First woman appointed to the federal Cabinet

On June 21, 1957, following the Progressive Conservative election victory led by John Diefenbaker, Ellen Fairclough was sworn in as Secretary of State of Canada, making history as the first woman ever appointed to the federal Cabinet in Canadian history.

This appointment came ninety years after Confederation and nearly three decades after the famous 1929 "Persons Case" had confirmed that women were legally "persons" eligible for appointment to public office such as the Senate. Despite that legal victory, no woman had yet been entrusted with a Cabinet portfolio at the federal level — an omission Fairclough's appointment finally corrected.

As Secretary of State, and later as Minister of Citizenship and Immigration (a portfolio she would assume in 1958), Fairclough demonstrated that women could hold, and excel in, the highest positions of executive government responsibility. Her appointment was widely covered in the press as a landmark moment, and it opened the door — however slowly — for the generations of women Cabinet ministers who would follow her, including Judy LaMarsh and later prime ministers such as Kim Campbell.

Diefenbaker's decision to appoint Fairclough reflected both her demonstrated competence over seven years in Parliament and a growing, if still limited, political recognition that women's exclusion from executive government could not continue indefinitely. Her tenure in Cabinet, spanning multiple portfolios until 1963, cemented her reputation as a serious, capable administrator and paved the way for meaningful immigration reform.