Tucked away in the northeast corner of Parliament Hill, a triumphant statue pays homage to one of the defining moments in Canadian women’s history.
The Famous Five statue has stood between Centre Block and East Block since Oct. 18, 2000, when it was donated by the Famous 5 Foundation. Carved by Edmonton artist Barbara Paterson, the statue depicts each of the Famous Five, celebrating the 1929 Persons Case and is designed to allow for the viewer to become a participant in the victory.
An empty chair invites viewers to sit down and imagine themselves as part of the group of five women, while the sheer scale of the sculptures serves to drive home the significance of the moment depicted in the scene.
One of the Famous Five members, Henrietta Muir Edwards, was 80 years old when she got involved in the Persons Case. Living in Southern Alberta, she took the train to Emily Murphy’s house in Edmonton in 1927 and was enamoured by the cause.
Edwards and the other Famous Five women organized their case, which sought to have women recognized as legal ‘persons,’ and presented it to the Supreme Court of Canada. On April 24, 1928, the Supreme Court said that women were not considered persons by law, and so Edwards and the Famous Five took their case even further.
They presented to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in London and on Oct. 18, 1929, the judges ruled that women were legally “persons” under Canadian law. This entitled them to sit in the Senate of Canada.
Edwards lived to see the decision celebrated by women across Canada, but on Nov. 10, 1931, she died at the age of 82.
In October 2009, her victory came full circle when the Senate named Edwards and the Famous Five as Canada’s first honorary senators.