'To Open the Way for Others of My Sex': Clara Brett Martin's Career as Canada's First Woman Lawyer

Canadian Journal of Women and the Law 1 (1985) 1-41

42 Pages Posted: 4 Jun 2013

See all articles by Constance Backhouse

Constance Backhouse

University of Ottawa - Common Law Section

Date Written: 1985

Abstract

Clara Brett Martin was the first woman admitted to the legal profession in all the British Commonwealth. She had to defy the Law Society of Upper Canada and persuade the Ontario Legislature to enact enabling legislation before being admitted to the bar in 1897. Constance Backhouse describes Clara Brett Martin's five-year struggle, and the actions of Ontario Premier Sir Oliver Mowat, who advocated for Clara Brett Martin's admission to the Law Society. Professor Backhouse' research suggests Mowat supported Clara Brett Martin's claims because he did not want to take a position on women's right to vote. He preferred to countenance women lawyers than women voters. Thus, his support for Clara Brett Martin's cause was not to improve the status of women but to curb women's activism. Constance Backhouse also examines Clara Brett Martin's subsequent legal career.

La première femme admise à l’exercice du droit dans tout le Commonwealth britannique, Clara Brett Martin a dû personnellement défier la Law Society of Upper Canada et inciter l'assemblée législative de l'Ontario à adopter une loi habilitante avant être inscrite au barreau en 1897. Constance Backhouse décrit cette lutte acharnée que Clara Brett Martin a menée pendant cinq ans ainsi que les démarches du premier ministre de l'époque, Sir Oliver Mowat, qui a appuyé sa demande et a exhorté à maintes reprises l'assemblée législative de l'Ontario et la Law Society de l'admettre. Il ressort de l'analyse de Constance Backhouse que Sir Oliver Mowat aurait appuyé Clara Brett Martin, d'une part parce qu’il ne voulait pas prendre position sur la question du droit de vote des femmes, et de l'autre, parce qu’il craignait qu'on l'accuse d'être contre le mouvement féministe. Donc, son appui aux demandes de Clara Brett Martin visait non à améliorer la situation de la femme mais à refréner les revendications féministes. Constance Backhouse examine également la carrière juridique de Clara Brett Martin et ses efforts en vue d'améliorer la situation des Canadiennes.

(Cette article est seulement disponible en anglais. Un résumé français suit l'anglais.)

Keywords: Clarra Brett Martin, female, woman, lawyer, history, historical, biography, biographical, feminist, feminism, Ontario, Canada, legal, profession, politics, politician, political, suffrage, right, vote, women, career, admission, activism, Law Society, Upper Canada

Suggested Citation

Backhouse, Constance, 'To Open the Way for Others of My Sex': Clara Brett Martin's Career as Canada's First Woman Lawyer (1985). Canadian Journal of Women and the Law 1 (1985) 1-41, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2273297

Constance Backhouse (Contact Author)

University of Ottawa - Common Law Section ( email )

57 Louis Pasteur Street
Ottawa, K1N 6N5
Canada

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