Margaret Aitken (July 3, 1908 – November 19, 1980) was a Canadian author, columnist, journalist, and politician.

Background

Aitken was born in Newcastle, New Brunswick. She attended Branksome Hall in Toronto. She was the daughter of J. Mauns Aitken and her uncle was Max Aitken, 1st Baron Beaverbrook. Her brother, William Aitken and his son

Jonathan Aitken Jonathan William Patrick Aitken (born 30 August 1942) is a British author, Church of England priest, former prisoner and former Conservative Party politician. Beginning his career in journalism, he was elected to Parliament in 1974 (serving un ...

(her nephew) were members of the British House of Commons. She started with the ''

Toronto Telegram ''The Toronto Evening Telegram'' was a conservative, broadsheet afternoon newspaper published in Toronto from 1876 to 1971. It had a reputation for supporting the Conservative Party at the federal and the provincial levels. The paper competed w ...

'' in 1938 and was a foreign correspondent. She was noted for covering the birth of

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

as a nation and she became a strong supporter of the Jewish state. In 1953, she wrote a book ''Hey Ma! I Did It'' (Toronto: Clarke, Irwin & Company) about her political campaign in the same year.

Politics

In the 1953 federal election, she was elected to the House of Commons of Canada in the riding of

York—Humber York—Humber was a federal electoral district represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1953 to 1968. It was located in the province of Ontario. This riding was created in 1952 from parts of York South riding. York—Humber consisted ...

as the Progressive Conservative candidate, winning by 67 votes. Along with Sybil Bennett,

Ellen Fairclough Ellen Louks Fairclough (née Cook; January 28, 1905 – November 13, 2004) was a Canadian politician. A member of the House of Commons of Canada from 1950 to 1963, she was the first woman ever to serve in the Canadian Cabinet. Early life and c ...

and

Ann Shipley Marie Ann Shipley (April 8, 1899 – March 22, 1981) was a Canadian politician. Born in Lawrence Station in Southwold, Ontario, she moved to Ottawa when she was 12, attended country school, Osgood Public School. She was then educated at Otta ...

, she was one of four women elected to the House of Commons that year, only the second election in Canadian history in which more than one woman was elected to Parliament. In 1957 she became the first woman to be appointed chair of a parliamentary committee, the ''Standing Committee on Standing Orders''. The committee discusses rules of the House. She was re-elected in

1957 1957 ( MCMLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1957th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 957th year of the 2nd millennium, the 57th year of the 20th century, and the 8th year ...

and

1958 Events January * January 1 – The European Economic Community (EEC) comes into being. * January 3 – The West Indies Federation is formed. * January 4 ** Edmund Hillary's Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition completes the third ...

. She was defeated in

1962 Events January * January 1 – Western Samoa becomes independent from New Zealand. * January 3 – Pope John XXIII excommunicates Fidel Castro for preaching communism. * January 8 – Harmelen train disaster: 93 die in the wor ...

by 662 votes.

Later life

In 1962, Aitken was appointed as Canada's representative to the UN's Commission on Human Rights. She died at age 72 after a long illness.

Electoral record

, - , Progressive Conservative , Margaret Aitken , align="right", 11,157 ,

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

, Kenneth L. Thompson , align="right", 11,090 , Co-operative Commonwealth , Jennie B. Prosser , align="right", 4,924 , - , Progressive Conservative , Margaret Aitken , align="right", 18,449 ,

, Kenneth L. Thompson , align="right", 10,851 , Co-operative Commonwealth , Margaret Thetford , align="right", 4,872 , - , Progressive Conservative , Margaret Aitken , align="right", 23,723 ,

, Elena Murdock Dacosta , align="right", 9,557 , Co-operative Commonwealth , Leonard Collins , align="right", 6,257 , - ,

, Ralph Cowan , align="right", 15,526 , Progressive Conservative , Margaret Aitken , align="right", 14,864 , New Democratic Party , Charles Millard , align="right", 11,622

Publications

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Aitken, Margaret 1908 births 1980 deaths Canadian newspaper journalists Canadian women journalists Women members of the House of Commons of Canada Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Ontario Progressive Conservative Party of Canada MPs Women in Ontario politics 20th-century Canadian women writers 20th-century Canadian non-fiction writers 20th-century Canadian women politicians Canadian women non-fiction writers