Irene Parlby's public life may be said to have begun in
1913 when she was chosen as secretary of the Alix Country
Women's Club. Her public role greatly expanded when she was
elected President of the United Farmers of Alberta's (UFA)
Women's Auxiliary, and reached its greatest point when she
was made Minister without Portfolio when the UFA formed the
government of Alberta in 1921, a position she held for 14
years.
When Miss Jean Reed made her appearance in Alix as the
housekeeper at Haunted Lakes—the Marryat household—she
caused quite a stir. A Scot who had been educated in
England, Reed had picked up some radical ideas, which she
was more than happy to share with her new associates. As a
personal friend of suffragette Emmeline Pankhurst and her
daughters, Reed had taken part in the activities of the
militant suffragettes in London. When a friend of hers, Mrs.
Elizabeth Mitchell of London, stopped to visit her while
touring Canada to study women's organizations, she suggested
a meeting of Alix-area farmwomen be called to see if a
women's club could be established. Subsequently, the Alix
Country Women's Club was born with Leona Barritt as
President, and Irene Parlby as Secretary.
One of Parlby's first achievements as Secretary was the
establishment of a library. An avid reader, Parlby had
noticed that books were scarce in the district. She placed
an advertisement in the London Spectator telling of the
community's book-shortage, and asking readers to send any
books they could spare. Generous readers sent in two large
mail sacks filled with books, getting the library off to a
good start.
As Parlby was ill with the flu at the time of the UFA's
1915 convention, Mrs. Barrett and Miss Reed attended as
representatives of the Alix Country Women's Club. During the
convention, the provincial Women's Auxiliary to the UFA was
formed with Jean Reed as President, and Leona Barritt as
Secretary. The following year, Parlby was elected as
President of the UFA's Women's Auxiliary.
Although she is best-known for her involvement with the
UFWA, and her position of Minister without Portfolio in the
UFA government, Parlby had a number of other public
involvements.
During the 1920s and 1930s, in addition to her political
career, she became an increasingly popular speaker. She
received many invitations from Canadian Clubs, Local Council
of Women meetings, and church groups, and travelled to be
before her audiences.
Radio also claimed her time, as her ability to express
herself clearly and concisely was well-adapted to this new
medium of communication. When her sister Sheila moved to
Edmonton and became involved in the University radio station
CKUA, Parlby was often invited to talk about a variety of
topics, including current events, and her beloved gardening.
In 1925, as a delegate from the Canadian National Council
of Women, Parlby attended the convention of the
International Council in Washington D.C.
Three years later, the family planned a trip to England,
and the UFA government proposed that she tie in a business
trip to Sweden and Denmark to study their cooperative
initiatives, and their educational systems—particularly the
Danish Folk Schools. The UFA hoped to find an educational
model to follow that would educate rural children without
motivating them to abandon the farm. Parlby did happen
across some schools that effectively combined more
traditional courses with courses in tilling and crop growth,
and she left Europe impressed with their progressive views
on cooperation and education.
At the end of the hard-fought 1930 election, Parlby
looked forward to a little relaxation with her family and
her garden, but Prime Minister R. B. Bennett appointed her
as one of three Canadian delegates to the Assembly of the
League of Nations in Geneval.
Recognizing the great honour—as well as the opportunity
to view a cooperative organization at work on an
international level, Parlby threw herself into researching
the League, so that she would be well informed on its
workings. Her appointment also resulted in many speaking
invitations, which added to her preparatory work.
In one of her speeches, she spoke on Canadian identity,
and the need to integrate immigrants into the larger
society. One idea that she raised was a special ceremony
conferring citizenship. Her suggestions formed the basis of
present day citizenship ceremonies. She was also a proponent
of a rich multicultural national life—one that benefited
from the various traditions and cultures of the assortment
of people who settled the land.
Although it was a great honor to visit Geneva, it was the
first time she had gone abroad without a family member to
accompany her, and she felt quite lonely. She was not alone
long however, as she was appointed to the fifth committee
dealing with Social Question, which she enjoyed and felt to
be productive. Nonetheless, the heavy social demands took
their toll, and on the return voyage she had a physical
breakdown. As a result, her doctor Sir Herbert Gray advised
her to give up all her public responsibilities immediately.
Her illness ended her speaking engagements, prevented her
from attending the 1931 session in the Alberta Legislature,
and sadly, she was unable to attend her son Humphrey's
wedding.
This was a critical time in her career, and she may well
have chosen to retire due to ill health, but floods of
letters encouraged her not to leave politics—reminding her
of work still to be done, and that losing her voice in
government would be a blow to women. Nellie McClung, Emily
Murphy, and Henry Wise Wood were among those who encouraged
her to stay on. At the urging of the Lacombe Constituency
Association, she did.
Following the Geneva Convention, Parlby turned her
attention to international relations and collective
security. She also took an interest in the arrival of her
grandchildren, and devoted much time to the local UFA and
UFWA.
In 1935, the University of Alberta conferred upon her the
degree of Honorary Doctor of Laws, making her the first
woman the University chose to honor in this way. Although
she felt deeply honored by the degree, she did not think she
had earned it, and was reluctant to be referred to as Dr.
Parlby.
Deciding to retire from politics, Parlby did not run for
election in 1935. She did however campaign on behalf of her
successor, but made few speeches, thus completing her
political career.
Heritage Trail: A Woman of the
West—Part 4 |
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Irene Parlby discusses what
motivated her and her neighbours to start a Country
Women's Club and a local library in the Alix
district. Listen Now |
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