Encyclopedia of the Great Plains

David J. Wishart, Editor


UNITED FARM WOMEN OF ALBERTA

UFWA meeting group, Heart Lake, Alberta, 1921

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The United Farm Women of Alberta (UFWA) was the first provincial organization of farm women in Alberta. First established in 1915 as an auxiliary to the United Farmers of Alberta (UFA), the women at the 1916 convention voted to make the ufwa a separate organization with its own constitution and direction.

By 1915 many local women's groups were already in place, with distinct names, purposes, and procedures of their own. The UFWA drew from women's experiences in these local groups and from the procedures already developed for the UFA to create a highly centralized organization; most local initiatives were funneled through and directed by the central office and the provincial executive. A yearly program, outlining the content and structure of monthly meetings, was developed at the provincial level and followed faithfully by locals. An information bulletin on each monthly topic was added in 1920. Three provincial committees were formed in 1916 and provincial conveners named to manage them. They focused on health, education, and young people's work, reflecting the organization's focus on "social welfare" and "betterment of rural life." More committees were added over the years as the group broadened its focus to include the legal status of women and children, cooperative marketing, farm safety, and environmental concerns. Issues such as property rights for farm women, reproductive rights, farm economics and marketing, stress in farm families, child care in rural areas, access to affordable medical care, rural depopulation, and loss of schools and services kept the organization lobbying and in advocacy activities for decades, and maintained its reputation as a respected voice for rural communities.

The United Farm Women of Alberta was responsible for innovations such as a Junior Branch for Young People, Farm Young People's Week at the University of Alberta, the first Egg and Poultry Pool established in Canada (1925), Farm Women's Week at Olds Agricultural College, and the first rural chautauqua held in Alberta (1937). The organization was a major contributor to the election campaigns that resulted in UFA governments in Alberta from 1921 to 1935. The organization's first president, Irene Parlby, was appointed as the first female cabinet minister in Canada after winning a seat in the 1921 election.

In 1949 the ufwa became the Farm Women's Union of Alberta (FWUA). Significant achievements of the FWUA include the launching of a magazine for farmers (1949) and building a leadership and citizenship camp for young people in the foothills of the Rockies. In 1970, due to another organizational amalgamation, this time with the Alberta Federation of Agriculture, Unifarm was created, and the women's organization chose the name "Women of Unifarm." Significant achievements of this period include the Matrimonial Property Act (1979), giving women equality in division of marital property; the publication of the eighth edition of their renowned cookbook, which brought the total number of cookbooks sold to more than 100,000 copies; and the introduction of Farm Safety Week and the Farm Safety Hike, which garnered international recognition for the organization.

Nanci Langford Athabasca University

Carter, Eva. Thirty Years of Progress. Calgary: United Farm Women of Alberta, 1944.

Cormack, Barbara Villy. Perennials and Politics: The Life Story of Hon. Irene Parlby, LL.D. Sherwood Park, Alberta: n.p., 1969.

Langford, Nanci L. Politics, Pitchforks, and Pickle Jars: 75 Years of Organized Farm Women in Alberta. Calgary: Detselig Enterprises, 1997.

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