Wartime Elections Act

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The Canadian Wartime Elections Act (French: Loi des élections en temps de guerre) was a bill passed on September 20, 1917[1] by the Conservative government of Robert Borden during the Conscription Crisis of 1917 and was instrumental in pushing Liberals to join the Conservatives in the formation of the Canadian Unionist government. While the bill was an explicit attempt to get more votes for the government, it was also the first act giving women the vote in federal elections.

The Act gave the vote to the wives, widows, mothers, and sisters of soldiers serving overseas. They were the first women ever to be able to vote in Canadian federal elections and were also a group that was strongly in favour of conscription. The act also

Austro-Hungarian Empires). Doukhobors, only in British Columbia, were partially disenfranchised for 37 years — 1919 to 1956 — first in provincial and then in 1934 in federal elections, but not in municipal or school board elections, because politicians feared their leader could dictate them to vote en bloc to influence an election.[2][3]
At the time the act was passed, it was justified through the patriotic fever surrounding World War I. While it was opposed by those who were disenfranchised and other opponents of the government, it was widely supported by the majority of Canadians.

The act was coupled with the

French-Canadians and recent immigrants
that they would vote Liberal for decades, greatly hurting the Conservative Party.

After the war, the Act was repealed by the Dominion Elections Act of 1920,[4] which was enacted on June 29[5] and assented to on July 1, 1920. Most women (notably not Aboriginal women or those without property) were enfranchised as of 24 May 1918.[6]

References

  1. ^ John English. "The Canadian Encyclopedia; Wartime Elections Act". Retrieved 2 December 2014.
  2. ^ Tarasoff, Koozma J. (February 9, 2015). "Q64: Explain Doukhobor Voting Rights". Spirit-Wrestlers Blog. Doukhboor Historical Society. Retrieved 17 April 2018.
  3. ^ Tarasoff, Koozma J. (February 3, 2015). "Canadian Doukhobors and Voting". Spirit-Wrestlers.com. Doukhobor Historical Society. Retrieved 17 April 2018.
  4. ^ Dominion Elections Act, S.C. 1920, Section 3, Schedule 3
  5. ^ Senate Debates, 13th Parliament, 4th Session : Vol. 1. Library of Parliament / Bibliothèque du Parlement. p. 826
  6. ^ Susan Jackel. "Women's Suffrage". The Canadian Encyclopedia. Archived from the original on March 8, 2012. Retrieved 2014-12-02.
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