Gertrude Jean Gordon (March 6, 1918 – September 5, 2008) was a Canadian politician. She was the first woman ever elected to the

Yukon Territorial Council The Yukon Territorial Council was a political body in the Canadian territory of Yukon, prior to the creation of the Yukon Legislative Assembly. Although not a full legislature, the council acted as an advisory body to the Commissioner of Yukon, an ...

, serving from 1967 to 1970.

Biography

Gordon was born in 1918 in

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

and grew up in the B.C. towns of

Alice Arm Alice Arm is the east arm of Observatory Inlet, which itself is an arm of Portland Inlet, on the North Coast of British Columbia, Canada, near the border with the American state of Alaska. The abandoned settlement and steamer landing of Alice Ar ...

and Stewart. She met Wilfred Gordon in Stewart and married him in 1937 when she was 19 years old; a year later they moved to

Dawson City Dawson City, officially the City of Dawson, is a town in the Canadian territory of Yukon. It is inseparably linked to the Klondike Gold Rush (1896–99). Its population was 1,577 as of the 2021 census, making it the second-largest town in Yuko ...

Yukon Yukon (; ; formerly called Yukon Territory and also referred to as the Yukon) is the smallest and westernmost of Canada's three territories. It also is the second-least populated province or territory in Canada, with a population of 43,964 as ...

. In Dawson City, the Gordons took up

animal trapping Animal trapping, or simply trapping or gin, is the use of a device to remotely catch an animal. Animals may be trapped for a variety of purposes, including food, the fur trade, hunting, pest control, and wildlife management. History Neolithi ...

and raised three bear cubs. They lived there until 1945, when they moved to

Mayo, Yukon Mayo is a village in Yukon, Canada, along the Silver Trail and the Stewart River. It had a population of 200 in 2016. The Yukon Bureau of Statistics estimated a population of 496 in 2019. It is also the home of the First Nation of Na-Cho Nyäk Du ...

so that their young daughter could attend school and socialise with other children. In Mayo, Gordon started volunteering: she was a secretary and treasurer for the Mayo Community Club, an accountant for the Mayo Community Theatre, and a columnist for the local newspaper, the ''

Whitehorse Star The ''Whitehorse Star'' is one of two newspapers in Whitehorse, Yukon Yukon (; ; formerly called Yukon Territory and also referred to as the Yukon) is the smallest and westernmost of Canada's three territories. It also is the second-least p ...

''. In 1967 she decided to run for election to the

because of her concern for water and sewer systems in the local area. She was later quoted as saying that the main reason for her running was because "I couldn't keep my mouth shut". Her election campaign was successful, and she became the first woman ever elected to the council in its 59-year history. She sat on the council for three years, during which time she requested that the other (male) members call her Charlie to make it clear that "she expected no special treatment as a woman". Gordon was not re-elected to the Yukon Territorial Council in 1970, so instead she completed a certificate in bookkeeping and took jobs with Canada Manpower, the Mayo post office, and established the Mayo Outreach Office. She also spent 20 years working for the Yukon Water Board and helped to coordinate the

International Year of Older Persons In its Proclamation on Aging, the United Nations General Assembly decided to declare 1999 as the International Year of Older Persons (IYOP). The proclamation was launched on 1 October 1998, the International Day of Older Persons, by United Nation ...

in Yukon in 1999, which involved planting a

birch tree A birch is a thin-leaved deciduous hardwood tree of the genus ''Betula'' (), in the family Betulaceae, which also includes alders, hazels, and hornbeams. It is closely related to the beech-oak family Fagaceae. The genus ''Betula'' contains 30 ...

for every senior citizen in Mayo. She died in 2008 in Mayo after a prolonged illness.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gordon, Jean 1918 births 2008 deaths Members of the Yukon Territorial Council Politicians from Vancouver Women MLAs in Yukon People from Dawson City 20th-century Canadian women politicians