Outside the historic Opera House of Manitou stands the bust of Nellie McClung commemorating her legacy and contribution to women’s rights in Canada and specifically in Manitoba, which was the first province in Canada to grant its women the right to vote.
Nellie McClung (1873-1951) was a women’s rights activist, author, legislator, and social reformer. She is well known as one of the women from the group of the famous five who submitted the petition in the person case to allow women to run for the Senate in Canada. But before McClung fought for women’s voting rights at the national level, she did so at the local level, and it started in Manitou.
McClung arrived in Manitou in 1892 to work as a teacher at the Manitou school. She lived with the family of a Methodist minister. The minister’s wife, Annie E. McClung, was a women’s suffrage supporter and the provincial president of the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union, who inspired and influenced McClung to become an active member of the organization. Nellie developed a romantic relationship with the family’s second son, Wesley, and the couple married in 1896. After the wedding, she stopped working but stayed active in the WTCU and other organizations.
In 1908, McClung published her first novel, Sowing Seeds in Danny, which became a best-seller. Over the years, she published 16 more books and articles. McClung left Manitou in 1911. She continued advocating for women’s suffrage, co-founded several organizations, gave lectures, and even served at the Alberta Legislative Assembly for five years. Once the person case had won and women could run for Senate, McClung focused on her writing and staying active in local organizations. She passed away at the age of 78.
The Manitou Culture and Tourism Committee, under the leadership of the historian, Bette Mueller, decided to commemorate McClung with a statue.
They placed it outside the historic Opera House due to its central location and historical significance to McClung. The current venue was built in 1930, replacing the first building that burned down. McClung’s husband promoted and built the first Opera House when he was mayor.
Several other monuments commemorate McClung in Canada. Three depicts her with the Famous Five in Winnipeg, Calgary, and Ottawa.
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