It seems fitting to talk about this interesting Albert County MLA and Premier of the Province from 1897 to 1900 on the day 91 years ago that Women were declared persons! On October 18, 1929, the British Privy Council ruled that the word “persons” in the Canadian Constitution referred to both men and women.
Henry Emmerson was first elected MLA for Albert in 1889. In 1891 he was appointed to the Legislative Council of the province and oversaw its abolition. He re-entered the House of Assembly and in October 1892 was appointed to the Executive Council, serving as Chief Commissioner of Public Works in the Liberal government of Premier Andrew George Blair.
As commissioner, Emmerson stopped the practice of building bridges out of wood and opted for more permanent, and more expensive, materials thus driving up the province's public debt. He also supported women's suffrage.
Emmerson became Premier in 1897. During his tenure, he briefly held the position of Attorney-General. His government tried to promote tourism and wheat farming and the development of natural gas and petroleum in the province. In 1899, he introduced legislation to grant women the right to vote but in a free vote, the bill was defeated.
Emmerson left provincial politics in 1900 to become a Liberal MP in the House of Commons of Canada. From 1904 to 1907 he was Minister of Railways and Canals in the federal cabinet of Sir Wilfrid Laurier.
If Emmerson had been successful in his attempt to give women the vote, New Brunswick would have been the first province in Canada to do so, The women of New Brunswick would have to wait another 20 years before gaining this right. On April 17, 1919 women gained the right to vote in New Brunswick.