Annie Gale became the first woman in the British Empire (of which Canada was a dominion at the time) elected to a city council. Judith Lishman, who wrote a biography of Annie Gale, described her as one of the greatest citizens Calgary and the British Empire ever had. Learn more about her life on calgarynka.
Moving to Calgary and Early Activism
Annie, whose real name was Hannah, was born on December 29, 1876, to the Rollinson family in Worcestershire, England. Her father was a grocer, and her mother assisted in running the business.
Annie attended a girls’ school and demonstrated exceptional intellect early on, becoming one of the first girls to pass the entrance exam for the prestigious Oxford University. Despite her success, women were not allowed to attend Oxford at the time, so she never enrolled. After her father passed away from pneumonia, Annie took over the family business.
In 1912, Annie moved to Calgary with her husband, William Gale, a civil engineer, and their two sons. William began working in the city’s engineering department as an assistant engineer.
Annie’s activism began when she encountered local injustices. Calgary merchants had exclusive contracts with British Columbia farmers, selling only their produce and refusing to work with Alberta farmers. Despite the poor quality of produce from British Columbia, merchants upheld these contracts.
The Women’s Consumer League was formed to combat these unfair agreements, and Annie immediately joined. The league succeeded in pressuring merchants to source produce from Alberta farmers. Eventually, the league established a kiosk for locally grown goods at the northeast corner of 3rd Street and 4th Avenue.
Rising Public Reputation and Election to Council
In 1914, Annie founded the Vacant Lots Garden Club, headquartered at Calgary City Hall. The club aimed to increase fruit and vegetable production during the war and prove that Alberta could grow crops just as well as British Columbia. Potatoes became their primary crop, with over 6,000 potato lots cultivated by 1917.
The Women’s Consumer League supported the club by hosting a potato luncheon at the Palliser Hotel to showcase Alberta’s agricultural potential. Annie also organized a flower auction, raising $800 for the Patriotic Fund.
In 1916, Annie established Canada’s first Women’s Taxpayers Association. Her growing public reputation set the stage for her entry into public office after Alberta granted women the right to vote and run for office in 1916. In 1917, prominent Calgarians, including Premier Richard Bennett and Anglican Bishop William Cyprian Pinkham, endorsed her candidacy in the civic election.
Annie was supported by the Federated Taxpayers Association. The 1917 election was the first to use proportional representation, a system implemented by city clerk John M. Miller. Annie finished sixth among 12 elected aldermen on December 10, becoming the first woman in the British Empire to hold such a position.
Fighting for Equality
Determined to create change, Annie served three terms on the council. She chaired the Special Committee on the High Cost of Living, the Public Market Advisory Committee, and the Veterans Committee. She advocated for a public market, but her colleagues often disagreed with her progressive ideas. Realizing that a lack of women in government meant business interests would always overshadow public welfare, she became even more resolute in her activism.
Annie also championed equal employment opportunities for women, including manual labor positions in the parks department. Her male colleagues dismissed these proposals with scorn.
She was a member of the Calgary Forum, which opposed child labor and supported equal pay for equal work. Annie’s optimism about achieving equality for women and marginalized groups was ahead of her time, and her efforts to support the ignored often went unappreciated during her lifetime.
A Shift in Focus and a New Role
Remaining committed to her causes, Annie sought to reform conditions in Calgary’s prisons and healthcare system. She believed hospitals should be government-controlled and publicly funded, particularly after learning that livestock on farms received better medical care than pregnant women.
In 1918, Annie successfully led a hospital plebiscite. However, officials ignored her calls for health reform, failing to address systemic issues in healthcare and nutrition standards.
In 1923, Annie became Canada’s first woman elected as acting mayor. However, she resigned from council soon after. Powerful opponents of her initiatives threatened her husband’s career prospects if she ran again. Annie chose not to seek re-election but was nominated by the Labour Party for Calgary’s school board in the 1924 municipal election.
As a school trustee, Annie worked to restore policies for funding children’s eye, nose, and throat surgeries, but her efforts were unsuccessful.
Relocation to Vancouver
In May 1925, Annie moved to Vancouver after her husband fell ill, believing the coastal climate would aid his recovery. What began as a three-month leave turned into a permanent relocation. Her departure created a political and social void in Calgary.
Annie Gale passed away in 1970 at the age of 93. By then, many of the reforms she had fought for were finally implemented. During her 12 years in Calgary, she accomplished more than many male politicians of her time. Annie was far ahead of her era, but her contributions were fully recognized only posthumously. In 1983, Annie Gale Junior High School was opened in Calgary’s northeast Whitehorn district to honor her legacy.
