Women in the Park

In 1858, George William Allan gifted five acres from his family’s estate near Carlton Street to the Toronto Horticultural Society. Under the society’s motto of “Beautify Toronto”, the area became known as the Horticultural Gardens and was opened to all Torontonians in 1860. Alongside flower beds and vegetable patches, a pavilion was built on the grounds, which was used for social events, exhibitions, and music concerts.

Over the next few decades, the Gardens expanded, with additional land and public spaces for events. In 1888, the Horticultural Society handed over administration of the Gardens to the City of Toronto, which renamed the space Allan Gardens in 1901 in recognition of George Allan’s original gift of land. Over the years, Allan Gardens has hosted numerous events, including a royal visit from the Prince of Wales (later King Edward VII), a lecture by Oscar Wilde, and a Communist Party rally. In 1963, a City bylaw formally allowed all forms of public speaking in the park, cementing the space’s legacy of advocacy and activism.

On October 27, 1893, approximately 1,500 women gathered in the Horticultural Gardens’ pavilion to advocate for women’s equality in society and discuss the issue of male-dominated politics. The gathering was led by Lady Ishbel Aberdeen, wife of then-Governor General John Hamilton-Gordon, with the support of noted suffragists Dr. Ann Augustua Stowe-Gullen, and Adelaide Hoodless. This first meeting marked the formation of the National Council of Women of Canada (NCWC), an organization that advocated for women’s education, suffrage, and social reform.

Another gathering was held at the pavilion on November 2, 1893. At this event, another woman’s organization was proposed: the Toronto Council of Women (TCW), today known as the Toronto and Area Council of Women (TACW). Its first formal meeting was held on February 19, 1894, with 3,000 attendees. During the meeting, Lady Aberdeen was a featured speaker in the pavilion alongside the TCW’s first president, Sarah Macdonald. Over 40 female delegates participated in the meeting, representing various Toronto philanthropic, literary, religious, and political organizations, including the Toronto Relief Society, the Women’s Christian Temperance Union, and the Women’s Enfranchisement Association.

On February 18, 1896, the pavilion at the Horticultural Gardens was transformed into a stage. Desks were arranged to resemble the inner chamber floor of the Ontario Legislative Assembly. The event was officially billed as a “Mock Parliament and Promenade Concert.” This satirical performance, staged by the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union and supported by the Women’s Enfranchisement Association, imagined an alternative world in which an all-female government debated the merits of whether men should be granted the right to vote.

The acting speaker was played by Annie O. Rutherford, then-president of the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union. Emily Stowe, the first female physician to practise in Canada, took the role of then-Premier and Attorney General of Ontario Oliver Mowat, who had refused to put forward any bills during his career to advance women’s suffrage.

Within the 1896 Mock Parliament script could be found “a measure to provide for the ringing of a curfew bell at ten o’clock each evening of the week, warning all men off the streets unless accompanied by their wives.”

Another motion was “an act to prevent men from wearing long stockings, knickerbockers, and roundabout coats when bicycling.” Bicycles had become a popular mode of transportation in the late nineteenth century. To make riding easier, many female cyclists wore looser clothing than traditional Victorian attire, including bloomers (loose trousers). Such clothing often could invoke accusations of impropriety or scandal. Dr. Ann Augusta Stowe-Gullen was often seen riding down Yonge Street sporting the look.

The final act in the play was a discussion as to whether men should have the right to vote: a satirical echo of the WCTU’s quest for women’s suffrage in Canada. The motion was soundly defeated.

The WCTU’s performance at the Horticultural Gardens in 1896 inspired several other “mock parliaments” throughout Canada to support women’s suffrage. However, it would take over 30 years for women to receive the right to vote in Ontario, one year before women were granted the right to vote in Canadian federal elections in 1918. Even then, most Indigenous women were barred from voting unless they formally gave up their treaty rights and legal status as an Indigenous person. It was not until 1960 that all Indigenous individuals gained the right to vote without legal obligation to forfeit their status.

In Spring 1977, the May 28th Coalition of Abortion Rights organized a rally and march with the slogan “Abortion – a woman’s right to choose” from Allan Gardens to Queen’s Park.

Contraception and abortion had been illegal under Canada’s Criminal Code since 1892. Alongside other offences such as treason and murder, the Code outlawed any form of contraception. At the time, a woman found guilty of intentionally preventing a pregnancy or causing a miscarriage faced up to seven years in prison. Contraception was decriminalized in Canada in 1969; however, access to birth control and abortion procedures remained limited throughout the 1970s.

The May 1977 march urged government bodies to remove limits on the number of abortion procedures performed, to provide coverage of abortion through health insurance, and to provide increased access to contraceptives. The event also led to a wider discussion of reproductive rights and the financial pressures of parenthood in Toronto. The Immigrant Women’s Centre of Toronto issued a statement calling for not only increased access to abortions, but also fully paid maternity leave and funding for 24-hour childcare. The statement was endorsed by several Toronto groups, including the Black Education Project and the Centre for Spanish-Speaking Peoples. In the 1980s, several members of these groups went on to form the Ontario Coalition of Abortion Clinics, which remains active in Toronto on the topic of reproductive rights today.

First held on June 29, 1996, Toronto’s Dyke March has become an annual tradition during Pride Week, drawing upwards of 500,000 attendees. Early routes for the march mirrored routes for the Pride Parade, often beginning and ending along Church Street. In 2012, organizers chose to end the Dyke March at Allan Gardens, followed by an inclusive picnic for all queer women, self-identifying dykes, and allies.

In recognition of Toronto’s role as host city for WorldPride in 2014, Dyke March organizers reversed the parade route, starting the event with a rally at Allan Gardens. The reversal allowed the space for rally speakers and sign-making, as well as the 5,000 attendees at the 2014 event. Since 2014, the Dyke March has continued the tradition of hosting rallies or community fairs at Allan Gardens following the parade, which often include performances by local queer artists, performers, and activists.

As part of the 2022 Dyke March, Torontonians and other allies once again met to march and advocate for a woman’s right to choose in Allan Gardens. On June 25, 2022, the Ontario Coalition for Abortion Clinics walked in the March to protest the June 2022 overturning of the constitutional right to abortion by the U.S. Supreme Court, which had been established by Roe v. Wade in 1973.

Beginning in October 2013, the Native Women’s Resource Centre of Toronto (NWRCT) has held a Sisters in Spirit Vigil at Allan Gardens. Located near the NWRCT’s headquarters on Gerrard Street East, the vigil sought to empower the community: activities have included hand drumming circles, a sweet grass ceremony, and art programs. Teaching sessions focused on eliminating stereotypes and letter-writing campaigns to the government.

Indigenous women are the nurturers of their community. Yet, current and historical colonial policies have significantly increased risks to their health and wellbeing. Through the persistence and resilience of indigenous peoples and their allies, the Canadian government established a National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women in 2016. It investigated rates of abuses and murder to the group caused by right violations. The final report detailed significant findings of injustices committed towards Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQ+ peoples, notably that Indigenous women and girls are 12 times more likely to be murdered or missing than any other women in Canada.

To honour the missing and murdered, fifteen Indigenous Womxn artists collaborated on the Red Embers art installation in Allan Gardens in 2019. Thirteen 20-foot-tall red canvas banners stood over the pathways of the grounds, symbolizing the thirteen Grandmother moons identified according to Indigenous lunar systems. Each banner was held up by charred Eastern Cedar poles and adorned with different materials using animal bones, tin jingles, fabrics, and moose hide. The banners stood for six months and were a reminder to the community of their ongoing support and self-determination.