Facts on... Emily Murphy

 Emily Murphy

Canadian women's rights activist

Full name: Emily Gowan Ferguson

Born: 14 March 1868 – Cookstown, Ontario

Died: 27 October 1933

Best known for... her contributions to Canadian feminism

Emily Murphy attended Bishop Strachan School, a private school for girls in Toronto where she met her future husband Arthur Murphy, to whom she got married in 1887.

In 1916, Murphy along with other activists tried to be at the trial of some women accused of prostitution. However, Murphy and the other female observers were asked to leave the court because ‘it would be inappropriate for them to be present’. Murphy didn’t think it was fair that female prostitutes were being tried only by men. She protested to the provincial Attorney general and argued that if women couldn’t be tried with both men and women present, they should be tried by a female judge.

Because of her protest, Murphy was allowed to become a female magistrate. However, during her first case, the defendant’s lawyer protested that Murphy’s guilty verdict was invalid because Murphy was a woman and therefore, under the BNA act of 1867, was not a legal person.

Along with Murphy, five other Canadian women activists (Henrietta Muir, Nellie McClung, Louise McKinney and Irene Parlb) then formed “The Famous Five”. They launched in 1927 the "Persons Case," which defended that women should be "qualified persons" eligible to sit in the Senate. The Supreme Court of Canada ruled that they were not. However, the women eventually won their case.

Emily Murphy died on October 27th, 1933, without ever becoming a member of the Canadian Senate, but helping future generations of women to achieve that.

Murphy's legacy is often questioned. Although she was a feminist, she was also a racist and was against immigration.