Skip to main content

Distributed for University of British Columbia Press

A Liberal-Labour Lady

The Times and Life of Mary Ellen Spear Smith

A biography of Mary Ellen Spear Smith, the British Empire’s first female cabinet member.
 
Mary Ellen Spear Smith (1863–1933), the first female cabinet minister in the British Empire, left a significant and complex legacy. A miner’s daughter, Smith pioneered the women’s suffrage movement in Canada and campaigned on behalf of a nascent labor movement in parliament, even as she embraced the white supremacy and bourgeois ideals of the Empire. Through the story of this intrepid politician, A Liberal-Labour Lady captures the uneven struggle for justice in turn-of-the-century Canada.

264 pages | 25 line drawings | 6 x 9 | © 2021

Biography and Letters

Women's Studies


Be the first to know

Get the latest updates on new releases, special offers, and media highlights when you subscribe to our email lists!

Sign up here for updates about the Press