Margaret Aitken
Encyclopedia
Margaret Aitken was a Canadian
author, columnist, journalist, and politician.
. She attended Branksome Hall
in Toronto. She was the daughter of J. Mauns Aitken and her uncle was Max Aitken, 1st Baron Beaverbrook
. Her brother, William Aitken and his son Jonathan Aitken
(her nephew) were members of the British House of Commons.
She started with the Toronto Telegram
in 1938 and was a foreign correspondent. She was noted for covering the birth of Israel
as a nation and she became a strong supporter of the Jewish state. In 1953, she wrote a book Hey Ma! I Did It (Toronto: Clarke, Irwin & Company) about her political campaign in the same year.
, she was elected to the Canadian House of Commons
in the riding of York—Humber
as the Progressive Conservative
candidate, winning by 67 votes. Along with Sybil Bennett, Ellen Fairclough
and Ann Shipley
, she was one of four women elected to the House of Commons that year, only the second election in Canadian history in which more than one woman was elected to Parliament.
In 1957 she became the first woman to be appointed chair of a parliamentary committee, the Standing Committee on Standing Orders. The committee discusses rules of the House. She was re-elected in 1957
and 1958
. She was defeated in 1962
by 662 votes.
|Progressive Conservative
|Margaret Aitken
|align="right"|11,157
|Liberal
|Kenneth L. Thompson
|align="right"|11,090
|Co-operative Commonwealth
|Jennie B. Prosser
|align="right"| 4,924
|}
|-
|Progressive Conservative
|Margaret Aitken
|align="right"| 18,449
|Liberal
|Kenneth L. Thompson
|align="right"|10,851
|Co-operative Commonwealth
| Margaret Thetford
|align="right"| 4,872
|Social Credit
| Charles R. Ellis
|align="right"|1,324
|}
|-
|Progressive Conservative
|Margaret Aitken
|align="right"|23,723
|Liberal
|Elena Murdock Dacosta
|align="right"|9,557
|Co-operative Commonwealth
|Leonard Collins
|align="right"|6,257
|}
|-
|Liberal
|Ralph Cowan
|align="right"|15,526
|Progressive Conservative
|Margaret Aitken
|align="right"| 14,864
|New Democratic Party
|Charles Millard
|align="right"| 11,622
|Social Credit
|Ronald G. Sibbald
|align="right"|564
|}
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...
author, columnist, journalist, and politician.
Background
Aitken was born in Newcastle, New BrunswickNewcastle, New Brunswick
Newcastle is a Canadian urban neighbourhood in the city of Miramichi, New Brunswick.Prior to municipal amalgamation in 1995, it was an incorporated town and the shire town of Northumberland County....
. She attended Branksome Hall
Branksome Hall
Branksome Hall is an independent girls' school for day and boarding students from Junior Kindergarten to Grade 12. Founded in 1903, the school is located on a 13-acre campus in in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Campus buildings include several heritage structures and some modern buildings, all linked by...
in Toronto. She was the daughter of J. Mauns Aitken and her uncle was Max Aitken, 1st Baron Beaverbrook
Max Aitken, 1st Baron Beaverbrook
William Maxwell "Max" Aitken, 1st Baron Beaverbrook, Bt, PC, was a Canadian-British business tycoon, politician, and writer.-Early career in Canada:...
. Her brother, William Aitken and his son Jonathan Aitken
Jonathan Aitken
Jonathan William Patrick Aitken is a former Conservative Member of Parliament in the United Kingdom, and British government minister. He was convicted of perjury in 1999 and received an 18-month prison sentence, of which he served seven months...
(her nephew) were members of the British House of Commons.
She started with the Toronto Telegram
Toronto Telegram
The Toronto Evening Telegram was a conservative, broadsheet afternoon newspaper published in Toronto from 1876 to 1971. It had a reputation for supporting the Conservative Party at both the federal and provincial level. The paper competed with the liberal Toronto Star...
in 1938 and was a foreign correspondent. She was noted for covering the birth of Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
as a nation and she became a strong supporter of the Jewish state. In 1953, she wrote a book Hey Ma! I Did It (Toronto: Clarke, Irwin & Company) about her political campaign in the same year.
Politics
In the 1953 federal electionCanadian federal election, 1953
The Canadian federal election of 1953 was held on August 10 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 22nd Parliament of Canada. Prime Minister Louis St...
, she was elected to the Canadian House of Commons
Canadian 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 the riding of York—Humber
York—Humber
York—Humber was a federal electoral district represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1953 to 1968. It was located in the province of Ontario...
as the Progressive Conservative
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....
candidate, winning by 67 votes. Along with Sybil Bennett, Ellen Fairclough
Ellen Fairclough
Ellen Louks Fairclough, 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...
and Ann Shipley
Ann Shipley
Marie Ann Shipley was a Canadian politician.Born in Lawrence Station in Southwold, Ontario, she was educated at Ottawa's Lisgar Collegiate and married Manley Adair Shipley. They settled in Kirkland Lake where she was an administrative secretary for the Kirkland District Mines Medical Plans...
, she was one of four women elected to the House of Commons that year, only the second election in Canadian history in which more than one woman was elected to Parliament.
In 1957 she became the first woman to be appointed chair of a parliamentary committee, the Standing Committee on Standing Orders. The committee discusses rules of the House. She was re-elected in 1957
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...
and 1958
Canadian federal election, 1958
The Canadian federal election of 1958 was the 24th general election in Canada's history. It was held to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 24th Parliament of Canada on March 31, 1958, just nine months after the 23rd election...
. She was defeated in 1962
Canadian federal election, 1962
The Canadian federal election of 1962 was held on June 18, 1962 to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 25th Parliament of Canada...
by 662 votes.
Later life
In 1962, Aitken was appointed as Canada's representative to the UN's Commission on Human Rights. She died at age 72 after a long illness.Electoral record
|-|Progressive Conservative
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....
|Margaret Aitken
|align="right"|11,157
|Liberal
Liberal Party of Canada
The Liberal Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Grits, is the oldest federally registered party in Canada. In the conventional political spectrum, the party sits between the centre and the centre-left. Historically the Liberal Party has positioned itself to the left of the Conservative...
|Kenneth L. Thompson
|align="right"|11,090
|Co-operative Commonwealth
Co-operative Commonwealth Federation
The Co-operative Commonwealth Federation was a Canadian political party founded in 1932 in Calgary, Alberta, by a number of socialist, farm, co-operative and labour groups, and the League for Social Reconstruction...
|Jennie B. Prosser
|align="right"| 4,924
|}
|-
|Progressive Conservative
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....
|Margaret Aitken
|align="right"| 18,449
|Liberal
Liberal Party of Canada
The Liberal Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Grits, is the oldest federally registered party in Canada. In the conventional political spectrum, the party sits between the centre and the centre-left. Historically the Liberal Party has positioned itself to the left of the Conservative...
|Kenneth L. Thompson
|align="right"|10,851
|Co-operative Commonwealth
Co-operative Commonwealth Federation
The Co-operative Commonwealth Federation was a Canadian political party founded in 1932 in Calgary, Alberta, by a number of socialist, farm, co-operative and labour groups, and the League for Social Reconstruction...
| Margaret Thetford
|align="right"| 4,872
|Social Credit
Social Credit Party of Canada
The Social Credit Party of Canada was a conservative-populist political party in Canada that promoted social credit theories of monetary reform...
| Charles R. Ellis
|align="right"|1,324
|}
|-
|Progressive Conservative
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....
|Margaret Aitken
|align="right"|23,723
|Liberal
Liberal Party of Canada
The Liberal Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Grits, is the oldest federally registered party in Canada. In the conventional political spectrum, the party sits between the centre and the centre-left. Historically the Liberal Party has positioned itself to the left of the Conservative...
|Elena Murdock Dacosta
|align="right"|9,557
|Co-operative Commonwealth
Co-operative Commonwealth Federation
The Co-operative Commonwealth Federation was a Canadian political party founded in 1932 in Calgary, Alberta, by a number of socialist, farm, co-operative and labour groups, and the League for Social Reconstruction...
|Leonard Collins
|align="right"|6,257
|}
|-
|Liberal
Liberal Party of Canada
The Liberal Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Grits, is the oldest federally registered party in Canada. In the conventional political spectrum, the party sits between the centre and the centre-left. Historically the Liberal Party has positioned itself to the left of the Conservative...
|Ralph Cowan
|align="right"|15,526
|Progressive Conservative
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....
|Margaret Aitken
|align="right"| 14,864
|New Democratic Party
New Democratic Party
The New Democratic Party , commonly referred to as the NDP, is a federal social-democratic political party in Canada. The interim leader of the NDP is Nycole Turmel who was appointed to the position due to the illness of Jack Layton, who died on August 22, 2011. The provincial wings of the NDP in...
|Charles Millard
|align="right"| 11,622
|Social Credit
Social Credit Party of Canada
The Social Credit Party of Canada was a conservative-populist political party in Canada that promoted social credit theories of monetary reform...
|Ronald G. Sibbald
|align="right"|564
|}