From Stadacona to the REM · Drawing 20 of 36
The right to vote
1940
In 1940, a law gives women the vote in Québec provincial elections. Indigenous women living on reserves remain excluded until 1969.
Look together
Where is the woman putting her ballot?
An idea to try
Choose a light topic together, such as the next book to read. Each person shares a choice and a reason. Explain that this family discussion introduces listening, without reproducing all the rules of an election.
For the adult reading along
A little more to discover
Some women who owned property voted in Lower Canada after 1791, before a formal ban in 1849. Rules also differed by type of election. After years of campaigning, including by Idola Saint-Jean and Thérèse Casgrain, the law of April 25, 1940 allowed women to vote and stand in Québec provincial elections. They exercised this right in the 1944 general election. This advance did not end every exclusion: Indigenous women living on reserves had to wait until 1969.
With a young child, talk about being able to make your voice heard and take part in a shared choice. The woman drawn is imaginary; she stands for voting after the law, without showing an election held that day.
Sources and context (2)
These links lead to other websites. Explore them with an adult. Source titles appear in their original language; some linked pages are in French.
- Élections Québec - Histoire du droit de vote et d’éligibilité des femmes au Québec
- Bibliothèque de l’Assemblée nationale — 1940 à aujourd’hui: les femmes au parlement
Source review: 2026-09-19. Illustrations simplify places and scenes; they are not historical documents.