Louise McKinney (; 22 September 186810 July 1931) was a Canadian politician, temperance advocate, and women's rights activist. She was the first woman elected into the Legislative Assembly of Alberta and the first woman to serve in a legislature in the British Empire. She served in the Alberta legislature from 1917 to 1921 as a member of the Non-Partisan League. Later, she was one of the Famous Five who successfully campaigned for the right of Canadian women to be appointed to the Senate. A former schoolteacher and temperance organizer, she came to Alberta in 1903 as a homesteader.
McKinney was heavily involved in the Methodist Church and the Woman's Christian Temperance Union (Dominion WCTU). She served as president of the Alberta branch for 22 years, from 1908 to 1930. In 1930, she was elected president of the Dominion WCTU and organized the 1931 World Convention in Toronto. McKinney supported stricter immigration laws and the creation of institutions for "feeble-minded" people. In 2009, the Senate of Canada voted to make McKinney and other members of the Famous Five Canada's first honorary Senators.
Early life
McKinney was born Louise Crummy on 22 September 1868 in Frankville, Ontario, the sixth of ten children of Richard Crummy and Esther Empey. Her father had emigrated from Ireland to settle in Upper Canada in 1842, later bringing his wife in 1857. McKinney graduated from Athens High School intending to become a physician but faced difficulty entering medical school due to her gender. Instead, she attended Ottawa Normal School to become a teacher. She taught for four years in Ontario before moving to North Dakota, where she taught for three more years.
Involvement in the Woman's Christian Temperance Union
While teaching in North Dakota, McKinney became interested in the Woman's Christian Temperance Union. In 1894 she became one of the union's local organizers, travelling around the state to preach about the dangers of alcohol. They had one son, Williard, named after Frances Williard, the founder of the WCTU. She was elected as the North Dakota WCTU's District President in 1898 and represented her area at the National Convention the following year. McKinney served as president of the Alberta WCTU for 22 years, from 1908 to 1930. For the same period, she served as vice-president of the Dominion WCTU. In 1930, she was voted president of the Dominion WCTU and organized the 1931 World Convention in Toronto, where she was elected vice-president of the World WCTU. In winning the election, she became the first woman elected to a legislature in the British Empire.