Council of Women of Winnipeg celebrates 130 years

North End

Winnipeg

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 05/03/2025 (185 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

There’s never a boring year for the Council of Women of Winnipeg, and this year — which marks the advocacy group’s 130th anniversary — is no exception.

To celebrate, the group is looking both ahead and back, while commemorating the local women of past, present and future.

In January, the book She Won the Vote For Women in Winnipeg, written by University of Regina professor Robert E. Hawkins, was launched at McNally Robinson Booksellers. It tells the story of Lillian Beynon Thomas, whose journalistic work in the Manitoba Free Press — which went on to become the Winnipeg Free Press — helped Manitoba become the first province in Canada to recognize a woman’s right to vote in 1916.

“(Hawkins) was doing research and came across her, and was quite surprised at the work that she did,” said Brenda Buleziuk, a president of CWW.

Buleziuk said Thomas’s work helped spread the message of women’s suffrage using a medium that, at the time, wasn’t the most welcoming to women.

“She was helping (those at) the forefront … which is commendable. Without her, they wouldn’t have gotten the right to vote,” Buleziuk said.

Thomas’s story is just one of many attached to the Council of Women of Winnipeg, which was founded in 1893. At its core, the council exists to advocate for women in a variety of different issues both locally and globally, and works with sister organizations such as the Provincial Council of Women of Manitoba and the National Council of Women of Canada. There are local Council of Women chapters all over Canada, and the Winnipeg group is one of the oldest.

In recent years, it has been active on a variety of issues, such as the safety of Indigenous women in cabs, harm reduction, getting more women into politics, public washrooms, and making sure house numbers are visible to emergency responders, to name a few, said Arlene Draffin Jones, a longtime member and former nurse, who described the group as “absolute grassroots.” Last month, members worked with the Seven Oaks School Division to educate kids on gender equality, and, additionally, two local members will head to New York, N.Y., to represent the Canadian Federation of University Women at the 69th Commission on the Status of Women in March.

In its earliest days, members of the Council of Women weren’t allowed to even discuss politics — so they would organize ‘pink teas,’ meant to trick men into leaving them alone, so they could do so without getting caught.

Their gatherings look very different now. General meetings take place on the third Thursday of each month — the next will be Feb. 20 — and a different speaker is featured at each. Women from any walk of life, of any age, are welcome to join. Although they can’t join the board, men are also welcome to become members, as they play a large role in supporting women’s rights, as well.

“As of today, we want to keep encouraging women to come and join us … ‘What are the issues affecting you?’Sometimes we may not have answers, but we can support and educate,” Buleziuk said

“Over COVID we sort of fell off the radar,” said Draffin Jones, a North End resident. “There’s still needs. And a need to recognize how hard women have worked for this.”

She recalled a story from her granddaughter who, after being invited to speak on women’s advocacy at the University of Winnipeg, could not believe how many young people feel the need for advocacy is now behind them.

“There’s still much to do,” Buleziuk said.

“I’m excited about (the anniversary) — I feel that we still need to be around,” Draffin Jones said.

“We’ve built good relationships and I feel really positive that it will continue, that it’s a safe environment,” Buleziuk said.

For more information, visit councilofwomen-winnipeg.ca