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Canada 150 - McKinney makes history, war rages on

Imagine my disappointment when I looked up historical events in Canada for June 7 and discovered my birth was not among them.
Canada 150 on the Front Lines

Imagine my disappointment when I looked up historical events in Canada for June 7 and discovered my birth was not among them.
What was among them, however, was a pioneering effort by Louise McKinney to become the first woman elected as a legislator in the British Commonwealth.
It was June 7, 1917 when McKinney won the electoral district of Clareholm, Alberta as a candidate for the Non-Partisan League.
McKinney was a teacher by trade, but left the profession to become the western organizer for the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union. She would later become the president and serve 20 years in the role.
She was also one of the Famous Five, who would successfully petition the Privy Council of Great Britain in the seminal case that bestowed upon women the legal status of persons.
She was born September 22, 1868 in Frankville, Ontario and died July 10, 1931 in Clareholm, Alberta.
Not surprisingly, the Yorkton newspaper took no notice of McKinney’s historic accomplishment. Saskatchewan was gearing up for its own provincial election on June 26, there was a world war on in Europe, concrete walkways to be dealt with and the matter of a half day off for retail businesses.
With respect to the Saskatchewan election, an article on the front page of the June 7, 1917 demonstrated a blurring of the lines between reporting and opining that we shy away from today.
“On Saturday the Provincial Legislature was dissolved by Lieut.-Governor Lake and the writs were issued for the election as above [June 26],” the piece announced. “There will be 59 seats in the new House, and in 57 of these elections will be held on the 26th. Polling is deferred in the Cumberland and Isle Le Crosse. The three soldiers’ seats will be filled subsequently.
“The opportunity is now at hand that the electors of Saskatchewan have been anxiously awaiting—the opportunity of electing an honest, progressive administration. Electors—study the issues, examine the record of the government and do your part on June 26 to elect representatives who will conscientiously and efficiently administer the affairs of the province.”
Today, in reputable publications, op-ed commentary is normally labeled as such.
Interestingly, considering the iconic place the Battle of Vimy Ridge now enjoys in the Canadian zeitgeist, it was in the June 7, 1917, the newspaper published its first coverage of Vimy in the form of excerpts of letters from Yorkton men who had been involved in the offensive.
One such correspondence came from a Corporal Bosworth of the 31st Battalion, who wrote to someone identified as Chief Zeats in the article:
“Well, Theo, it is rather late in the day for me to say anything about the exploits of the Canadian boys, which commenced in the early hours of Easter Monday morning, because you will have read all about it in your own press. How they done what was thought at one time impossible, took Vimy Ridge from the enemy. Easter Monday was a great day for Canada, and one she may well be proud of. Even the British press, which formerly has not been very lavish with praise for the Canadians, condescended to mention their existence.
“Now, Theo, we cannot keep going into these scraps without having casualties and they must be replaced. We have the guns and ammunition but we need men, so do all in your power to speed up recruiting, because the more men we get and sooner we get them, the sooner the war would be over and the boys back home again.”
Also, in those early years, photography was a rarity in the Enterprise, but this edition included two pictures from the front lines.