1918 Women win right to vote federally with some exceptions (First Nations peoples must wait until 1960)
1929 Women declared “persons” under the law
1960 Voice of Women formed to promote peace and foster women’s rights
1964 Planned Parenthood Federation of Canada founded
1967 Toronto Women’s Liberation Movement founded; other cities follow
1969 Birth control legalized; homosexuality decriminalized
1970 Royal Commission on the Status of Women reports; Canadian Abortion Rights Action Leaguefounded; First Women’s Studies course offered (University of Toronto)
1972 National Action Committee on the Status of Women formed
1973 Congress of Black Women of Canada founded; outrage over Irene Murdoch divorce case mobilizes change in family property laws; Action Daycare founded to seek quality, universally accessible childcare; Sexual Assault Centre of London established
1974 Native Women’s Association of Canada founded
1976 Equal Pay Coalition formed
1978 Family Law Reform Act takes effect in Ontario; Women’s Community House begins sheltering abused women and their children in London; first “Take Back the Night” march (Toronto)
1982 Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms signed; women demanded and won Section 28: “Notwithstanding anything in this Charter, all the rights and freedoms in it are guaranteed equally to male and female persons”; London Abused Women’s Centreestablished
1983 Rape redefined as an act of violence
1985 DisAbled Women’s Network formed; First Nations women who lost status through marriage win back full status
1986 Federal Employment Equity Act
1987 Ontario Pay Equity Act
1988 Women win right to reproductive choice (abortion law struck down)
1999 Same-sex couples attain common law benefits and obligations
2004 My Sister’s Place begins programming for homeless women in London
2005 Marriage legally redefined to include same-sex couples
by Jan Pennycook and Catherine Macleod