O-6679

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First Day Cover

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Ellen Fairclough

Inscription - reverse

Companion of the Order of Canada

The Right Honourable Ellen Fairclough (1905-2004) served on the City council of her native Hamilton, Ontario and was elected to the House of Commons in 1950 as the Progressive Conservative Member from Hamilton West. Appointed Secretary of State in 1957, and subsequently Minister of Citizenship and Immigration and Postmaster general, Ellen Fairclough was the first woman to serve as a minister in the federal cabinet of Canada.

In recognition of her service, including that as Acting Prime Minister, Queen Elizabeth bestowed the title “Right Honourable” upon Ellen Louks (Cook) Fairclough in 1992. Two years later, Ellen Fairclough was appointed Companion of the Order of Canada.

The Honourable Ellen Louks Fairclough

Ellen Fairclough was born in Hamilton, Ontario, in 1905. An accountant-turned-politician, she ran as a Progressive Conservative candidate and was first elected to the House of Commons in a by election in 1950. In 1957, she became Canada’s first woman federal cabinet minister, serving as Secretary of State in John Diefenbaker’s minority government. When Diefenbaker won a majority in 1958, he appointed Fairclough Minister of Citizenship and Immigration. Fairclough served as Postmaster General following the 1962 general election but was defeated in the next election, held in 1963. She was given the title “Right Honourable” by Queen Elizabeth II in 1992 and made a Companion of the Order of Canada in 1995. She died in Hamilton in 2004.