The bronzed, larger-than-life version of Louise Crummy McKinney has an earnest, grandmotherly sort of expression on her unnervingly still face. Immortalized in statue form with the rest of the Famous Five on the east side of Parliament Hill, McKinney’s thin, round glasses and pearls make her look more matronly than her trail-blazing career would suggest.
Born in 1868, McKinney was a teacher and advocate for the temperance movement in Ontario and North Dakota before moving with her husband to Alberta. She organized chapters of the Women’s Christian Temperance Union throughout the province and spoke out in support of temperance education in Canada. Her work led to prohibition in Alberta in 1916.
McKinney was one of two women elected to Alberta legislature in 1917. She and Roberta MacAdams share the honour of being the first women elected to a legislature in the British Empire.
The statue of McKinney, along with the other Famous Five, was placed Parliament Hill in 2000. The figures were donated by artist Barbara Paterson, along with an identical set at Calgary’s Olympic Square.
With her hands clasped, head cocked and a joyful expression on her face, McKinney doesn’t resemble the other famous ladies at her tea party. The rest are gesturing dynamically, most standing tall and proud.
Compared with the rest of the Five, McKinney looks like your great aunt or an adorable, elderly neighbour. The sweet little bow on her collar certainly doesn’t suggest “formidable political force.” But her unassuming demeanour in statue form doesn’t diminish her impressive contributions to Canadian politics in her lifetime.