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Emily Murphy Facts & Worksheets

Emily Murphy was a Canadian equal rights activist, journalist, author, magistrate, and legal reformer.

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Emily Murphy was a Canadian equal rights activist, journalist, author, magistrate, and legal reformer. She was also the first female magistrate for Canada and the British Empire, one of the famous five behind the “Person Case” that successfully had women legally define ‘Persons’ in the eyes of British law.

See the fact file below for more information on the Emily Murphy or alternatively, you can download our 25-page Emily Murphy worksheet pack to utilise within the classroom or home environment.

Key Facts & Information

PERSONAL LIFE

  • Emily Murphy was born Emily Gowan Ferguson on March 14, 1868, in Cookstown, Ontario in Canada.
  • Emily was the third child to Isaac Ferguson, a businessman and property owner, and Emily Gowan.
  • Emily’s parents were pro-formal academic education for girls. Emily went to Bishop Strachan School. She met her future husband Arthur Murphy through a mutual friend while at school; he was 11 years her senior.
  • Emily and Arthur married in 1887 and had four daughters, Madeleine, Evelyn, Doris, and Kathleen. After their daughter Doris died, they decided to move to Swan River, Manitoba, in 1903, then to Edmonton, Alberta, in 1907.
  • Emily died on October 17, 1933, in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.

DOWER ACT

  • When Emily was 40, she began organizing women’s groups to meet and discuss ideas and plan projects. Emily also began to speak about the disadvantages and the poor living conditions faced by women in society.
  • The drive to protect women intensified when she was made aware of a lady in Alberta whose husband sold their family farm, then abandoned her and his children, leaving them homeless and penniless. Property law during this time did not give married women legal rights when it came to property. Emily started a campaign to fight for married women’s rights to property. The rural women in the area supported her, so she began to pressure the Alberta government to allow women to retain their rights to land.
  • The Alberta legislature passed the Married Woman’s Home Protection Act in 1915 (replaced with the Dower Act in 1917).
  • In 1916, Emily got the Alberta legislature to pass the Dower Act, allowing women the right to one-third of their husband’s property.
  • This same year, Emily and a group of women tried to observe a trial against some women labeled prostitutes. The judge asked them to leave the courtroom, claiming that what they were going to hear was not suitable for everyone. This gave Emily the ammunition to argue that if the evidence was not suitable for everyone, then the government needed to set up a special court of women to try other women.
  • Emily’s request was granted, making her the first female magistrate in the British Empire.
  • Emily’s first case was on July 1, 1916, where she found the defendant guilty. The lawyer appealed, stating that her right to pass sentence was not valid because she was not legally a person. The provincial Supreme Court denied the appeal.

PERSON’S ACT

  • After Emily’s first case, she began battling to have women recognized as persons in Canada, qualifying her to serve in the Senate. A lawyer named Eardley Jackson challenged the fact that her position as a judge was unjust because she was not recognized as a person under the British North American Act of 1867.
  • The law stated that women were eligible for pains and penalties, but not rights and privileges.
  • Emily presided over an inaugural conference of federated women’s institutes of Canada, who were fighting for a female senator to be appointed. The Montreal women’s club supported this and wanted Emily to be senator.
  • They wanted clarification of how women were are regarded in the BNA act.
  • Emily enlisted four Albertan women’s help on August 27, 1927: Nellie McClung, a human rights activist; Louise McKinney, ex-MLA; Henrietta Edwards; and Irene Palby. These women’s rights campaigners all signed a petition for the federal cabinet requesting that they take it to the Supreme Court of Canada.
  • The petition had two questions, but the federal government changed it to one, which asked the Supreme Court: Does the word “person” in Section 24 of the British North American Act include females?
  • The campaign was named ‘The Person Case’ and reached the Supreme Court in March 1928. The court held that women were not qualified to sit in the Senate. The women appealed the decision in the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in Britain.
  • On October 18, 1929, the verdict came in. The word “persons” in section 24 of the BNA Act of 1867 would be interpreted to mean men and women, making women eligible to serve in the Senate. The case was also called Edwards vs. Canada.
  • Emily was never appointed to the Senate. Instead, Cairine Wilson was the first female Senator in 1930.
  • Emily was denied the Senate again in 1931.

AUTHOR

  • Emily was a contributor to book reviews and articles in Canadian magazines and newspapers. Adopting the pen name Janey Canuck, she even published four books of personal sketches called The Impression of Janey Canuck Abroad in 1901; Janey Canuck in the West in 1910; Open Trials in 1912, and Seed of Pine in 1914.
  • Emily published her book The Black Candle in 1922 as Judge Murphy. An expansion of articles published in Maclean’s magazine described the details of the drug trade in Canada, making the law rule narcotics as illegal.

Emily Murphy Worksheets

This is a fantastic bundle which includes everything you need to know about Emily Murphy across 25 in-depth pages. These are ready-to-use Emily Murphy worksheets that are perfect for teaching students about Emily Murphy who was a Canadian equal rights activist, journalist, author, magistrate, and legal reformer. She was also the first female magistrate for Canada and the British Empire, one of the famous five behind the “Person Case” that successfully had women legally define ‘Persons’ in the eyes of British law.

Complete List Of Included Worksheets

  • Emily Murphy Facts
  • Timeline Quiz
  • Women’s Rights
  • Emily Murphy Quiz
  • Famous Five
  • Cartoon
  • Emily Murphy Quotes
  • Newspaper Article
  • Fill in the Blanks
  • Let’s Debate
  • Shine the Light

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Use With Any Curriculum

These worksheets have been specifically designed for use with any international curriculum. You can use these worksheets as-is, or edit them using Google Slides to make them more specific to your own student ability levels and curriculum standards.

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