Flora MacDonald
Denison

Image: Museum of Toronto.

Flora MacDonald Denison, president of the Canadian Suffrage Association from 1911 to 1914, was an unwavering advocate for gender equality in Toronto and beyond.

1867 - 1921 | Suffragist and Whitmanite

Flora MacDonald Denison was an influential figure in Toronto’s suffrage movement from 1906 onwards. Her regular column in the Toronto Sunday World from 1909 to 1913 provided a platform for expressing her progressive views on religion, marriage, birth control, and social class. She served as President of the Canadian Suffrage Association from 1911 to 1914, but her support for the militant suffragettes in England led to her resignation. A devoted Whitmanite, Denison established a retreat embodying Whitmanite ideals and started publishing a Whitmanite magazine titled “The Sunset of Bon Echo” in 1916.

Despite her passing eight years before women gained constitutional voting rights, Denison’s unwavering advocacy left an enduring legacy in the pursuit of gender equality in Toronto and beyond.

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