Person Record

Metadata

Name

Macphail, Agnes

Othernames

Agnes Campbell Macphail
Agnes C. Macphail
"Aggie"

Born

1890

Birthplace

farm in Proton Township, Grey County

Places of residence

Proton Township
Artemesia Township
Ceylon, Grey County
Ottawa
Leaside (2 Donegall Ave.), East York

Titles & honors

M.P. (Member of Parliament)
Circa 1926, the "Macphail Medal" was presented for a public speaking contest (she sponsored these medals)
M.P.P.
Canadian postage stamp with her portrait (issued October, 1990)
Roadway: SouthgateTwp. approved naming part of County Road 9 between provincial Highways 6 and 10 as the "Agnes Macphail Road" (2007). There is a cairn and plaque in honour of her on the same stretch of roadway, near the original Macphail family homestead.
In 2011, people are trying to designate her Leaside residence as "Agnes Macphail House".
The Bank of Canada announced in April, 2017, that her portrait would be one four shown on a commemorative 150th anniversary of Confederation ten dollar bill

Father

Dougal McPhail (spelt his name this way)

Mother

Henrietta Campbell

Nationality

Canadian

Education

Owen Sound Collegiate Institute (O.S.C.I.)
Stratford Normal School (for teacher's training)

Notes

1990.047.001 is an Anglican Bible that was given to Agnes by her aunt at Stratford
1986.002.002 Photograph of an invitation requesting the presence of Agnes Macphail to meet the Prince of Wales and Prince George at Ottawa
Circa 2011, Grey Highlands Public Library has an image of Agnes in 1950, posed outdoors at a neighbour's house at Leaside.
The Grey County Archives has a newspaper article where she is dubbed "The Maid from Ceylon".

When she was 23 years of age, Agnes was diagnosed with "inward goitre" and was advised to give up teaching. She reportedly was operated on by Dr. R. L. Carefoot (at his private hospital in Markdale) for this condition. She also contracted smallpox at one point and had to spend several weeks in quarantine. Before she was elected, her car was also almost hit by a train.
Macphail was the only woman elected to Canada's Parliament in 1921, the first federal election in which women had the vote. She served until defeated in 1940. In 1943 she was elected to the Ontario legislature, one of the first 2 women there. She lost her seat in 1945 but was again in the legislature between 1948-51.
She was involved with Ontario's first Equal Pay legislation in 1951.
In 1929, she was the first female of the Canadian delegation to the League of Nations, as she was quite interested in peace and was anti-militaristic.
In 1948, she bought a modern house (1937-built) at 2 Donegall Ave., at Leaside.

In March of 2011, Sharon Sinclair of Kimberley visited Grey Roots and noted in the comments binder that she was born in Flesherton. Her mother, Margaret (Copeland) Sinclair had worked as "Aggie's Girl" (housekeeper) for Agnes Macphail and as a caregiver for Agnes' mother in Ceylon.

Agnes Macphail was a member of the Vandeleur Women's Institute for many years.

She had a friend, Robert James Tucker (from Ceylon), who she was engaged to for a while. He was a public school teacher, like Agnes (did they both train at the Stratford Normal School?). They both graduated in 1910. He became a military medical doctor during the First World War. He joined the C.E.F. in 1917, after previous service with the C.A.M.C. in England and Egypt. He married a nurse in April of 1918. He was a son of Henry Tucker and Emma Jane (Burrows) Tucker of Artemesia Township.

There is a photograph on an on-line archive that shows Agnes seated by a fireplace, holding onto a pair of evening gloves, and wearing her full-skirted sleeveless black evening gown with the diagonal velvet sash-like shoulder. On the velvet, she is wearing her maple leaf brooch. On the fireplace is her Anniversary clock, and a 1939 plaster bust of her that was designed by the American sculptor Felix Weis de Weldon. These belongings of Agnes Macphail are now in the Grey Roots collection. The photograph was by Herbert J. Holton (a Toronto photographer)

Occupation

Teacher / Schoolteacher
Member of Parliament
League of Nations delegate (1929)
Member of Provincial Parliament (1943-1945 and 1948-1951)
Writer

Publications

Crowley, Terry, AGNES MACPHAIL AND THE POLITICS OF EQUALITY, 1990
Pennington, Doris....
Wyatt, Rachel....
PRICEVILLE AND ITS ROOTS (ROUTES), 1992, p. 26 (re Dr. Carefoot and goitre surgery), see index for other pages and an image of her