National Council of Women of Canada

This NGO (non-governmental organization) was founded in 1893, incorporated by an Act of Parliament in 1914, and given national historic significance status in the 1990s by the Government of Canada. Since 1893 NCWC has been working to improve the lives of women, children and communities in Canada. The About Us section details our mission statement as well as other relevant information.

If you would like to join an organization for women that continues to make a difference, please contact the Local Council of Women in your area or contact us for more information. Note: As a service to members and members of affiliate organizations who might need health and dental coverage, information on this service is provided here . Re information on individual and student membership in the National Council – the application forms are available to print out and complete!

Our 2010 Annual General Meeting and Conference, was held from May 27 to May 30, 2010, inclusive, and had the theme “Water/Energy Connections and Women’s Health.”

We continually develop new policy on various issues and update old policy . Each year we send our Annual Brief to the Government, meet with MPs and Senators at various times throughout the year, and often appear as Witnesses before Standing Committees.

The following is some of the correspondence sent by the President on behalf of NCWC, based on NCWC policy:

. Recent letters to the Prime Minister include ones on Canada's Farm Prison System, and proposed changes to Canada's Census
. Highlighted the problem of Human Trafficking and the 2010 Olympics
. Urged parliamentarians to vote against Bill C-391, which, if passed, would eliminate long-gun registration and destroy all existing registration records
. Urged parliamentarians to vote in favour of Private Members Motion 363 which would reaffirm support for the original intent of Jordan’s Principle – to see that all government services are provided to First Nations children
. Wrote letter to the Editor, Globe and Mail, protesting a decision by Madam Justice Sunni Stromberg-Stein to set aside the decision of a special prosecutor to go ahead with charges against Winston Blackmore and James Oler (re polygamy at Bountiful, BC)
. Urged government to support fully inclusive changes to the National Anthem
. Urged sustainable and long-term funding of the CBC
Please check Communication and Reports for much more.

In October 2009 we were represented at the International Council of Women triennial assembly in Johannesburg, South Africa. NCWC is a national affiliate member of ICW, which has Consultative Status (Category I) at the United Nations Economic and Social Council. The new ICW President is Cosima Schenk and Past President is Dr. Anamah Tan.

NCWC has Consultative Status (Category II) at the United Nations Economic and Social Council. Each year we send a delegation to the meetings of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women in New York in March. Our 2010 delegation also included students from the Universities of Western Ontario and McGill. The theme of this year’s two-week UNCSW session was "Beijing +15" which looked at how countries are implementing the Beijing Platform for Action to better meet CEDAW obligations 15 years after its inception.

For the past two years, NCWC has been working on a joint project with the National Council of Women of Canada Education Fund called the Water/Energy Connections Project, kindly funded by the Walter & Duncan Gordon Foundation. Much work has been done over the last two years including a survey on water/energy use.There are six NCWC Education Fund newsletters, The Conserver , and the Brief to the House of Commons Standing Committee on the Environment and Sustainable Development re the Oil Sands and Water Resources. was given August 2009.

For more a much more indepth look at NCWC and the impact we have made over the past 117 years, this list below might be of interest.
. Proud Heritage. Rosa Shaw. Ryerson Press (with forward by Governor General, Vincent Massey 1957)
. Splendid Vision - Centennial History of the National Council of Women of Canada. Naomi Griffiths. Carlton Press. 1993.
. A Flame of Compassion - a History of the Provincial Council of Women of Ontario. Vivien R. Kerr (with forward by the Honourable John Robarts, Premier of Ontario). PCWO. W.H. Best Printing. 1967
. Nothing New Under The Sun - a History of the Toronto Local Council of Women. Mrs. Maxwell D. Lugan. Reg Wilson Co. 1978.
. Blue Bows and the Golden Rule - a History of the Provincial Council of Women of British Colombia. Marjorie Long Hastings & Lorraine Ellenswood. D.W. Frisssen & Sons Ltd. 1984.
. A Leaven of Ladies - a History of the Calgary Local Council of Women. Marjorie Norris. Detselig Enterprises. 1995.
. The Magnificent Services of Women, the Halifax Local Council of Women1894-2002. Janet Guilford. 2000.
. Golden Glimpses, The Provincial Council of Women of Manitoba. 1999 (about to be updated to The Diamond Glimpses, April 2010)
. 115 years - Something to Celebrate!. Council of Women of Winnipeg. 2009.

To read our NCWC Newsletters and learn about what Councils across the country are currently doing, please click here.

If you are interested in receiving a notice when new material is added to our website, send an email – with your email address – to ncwc@ncwc.ca