The Bank of Canada is seeking the public’s help in nominating an iconic woman to appear on one of its bank notes.
On March 8, International Women’s Day, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Minister of Finance Bill Morneau announced a new bank note featuring a Canadian woman will be issued in 2018.
The Bank of Canada has invited the public to nominate a Canadian woman who has “demonstrated outstanding leadership, achievement or distinction in any field, benefitting the people of Canada or in service of Canada.”
The woman must have died prior to 1991 and cannot be a fictional character.
Elora author Donna Mann has nominated Agnes Macphail to be that woman.
Macphail, born in Grey County in 1890, was the first woman to be elected to the House of Commons in 1921 and fought for equality not just for women, but for everyone.
Mann, who grew up with the importance of elections instilled in her, wrote three books about Macphail and received the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee medal for her work promoting Macphail’s life.
Mann said she first thought of writing about Macphail after she saw children working on a famous Canadians project – and the list from which the children could choose did not include Macphail.
From there Mann made it her mission to memorialize Macphail.
Mann was instrumental in erecting “Agnes Macphail country” signs in Grey County as well as an informational cairn at Macphail’s homestead in June 2004.
Mann was also part of the dedication of Grey Road 9, north of Mount Forest as Agnes Macphail Road in 2008.
Macphail was elected in 1921 as the federal representative for the Grey Southeast riding, now part of the Bruce-Grey-Owen Sound electoral district.
Mann said it must have been tough for Macphail as the only woman in the House of Commons, serving alongside 224 men.
“I could not imagine and yet, as I’ve come to know her in history, she had tenacity, honest and integrity,” Mann said.
Macphail was elected when the country was headed by William Lyon Mackenzie King, who now adorns the $50 bill.
The 1921 election was also the first in which women could vote, having won the right in 1918 (1916 in some provinces).
“It just opened the doors, it gave (women) freedom, it gave them a right, it gave them permission in a sense to voice their opinion,” said Mann.
She added Macphail stood for equal rights, but not just for women.
“She saw farmers not getting the right price, she saw prisoners not having adequate accommodation for the time they had to spend, she saw miners who didn’t have any lights on their hats, she was an advocate for peace,” she said.
Mann explained that when she lived in Grey County, Macphail was a normal topic of conversation, “like (talking about) your great aunt” because someone’s relative did something for her at one point.
But, in another county, such as Wellington, where Mann now lives, she said the mystery of Macphail starts again.
Mann likes talking about Macphail because she never wants Canadians to forget the trailblazer. With that in mind, Mann said Macphail deserves to appear on a Canadian bank note.
“I think she was a forerunner for everyone to come on most issues … I don’t know of any issue that we deal with today that she didn’t touch on,” said Mann.
“I think it would make a statement that the people again have voted for her.”
The Bank of Canada is seeking nominations until April 15.
Seventy women have already been nominated, including famous painter Emily Carr, businesswoman and civil libertarian Viola Desmond, one of the Famous Five Henrietta Edwards, Aboriginal writer and performer Pauline Johnson, political activist Nellie McClung, Anne of Green Gables author Lucy Maud Montgomery and War of 1812 heroine Laura Secord.
The Bank of Canada will long-list 10 to 12 names for a public survey, then short-list of three to five names before the final choice is made by the minister of finance.
