Edith Florence Rogers ( McTavish; April 26, 1876 — April 19, 1947) was a Métis politician in Manitoba, Canada. She served in the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba from 1920 to 1932, as a member of the Manitoba Liberal Party. She was the first woman ever elected to the legislature.
Early life and family
Edith Florence McTavish was born at Norway House, Manitoba on April 26, 1876, the daughter of Métis parents Lydia Catherine Christie and Donald C. McTavish, Chief Factor of the Hudson's Bay Company. Edith's mother Lydia was the daughter of William Christie (HBC chief factor at Edmonton) and Mary Sinclair. Rogers had strong family connections to Manitoba's past. Her maternal great-grandfather, Alexander Christie, served as Governor of Assiniboia the daughter of Donald MacTavish, At age two, she moved with her family to Rupert House, on the shore of James Bay.
Marriage, philanthropy, charitable work
She was educated in Montreal. After graduation, she moved to Winnipeg She became prominent as a philanthropist in the 1910s, and particularly after the outbreak of World War I in 1914. In 1920, Rogers was asked to become a "star candidate" for the Liberal Party in the Winnipeg constituency, which elected ten members by a single transferable ballot. She accepted, contested the 1920 provincial election,
For the next two years, Rogers served as a backbench supporter of Norris's administration. Because of her work with Winnipeg's returned soldiers and unemployed men, she was more sympathetic to labour issues than were most others in the Liberal caucus. She played a significant role in steering Manitoba's Child Welfare Act through committee and into law. She also supported the prohibition of alcohol.
However her election did not signal renewed political power for Manitoba's Metis or for women.
The Liberals were defeated by the United Farmers of Manitoba in the 1922 provincial election. Rogers, who was re-elected in Winnipeg,
Margaret Konantz
Rogers's daughter, Margaret Konantz, served as a Liberal member of the House of Commons of Canada from 1963 to 1965, and was the first woman ever elected as a federal MP from Manitoba.
Publications
Gail Konantz wrote a biography of Rogers in 1981.