The former women's editor of a Victoria newspaper - The Daily Times - for 26 years, the Honourable Nancy Hodges was a strong advocate for women's rights. She was elected to the Legislative Assembly in 1941 and held her seat until 1953. During her tenure, Nancy Hodges became the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly on February 14, 1950, the first woman in the Commonwealth to hold this position.
Following her defeat in the 1953 provincial election, Ms. Hodges made history once again; in November of 1953, she was the first woman from British Columbia to be appointed to the Senate of Canada, where she served until 1965.
Although Ms. Hodges was the first woman to be Speaker in the Commonwealth, it was Mary Ellen Smith who had first been offered the position of Speaker in 1920. Renowned for her strong sense of dignity and resolution in a male-dominated Legislative Assembly, Mary Ellen Smith was the first woman to be elected as an MLA in B.C. and was offered the role of Speaker by Premier John Oliver. She declined, instead choosing to focus her energy as an MLA on participating in Assembly debates as opposed to moderating them.
