Canadian Clubs are unique. The Honourable Vincent Massey described them as forming, "... the only organization in Canada which exists for the primary purpose of promoting a faith in our country and a love for it." It is hard to imagine the need for a "French Club" in France, or an "Chinese Club" in China. Yet, back in the 1890s, the "Canadian identity" we take for granted did not exist. Our country was new, vast, and sparcely populated, and we saw ourselves mainly as "English," "French," "Latvian," "Chinese" ... not "Canadian."
Not, that is, until one crisp autumn day in 1892, when Henry Carpenter, W. Sanford Evans, George Fearman, James Ferres, and Charles McCullough went for a hike on Hamilton mountain. There, they conceived a network of clubs spanning the Dominion, where people would discuss Canadian issues and evolve a truly Canadian outlook. Speakers of all political, ethnic, religious, and social backgrounds would be invited to provide a broad spectrum of viewpoints to members. This new idea proved compelling and, by 1893, the Canadian Club movement was born.
Canadian Clubs formed quickly in major cities and towns across Canada (a national organization was created in 1909 and incorporated into a national "Association of Canadian Clubs" by an Act of Parliament in 1939). In the beginning, some Clubs were mixed, while others were for men or women only. Perhaps because the founding "men's" Club welcomed women as guests (it was unique in this), it was almost twenty years before the women of Hamilton emulated the ten "women's" Clubs already formed in other cities and provinces.
On 3 May 1912, the first public meeting of the Women's Canadian Club of Hamilton was held in the Board of Trade Rooms. It was attended by forty-three ladies, who elected a seven-member Executive and six Councillors under the Honorary Presidency of Lady Gibson. Mrs. John Crerar, Mrs. John S. Hendrie, Mrs. Charles McCullough, and Mrs. Sidney Dunn served as President and first, second, and third Vice-President, respectively.
Their first project, a recital at the Hamilton Conservatory to benefit Titanic victims, raised the substantial sum of $54! A second project saw a bronze plaque mounted on Hamilton's Pigott Building, honouring the location where the first Canadian Club was organized.
Also in their first year, the Club purchased a fine leather-bound book, into which each speaker was invited to enter their name and comments - and what a treasured collection it is! In it are signatures and quips from hundreds of our nation's most creative, amusing, provocative, learned, controversial, outstanding, and revered citizens. "The Speaker Book" is available for view and we invite you to return often to enjoy its many surprises!
The Book was present at every meeting until early 2005, when concern arose over its preservation. At that time, a conservator was contracted to make an electronic archival copy, as well as a new, more resilient "clone" for members and visitors to enjoy. The original book is now preserved in the archives of the Hamilton Public Library and speakers sign pages that will be added to it over time.
Among the very first speakers to address the Women's Canadian Club of Hamilton was Mrs. J. Leathes of Toronto. In her topic, "Some Aspects of the Women's Movement", she expressed concern for the fact that Canadian women were not "persons" under the law and did not enjoy, among other privileges, the right to vote. She argued that, "In countries where men only have the vote, questions affecting property receive first consideration, while in countries where women vote, questions of life come first."
True to the Canadian Club mandate, the ladies of Hamilton soon invited a speaker to represent an opposing view. In "Why Women Should Not Receive the Franchise," Mrs. Clementina Fessenden, the originator of Empire Day, stated that "the vote is not nor ever was a "right," that it is a capacity, given on proved public grounds to such sections of citizens as in the opinion of the whole state are likely to exercise that quality with benefit to the community taken as a whole. Taking the ground that woman's nature unfits her for direct competition with man or for a full share in political work, her duty lies in the sacred fulfillment of her destiny as the mother of man and the keeper of his home. As mothers, they exercise an influence that men can never attain. No vote can every give them a position so impregnable. It is not a question of superiority of man, but of fitness, for women to vote." One can only imagine the response these meetings would receive in Canada today. Yet, after almost one hundred years, there are still places in which similar discussions are taking, or have yet to take place.
In addition to informing members on the issues of the day and providing them with a balanced view, the Women's Canadian Club of Hamilton has also undertaken activities to promote a broad, healthy nationalism. Over the years, support has been given to students, new Canadians, artists and authors, events celebrating local, regional, provincial, and national history, and projects that foster and promote pride in Canada and Canadians. In pursuit of our goals, we have participated in many singular events in our country's history, welcoming political leaders, diplomats, artists, champions, scholars, adventurers. In 1967, Canada's Centennial Year, we helped welcome our Prime Minister, former Hamiltonian Lester B. Pearson, who attended the 75th Anniversary Celebration of the Canadian Club of Hamilton.
More recently, the WCCH has taken on a special cause in support of Canadian youth. Each year, we sponsor students from Hamilton and area to the Encounters with Canada program in Ottawa. Under this program, exceptional students from across the country are given the opportunity to travel to the Terry Fox Canadian Youth Centre in Ottawa to meet fellow Canadian students, visit Parliament and meet the Speaker, and visit high level facilities in their field of interest. For example, students interested in science might spend time at the National Research Council, while budding historians might explore the National Archives.
As well, WCCH members have long participated in swearing-in ceremonies for new Canadians. This particular activity is dear to the hearts of our members, as each ceremony reaffirms the privileges we enjoy and the responsibilities we share as Canadians.
Throughout the years, the Women's Canadian Club of Hamilton has continued to embrace the speaker forum as a means of informing members on the events of the day and providing them with a balanced view of issues affecting the country. Through the post-war years, particular attention was paid to speakers on international affairs, as Canada's role in the world increased. Today, a variety of subjects are covered and in some years, particular themes are addressed. For 2005-2006, the Club joined with the City to "Celebrate Hamilton" and each of our speakers was a local expert on some aspect of our community.
2005 was also a singular year for the image of the WCCH. Recognizing the many technological changes our society has experienced over the past twenty years, we have moved our revered logo into semi-retirement and embraced the new logo you now see on each page of this site - a more "web friendly" image for a new century. This is just one in a long line of changes the women of the Canadian Club have undertaken over the years to keep the Club current and relevant to the citizens of Hamilton, and it will doubtless not be the last.
Throughout the years, and despite the changes the passage of time has necessitated, the goal of the Women's Canadian Club of Hamilton remains the same - to foster and preserve our Canadian identity and the promote faith in, and love for, our wonderful country of Canada. We invite you to join us.