Nellie McClung - Writer, Activist, Member of the Famous Five

Nellie McClung is the second member of the Famous Five I’ve written about. The first was Emily Murphy. McClung was born Nellie Letitia Mooney on October 20, 1873 in Chatsworth, Ontario. She was one of five children born to John and Letitia Mooney

Her parents were both born in Ireland and were brought to Canada by their respective parents when they were very young. They met in Ontario and were married in 1869. John was a farmer. It was the hope for better economic opportunities and a fresh start which led McClung’s parents to move the family to Wawanesa, Manitoba in 1880.

Her Education and Experiences as an Educator

McClung was educated in Manitoba and at the age of 16 began teaching in rural schools in the province. During this time she witnessed first hand how lack of education and other basic rights created challenges for women and girls.

The challenges included:

• denying young girls the same educational opportunities as boys
• girls were expected to put domestic duties over any personal or academic growth
• without education they were unable to pursue careers, have financial independence or contribute to their communities in meaningful ways
• lack of personal autonomy denied women equality and reinforced the idea of women as second-class citizens

Seeing the impact on the young girls and later young women had a profound influence on McClung as she developed into a writer and public speaker. Her own education showed her the power of education and the importance of women’s voices being heard. She believed women brought a unique viewpoint to the table.

Marriage and Family

During her time teaching she boarded with the McClung family in Manitou, Manitoba. Annie McClung was a suffragist which drew Nellie’s attention and interest. She also took an interest in their son, Robert Wesley. The couple were married in August 1896.

Her husband was a pharmacist. The couple had five children between 1897 and 1911.

In 1905 her husband sold his pharmacy business. Shortly after, the family faced financial difficulties. Nellie put her writing skills to work and started writing short stories for magazines.

Her Writing Career

In 1908 she had her first novel published, “Sowing Seeds in Danny”. The book was critically acclaimed when it was published which helped to established her prominence as a writer. Its success led to her becoming in demand as a public speaker which gave her a platform to express her views as a political activist.

In 1911 the McClungs moved to Winnipeg, Manitoba where her husband took a job as an insurance broker. Nellie became part of the founding of the Women’s Political Equality League with its focus on suffrage. She also continued her writing and speaking career

In all McClung wrote sixteen books over the course of her life, some were bestsellers. Her 1915 book “In Times Like These” established her bonafides as a political activist. The book was a collection of essays on the history of the women’s movement and why suffrage was important to advance the role of women in society.

She argued women were just as capable and intelligent as men and should have equal access to rights and opportunities. The book advocated for social and economic reforms to improve the lives of women and families.

Her Political Activism

During the Manitoba election campaign of 1914 the sitting Premier Roblin squared off against the leader of the Opposition T.C. Norris. On the matter of women receiving the vote, Roblin stated his opposition to women voting and Norris came out promising the vote if they could produce a petition with 17,000 names asking for women to have the vote.

McClung was instrumental in putting on a Mock Parliament during the campaign at the Walker Theatre in Winnipeg. The goal was to highlight the absurdity of denying women their equal place in society. Using satire, her and her colleagues flipped the gender table. McClung played the part of Roblin and mimicked him as “men” asked for their rights to vote.

Part of the night included this:

Man is made for something higher and better than voting... Men were made to support families... Shall I call man away from the useful plow and harrow to talk loud on street corners about things which do not concern him? Politics unsettle men, and unsettled men mean unsettled bills—broken furniture, and broken vows—and divorce... When you ask for the vote you are asking me to break up peaceful, happy homes—to wreck innocent lives
— Wikipedia

During the mock parliament, the group ‘debated’ with wit and parody issues like: dress reform, spousal abuse and the importance of motherhood. It was a huge success, attracting a lot of support for the suffrage movement. It didn’t attract enough support to defeat Roblin. He was held to a minority and his government fell almost immediately.

Norris won the subsequent election and after the Political Equality League submitted two petitions, one with 39,584 signatures and the second with 4,250 signatures, he kept his promise. On January 28, 1916 Manitoba became the first Canadian province to grand women the vote and hold office in provincial elections.

McClung Moves to Alberta

Before Norris’s Liberals won office in Manitoba in 1915, Nellie McClung and her family had moved to Edmonton, Alberta. She continued her political activism. It didn’t take long for Alberta to follow Manitoba in granting women political rights.

In 1921 McClung ran for election to represent the Liberals in the riding of Edmonton. She won her seat as part of the opposition. Across the aisle with the governing United Farmers of Alberta say Irene Palby. The two women were the only two women in the legislature. You’ll learn more about Irene Palby, who was also a member of the Famous Five.

During her term, McClung continued to fight for more socially progressive policies. She often broke with her party when the opposing party was more in line with her views. She didn’t get elected to a second term in 1926. She lost by 60 votes.

Fate would take her in another direction as part of the Famous Five and the Persons Case. I’ll address that in a future post on the subject.

She moved to British Columbia in 1933 to live closer to her daughter who was a physician. She published her autobiography “Clearing in the West” in 1935. The book covered her life growing up in Manitoba, experiences as a teacher, wife and mother as well as role in social and political causes. She reflected on her life and the part she played with her social and political activism.

In 1936 Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King appointed McClung to be the first women to sit on the Board of Governors of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC). During her tenure she was a regular commentator on CBC radio, speaking on a range of issues dear to her heart and life.

Her appointment was seen as marking the growing recognition of the importance of women’s voices in public life. While attending a board meeting in 1940 Nellie McClung suffered a heart attack. She wasn’t able to travel easily afterward. She continued her role via correspondance until she resigned in 1942.

She published the second volume of her autobiography “The Stream Runs Fast” in 1945 and died of heart failure on September 1, 1951 at the age of 77. She is regarded among the greatest of those who fought to improve womens role in society in Canada.

Shadowspub writes on a variety of subjects as she pursues her passion for learning. She also writes on other platforms and enjoys creating books you use like journals, notebooks, coloring books etc.
NOTE: unless otherwise stated, all images are the author’s.

Some of the image work may have been done in Midjourney for which I hold a licence to use the imges commercially.

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