Cora Taylor Casselman (October 18, 1888 – September 6, 1964) was a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

federal politician. She was elected to represent the electoral district of

Edmonton East Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city anchor ...

in the

House of Commons of Canada The House of Commons of Canada (french: Chambre des communes du Canada) is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the bicameral legislature of Canada. The House of Common ...

from 1941 to 1945. A member of the

Liberal Party of Canada The Liberal Party of Canada (french: Parti libéral du Canada, region=CA) is a federal political party in Canada. The party espouses the principles of liberalism,McCall, Christina; Stephen Clarkson"Liberal Party". ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'' ...

, she was the fourth woman ever elected to the House of Commons and the first from the province of

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

. Casselman was elected to the House in a byelection on June 2, 1941, succeeding her late husband Frederick Casselman. She served until 1945, when she was defeated in the 1945 federal election by

Social Credit Social credit is a distributive philosophy of political economy developed by C. H. Douglas. Douglas attributed economic downturns to discrepancies between the cost of goods and the compensation of the workers who made them. To combat what he ...

candidate Patrick Harvey Ashby. On March 13, 1944, she became the first woman to be speaker in the House of Commons, albeit temporarily. She was part of the Canadian delegation at the founding of the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

. She later stood as an

Alberta Liberal Party The Alberta Liberal Party (french: Parti libéral de l'Alberta) is a provincial political party in Alberta, Canada. Founded in 1905, it is the oldest active political party in Alberta and was the dominant political party until the 1921 election ...

candidate in

Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...

in the 1955 provincial election in Alberta, but was not elected.

References

External links

* 1888 births 1964 deaths Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Alberta Liberal Party of Canada MPs People from Bruce County Canadian military personnel of World War I Women members of the House of Commons of Canada Women in Alberta politics Canadian female military personnel 20th-century Canadian women politicians {{Alberta-politician-stub