A timely and relevant collection of stories about groundbreaking Canadian women, present and past. Canadian women have long been trailblazers, often battling incredible odds and discrimination in the process. Here are biographies of more than one hundred of these remarkable women, from the famous to the lesser known. There are activists and architects, engineers and explorers, poets and politicians and so many more. Each category pairs a historical groundbreaker with a present-day woman making her mark in that same field. Together, these women tell the story of Canada. And together, they offer a vision of what’s possible. A unique look at Canadian history sure to inspire all children to blaze trails of their own.

The Great Canadian Woman is all of us. She is the single mother who provides for her children come hell or high water. She is the woman who has a dream, and musters up enough courage to go after it. She is the woman who has quarreled in the depths of pain and grief and finds her way back home to herself. She is the woman who says "no" to what does not serve her. She is the woman who says "enough is enough", and commits to a new way of living. She is the woman who finds the strength to leave toxic relationships. She is the woman who knows unconditional love. She is the woman who takes the lead and lights the torch. She is the woman who refuses to accept the limits that someone else placed before her. She is the woman who knocks down doors, and shatters glass ceilings. She is the woman who finds a way out of no way then turns around, extends her hand, and brings as many people as she can along with her. The following women all co-authored this book: Sarah Swain Margot Gaudet Jessica De Castro Megan Harmony Olivia Shwetz Falon Malec Rose Finlay Sarah Swain Barbara McBryer Patricia Coulter Brenda Wiese Shannon Miller Susan Ruhe Koa Hughes Stephanie Goudreault The women who have shared their sacred stories in this book are warriors of light. They are some of the most resilient women we have ever encountered and we are humbled by their courageous journeys. They exemplify what it means to be The Great Canadian Woman, Strong and Free. Their voices give hope to other women, that they too can change the trajectory of their lives, if the course they are travelling doesn't serve them. Their expertise and insight inspire women to make better choices for themselves and take empowered action towards their lives with intention. Their stories grant us all the permission to live fully, love deeply and to fight like hell in the name of happiness. We are so proud of each and every one of them.

100 Canadian Heroines profiles some remarkable women from the adventurous Gudridur the Viking to murdered Mi'kmaq activist Anna Mae Aquash. You'll meet heroines in science, sport, preaching and teaching, politics, war and peace, arts and entertainment, etc. The book is full of amazing facts and fascinating trivia about intriguing figures like mountaineer Phyllis Munday, activist Hide Shimizu, Arctic guide Tookoolito, unionist Léa Roback, sexy movie mogul Mary Pickford and singer Portia White. Great quotes and photos are featured in this inspiring collection. As we celebrate the 75th Anniversary of the Persons Case on October 18, 2004, discover some of the many heroines Canada can be proud of. Find out how we're remembering them. Or not!

Following the bestselling 100 Canadian Heroines, Merna Forster presents 100 more stories of amazing women who changed our country. In this second installment of the bestselling Canadian Heroines series, author Merna Forster brings together 100 more incredible stories of great characters and wonderful images. Meet famous and forgotten women in fields such as science, sport, politics, war and peace, and arts and entertainment, including the original Degrassi kids, Captain Kool, hockey star Hilda Ranscombe, and the woman dubbed "the atomic mosquito." This book is full of amazing facts and trivia about extraordinary women. You’ll learn about Second World War heroine Joan Fletcher Bamford, who rescued 2,000 Dutch captives from a prison camp in a Sumatran jungle while commanding 70 Japanese soldiers. Hilwie Hamdon was the woman behind the building of Canada’s first mosque, and Frances Gertrude McGill was the crime fighter named the "Sherlock Holmes of Saskatchewan." Read on and discover 100 more Canadian heroines and how they’ve changed our country.

French-Canadian explorers, traders, and soldiers feature prominently in this country's storytelling, but little has been written about their female counterparts. In Along a River, award-winning historian Jan Noel shines a light on the lives of remarkable French-Canadian women — immigrant brides, nuns, tradeswomen, farmers, governors' wives, and even smugglers — during the period between the settlement of the St. Lawrence Lowlands and the Victorian era. Along a River builds the case that inside the cabins that stretched for miles along the shoreline, most early French-Canadian women retained old fashioned forms of economic production and customary rights over land ownership. Noel demonstrates how this continued even as the world changed around them by comparing their lives to those of their contemporaries in France, England, and New England.Exploring how the daughters and granddaughters of the filles du roi adapted to their terrain, turned their hands to trade, and even acquired surprising influence at the French court, Along a River is an innovative and engagingly written history.

A concise history of the five women who changed the course of history and brought Canadians one step closer to equality. On August 27, 1927, five women gathered at a house on Edmonton’s Southside to sign a letter that would change the course of Canadian history. Those women were Emily Murphy, Nellie McClung, Louise McKinney, Irene Parlby, and Henrietta Muir Edwards, who would become known as the Famous Five. The meeting of the women had been prompted by Emily Murphy, an Alberta magistrate, whose right to render judgements had been challenged by a lawyer who maintained that only men could be appointed as judges because only men were considered “persons” under the British North America Act. The battle for justice that began that Saturday afternoon on took many years and miles, finally making its way to the Privy Council in London. Finally, in 1929, a landmark ruling found that women were indeed “persons” in the eyes of the law. But who were these women and how did they come together at such a pivotal moment in Canadian history? The Famous Five is a comprehensive look at the remarkable lives, prolific careers, sometimes disturbing contradictions, and extraordinary achievements of these five women who fought for equality at a time when women were barely recognized as relevant.