The first wave of feminism in Canada occurred in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. This early activism was focused on increasing women 's role in public life, with goals including women 's suffrage, increased property rights, increased access to education, and recognition as "persons '' under the law. This early iteration of Canadian feminism was largely based in maternal feminism; the idea that women are natural caregivers and "mothers of the nation '' who should participate in public life because of their perceived propensity for decisions that will result in good care of society. In this view, women were seen to be a civilizing force on society -- which was a significant part of women 's engagement in missionary work and in the Woman 's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU).
when were women's rights established in canada
the late 19th and early 20th centuries