Maria Grant

Helen "Maria" Grant (born Helen Mary Smith, 1843 in Maitland Nova Scotia - 1907 Victoria BC)[1] was an early Canadian women's rights activist in British Columbia and first woman in Canada elected to any political office.

Maria married Captain William Grant in 1873 and sailed the world with him untilthey settled in Victoria BC in 1886.

Women were allowed to vote for school board members in 1884 if they were mothers and were allowed to run in 1889. In March 1895 Maria was elected as the first school board trustee and served for six years.[2] In 1901 she was presented to George V (then still the Duke of York) as the first and only woman school trustee in Canada.

She was active in the Woman's Christian Temperance Union and helped to found the Victoria Local Council of Women[3] in 1894 which was created to work towards women's suffrage.

References

  1. ↑ "Ross Bay Cemetery: Helen Grant". Oldcem.bc.ca. The Old Cemeteries Society of Victoria. Retrieved 2015-03-25.
  2. ↑ Forster, Merna (2004). 100 Canadian Heroines: Famous and Forgotten Faces. Dundurn. pp. 94–95. ISBN 9781550025149.
  3. ↑ "Victoria Council of Women". Victoria.tc.ca. Retrieved 2015-03-25.


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