Sarah Katherine Ramsland, née McEwen (July 19, 1882 – April 4, 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 ...

politician, the first woman ever elected to the

Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan The Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan is the legislative chamber of the Saskatchewan Legislature in the province of Saskatchewan, Canada. Bills passed by the assembly are given royal assent by the Lieutenant Governor of Saskatchewan, in the na ...

. She was born in Boon Lake, Minnesota, the daughter of local politician Bowman C. McEwen and the granddaughter of Minnesota Representative

Charles D. McEwen Charles Dwight McEwen (June 20, 1822 – July 26, 1901) was an American politician who served in the Minnesota House of Representatives from 1893 to 1895.Franklyn Curtiss-Wedge, ''History of Renville County Minnesota, Vol. 1''. H. C. Cooper Jr, & ...

.Franklyn Curtiss-Wedge, ''History of Renville County Minnesota, Vol. 1''. H. C. Cooper Jr, & Co., Chicago (1916). Trained as a schoolteacher, she married

Max Ramsland Magnus (Max) Ramsland (January 30, 1882 – November 17, 1918) was a Canadian politician. He was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan in the 1917 provincial election as the Liberal MLA for Pelly, but died of the Spanish flu ...

, the son of Minnesota politician

Ole Ramsland Ole T. Ramsland (1854–1930) was an American politician, who served in the Minnesota House of Representatives from 1905 to 1907.Franklyn Curtiss-Wedge, ''History of Renville County Minnesota, Vol. 1''. H. C. Cooper Jr, & Co., Chicago (1916). A D ...

, in Buffalo Lake, Minnesota in 1906 and moved to Saskatchewan, settling first in Canora and later in Buchanan and

Kamsack Kamsack, Saskatchewan, Canada is a town in the Assiniboine River Valley, where the Whitesand River joins the Assiniboine River. It is northeast of Yorkton. Highway 8 and Highway 5 intersect in the town. Coté First Nation is located north an ...

. Max Ramsland was elected to the Legislative Assembly in the 1917 provincial election as the

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 ...

MLA for Pelly, but died in 1918 in the

Spanish flu The 1918–1920 influenza pandemic, commonly known by the misnomer Spanish flu or as the Great Influenza epidemic, was an exceptionally deadly global influenza pandemic caused by the H1N1 influenza A virus. The earliest documented case was ...

epidemic, and Sarah Ramsland was elected to succeed him in the resulting byelection. Early in her term she was invited by Premier

William Melville Martin William Melville Martin (August 23, 1876 – June 22, 1970) served as the second premier of Saskatchewan from 1916 to 1922. In 1916, although not a member of the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan, Martin was elected leader of the Saskatch ...

to second the formal motion to accept a

Speech from the Throne A speech from the throne, or throne speech, is an event in certain monarchies in which the reigning sovereign, or a representative thereof, reads a prepared speech to members of the nation's legislature when a session is opened, outlining th ...

, but declined the honour.''Saskatchewan Politicians: Lives Past and Present''

University of Regina Press The University of Regina Press is a university press associated with the University of Regina, located in Regina, Saskatchewan. The press was founded in 2013 and publishes books on a variety of topics, including indigenous cultures, Canadian hist ...

, 2004. . Ramsland was reelected in the 1921 election, and served until 1925. A backbench MLA, she rarely spoke in the legislature and was not prominent in the government until her final day in the legislature, when she introduced a resolution calling for an amendment to federal

divorce Divorce (also known as dissolution of marriage) is the process of terminating a marriage or marital union. Divorce usually entails the canceling or reorganizing of the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage, thus dissolving the ...

laws that would permit women to apply for divorce on the grounds of a spouse's

adultery Adultery (from Latin ''adulterium'') is extramarital sex that is considered objectionable on social, religious, moral, or legal grounds. Although the sexual activities that constitute adultery vary, as well as the social, religious, and legal ...

, a privilege which was then only available to men. She was defeated in the 1925 provincial election by Progressive candidate

Charles Tran Charles Ernest Tran (January 29, 1878 – March 24, 1934) was a Canadian physician and politician in the province of Saskatchewan. He represented Pelly from 1925 to 1929 in the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan as a Progressive Party mem ...

. She subsequently worked for the provincial library and for a number of women's organizations. In 1942, she re-married, to Regina businessman William George Franklin Scythes. She died in Prince Albert in 1964, at the age of 81.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ramsland, Sarah 1882 births 1964 deaths Saskatchewan Liberal Party MLAs Women MLAs in Saskatchewan People from Renville County, Minnesota People from Buchanan, Saskatchewan People from Kamsack, Saskatchewan American emigrants to Canada American people of Norwegian descent Canadian people of Norwegian descent 20th-century Canadian women politicians