Changing Canada

Because of Borden’s need for support in the light of conscription, many women won the right to vote and Borden pledged to extend this right to all women if he was reelected. He ended up doing as he promised, and by 1919, all Canadian women over the age of 21 were allowed to vote. Women getting the vote in federal elections led to them getting the vote in elections of provincial and municipal levels. By 1925, women could vote in all provinces except for Quebec, which did not let women vote until 1940.



Giving women a voice in elections allowed them to participate for actively in society. It also made it so that politicians would have to consider the interest and wants of women. This paved way for a fairer society as women take up around 50% of the population. With more men being forced by conscription to leave the workforce and fight, this also allowed for many women to step in and take on greater roles in the workforce, contributing to the gradual advancement of women in society.

The divide had also worsened Anglo-French relations in Canada. The Conservative Party lost their support in Quebec and became quite unpopular there. There are still negative feelings towards the Conservative Party in Quebec today and results in the province still tend to lag behind. This shows that the divide between English and French Canadians has had a lasting effect on Canada’s political landscape.