To Be Equals in Our Own Country: Women and the Vote in Quebec (Women’s Suffrage and the Struggle for Democracy)

“When the history of suffrage is written, the role played by our politicians will cut a sad figure beside that of the women they insulted.” Speaking in 1935, feminist Idola Saint-Jean captured the bitter nature of Quebec women’s fight for enfranchisement, as religious authorities weighed what they stood to gain or lose and politicians showed open disdain during Legislative Assembly debates. Quebec women had to wait until 1940 or longer to cast a ballot. This passionate yet even-handed account is filled with vivid characters and pivotal events on the road to suffrage in the province. It examines Quebec women’s participation in provincial and municipal politics since winning the vote and compares women’s struggle to that in other countries. An astute exploration of suffrage, To Be Equals in Our Own Country treats enfranchisement – and the legal, social, and economic rights that stem from it – as a fundamental question of human rights. Acclaimed historian Joan Sangster celebrates the 100th anniversary of Canadian women getting the federal vote with a look at the real struggles women faced, depending on their race, class, and location in the nation, in their fight for equality. To Be Equals in Our Own Country chronicles the bitter struggle for women's suffrage in Quebec, the last province to grant Canadian women this fundamental human right.