March 8th was International Women’s Day and in honour of this day Heritage Canada released it’s newest ‘Heritage Minute‘. The Heritage Minute is various pieces of Canadian history in an easy to digest 1 min or less video. These minutes (formally called ‘Historica Minutes: History by the Minute‘) have been part of the Canadian culture since 1991 and have been learning tools for students, adults and also subjects of many parodies.

For today’s post I wanted to showcase some of the women of Canadian history (like Viola Desmond) who have made their mark in various ways, focusing on the time periods from the 1900′ to the late 1940’s.

The Women of Canada’s Heritage Minutes: 1900’s to the 1940’s

The Edmonton Grads

Their most recent video is about The Edmonton Grads (1915–40) a women’s championship basketball team coached by Percy Page. During their 25 years as a team, the Grads won an astounding 95 per cent of their matches. The Grads were national and world champions, often defeating their opponents by lopsided scores. The team won the Underwood International Trophy (USA–Canada) for 17 years straight (1923 to 1940), and was undefeated in 24 matches held in conjunction with the Olympic Summer Games in 1924, 1928 and 1936.

Nursing Sisters

Nursing Sisters: The minute commemorates the service and sacrifice of women on the front lines of the First World War through the retelling of a real event from May 1918. It is the story of two of the nearly 3000 trained nurses who served overseas.

Agnes Macphail

Agnes Macphail: .1935-Canada’s first female MP (members of Parliament) contributed to the reform of the Canadian penal system.

Mona Parsons

Mona Parsons: 1945- Mona Parsons is sentenced to a Nazi prison camp (but escapes execution) for helping downed Allied airmen escape.

Nellie McClung

Nellie McClung: 1916-The next video depicts Nellie McClung’s confrontation with Premier R.P. Roblin to win the right to vote for Manitoban women. She is noted for staging a ‘Mock parliament, attacking votes for men’.

Pauline Vanier

Pauline Vanier: Is part of one of Canada’s most remarkable families who worked tirelessly to aid displaced persons and refugees during the Second World War (1939–1945).

Emily Murphy

Emily Murphy: 1929-Recounts how Murphy and a group of Canadian women secured the rights of women as persons throughout the Commonwealth.

Mary “Bonnie” Baker

The ‘All American Girls Professional Baseball League’ had 68 Canadian Women on their teams. Here is a ‘Heritage Minute’, celebrating Saskatchewan’s Mary “Bonnie” Baker, an all-star catcher in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League and a pioneer for women in sports.

Further Reading: Lets Play Ball! The All-American Girls’ Professional Baseball League

Viola Desmond

The last Heritage Minute for today’s post, is Viola Desmond. She was an entrepreneur who challenged segregation in Nova Scotia in the 1940’s.

Friends, I hoped you enjoyed learning a little about some of these amazing women of Canada. I also hope this post encourages you to go out and learn more about the women of your own country and share their story. Knowledge is power!

If you want to watch more videos or listen to short radio programs on the other women I did not have time to feature here, then please visit the Heritage Minutes Website.

Further Reading: Vintage Women’s History 1920s-1960s (archived blog posts)

Liz