized in the novel What's Bred in the Bone
What's Bred in the Bone
What's Bred in the Bone is the second novel in the Canadian writer Robertson Davies' Cornish Trilogy. It is the life story of Francis or Frank Cornish, whose death and will were the starting point for the first novel, The Rebel Angels....
by Robertson Davies
Robertson Davies
William Robertson Davies, CC, OOnt, FRSC, FRSL was a Canadian novelist, playwright, critic, journalist, and professor. He was one of Canada's best-known and most popular authors, and one of its most distinguished "men of letters", a term Davies is variously said to have gladly accepted for himself...
.
Fairclough was also the first female Acting Prime Minister
Acting Prime Minister
An acting Prime Minister is a Cabinet member who is serving the role of prime minister, whilst the individual who normally holds the position in unable or unwilling to do so. The role of Acting Prime Minister is often performed by the Deputy Prime Minister...
of Canada from February 19 to February 20, 1958. In 1993, she formally nominated Kim Campbell
Kim Campbell
Avril Phædra Douglas "Kim" Campbell, is a Canadian politician, lawyer, university professor, diplomat, and writer. She served as the 19th Prime Minister of Canada, serving from June 25, 1993, to November 4, 1993...
for the Progressive Conservative Party leadership
Progressive Conservative leadership conventions
The first Progressive Conservative Party of Canada leadership election was held in 1927, when the party was called the Conservative Party. Prior to then the party's leader was chosen by caucus....
, after which Campbell became Canada's first woman prime minister.
Life after politics
Fairclough was defeated in her bid for re-election in the 1963 election. She subsequently worked for the Hamilton Trust and Savings Corporation as a senior executive, as well as being chairperson of Hamilton Hydro.In 1979, she was made an Officer of the Order of Canada
Order of Canada
The Order of Canada is a Canadian national order, admission into which is, within the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, the second highest honour for merit...
, and was promoted to Companion in 1994. In the fall of 1996, she received the Order of Ontario
Order of Ontario
The Order of Ontario is the most prestigious official honour in the Canadian province of Ontario. Instituted in 1986 by Lieutenant Governor Lincoln Alexander, on the advice of the Cabinet under Premier David Peterson, the civilian order is administered by the Governor-in-Council and is intended to...
, the highest honor awarded by the province.
Fairclough was active in the Consumers Association of Canada, the Girl Guides, the I.O.D.E., the United Empire Loyalist Association, and the Zonta Club of Hamilton and Zonta International, before, during and after her stay in office. In 1982, a government office tower on the corner of McNab and King Street in Hamilton was officially named the Ellen Fairclough Building
Ellen Fairclough Building
Ellen Fairclough Building, 20-storey high rise office building built in 1981 is the 4th tallest building in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. It's situated on the corner of King Street East and MacNab Street South....
.
She was granted the rare honour of having the title Right Honourable bestowed upon her in 1992 by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom
Elizabeth II is the constitutional monarch of 16 sovereign states known as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize,...
, one of very few Canadians
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
to have the title who had not been Prime Minister of Canada
Prime Minister of Canada
The Prime Minister of Canada is the primary minister of the Crown, chairman of the Cabinet, and thus head of government for Canada, charged with advising the Canadian monarch or viceroy on the exercise of the executive powers vested in them by the constitution...
, Governor General, or Chief Justice of Canada
Chief Justice of Canada
The Chief Justice of Canada, like the eight puisne Justices of the Supreme Court of Canada, is appointed by the Governor-in-Council . All nine are chosen from either sitting judges or barristers who have at least ten years' standing at the bar of a province or territory...
. This was done, in part, because she had been Acting Prime Minister from February 19–20, 1958, the first woman to do so. In 1995, she published her memoirs, Saturday's Child: Memoirs of Canada's First Female Cabinet Minister.
She died in a Hamilton, Ontario
Hamilton, Ontario
Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Conceived by George Hamilton when he purchased the Durand farm shortly after the War of 1812, Hamilton has become the centre of a densely populated and industrialized region at the west end of Lake Ontario known as the Golden Horseshoe...
nursing home
Nursing home
A nursing home, convalescent home, skilled nursing unit , care home, rest home, or old people's home provides a type of care of residents: it is a place of residence for people who require constant nursing care and have significant deficiencies with activities of daily living...
on Saturday, November 13, 2004. Her husband Gordon and son Howard both predeceased her.
On June 21, 2005, Canada Post
Canada Post
Canada Post Corporation, known more simply as Canada Post , is the Canadian crown corporation which functions as the country's primary postal operator...
issued a postage stamp in honour of Fairclough and other notable Canadian women.