We spent the day being tourists in Ottawa, starting by walking up toward Parliament Hill. We first stopped at bronze statues of “The Famous Five,” prominent Canadian suffragists. The statues were especially poignant just two days after Gloria Steinem’s death.
The monument depicts the women gathered around a “pink tea” setting used at the time as a cover to organize. They are captured in the exact moment they received word of their constitutional victory on October 18, 1929 when the British Privy Council overturned a ruling by the Supreme Court of Canada and declared that women were officially “qualified persons” eligible to sit in the Senate of Canada. In the sculpture, Nellie McClung triumphantly holds a copy of a newspaper headlined “Women Are Persons!” while Emily Murphy stands beside an empty chair which visitors are encouraged to sit in to join their celebration.
Emily Murphy – The British Empire’s first female magistrate, who led the legal battle.
Nellie McClung – A renowned suffragist, author, and member of the Alberta Legislative Assembly.
Irene Parlby – An advocate for rural women and the first female cabinet minister in Alberta.
Louise McKinney – The first woman elected to a legislature in Canada and the British Empire.
Henrietta Muir Edwards – A legal expert who fought for women’s healthcare and labor rights.
Next, we stopped on the bridge over the eight locks that we would descend toward the Ottawa River the following day. There was only one boat going down at the time.
Then we walked past the prime minister’s office building to the Centre Block on Parliament Hill which is the main Gothic Revival building of Canada’s Parliament. Right now it is closed for a massive, multi-billion-dollar heritage rehabilitation project. Our tour guide told us it is due to be finished around 2030–2032. In the meantime the House of Commons has been moved to a newly enclosed courtyard space and the Senate is in the railroad building. We took a tour of the temporary House of Commons space.
We worked up a thirst during our tour. Fortunately, Peter had made us reservations for a fabulous tea at the Fairmont Château Laurier.
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