Memorable Manitobans: Winona Grace Woodsworth MacInnis (1905-1991)

Politician.

Born at Winnipeg on 25 July 1905, daughter of James Shaver Woodsworth and Lucy Lillian Staples (1874-1976), she was educated at Gibson’s Landing, British Columbia, University of British Columbia, University of Manitoba, Ottawa Normal School, and the Sorbonne. She was a charter member of the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation and New Democratic Party. She served as MLA for Vancouver-Burrard (1941-1945), distinguishing herself in her campaign on behalf of Canadians of Japanese origin. She was later MP for Vancouver East (1965-1972).

MacInnis received the Order of Canada (1974) and was granted a Governor General’s Persons Award (1979) for her work in aiding the status of women. She also won a 1982 Outstanding Service to Humanity Award from the Canadian Labor Congress, and was the only Canadian listed among the 50 most important women in the world by the French magazine Marie Claire. She won the medal for popular biography for her study of her father J. S. Woodsworth—A Man.

On 23 January 1932, she married Angus MacInnis (?-?) at Winnipeg.

Her articles for the Manitoba Historical Society:

J. S. Woodworth - Personal Recollections
MHS Transactions, Series 3, Number 24, 1967-1968 Season

See also:

An Interview with Grace MacInnis by Allen Mills
Manitoba History, Number 7, Spring 1984

Sources:

Birth and marriage registrations, Manitoba Vital Statistics.

Dictionary of Manitoba Biography by John M. “Jack” Bumsted, Winnipeg: University of Manitoba Press, 1999.

This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.

Page revised: 5 October 2023

Memorable Manitobans

Memorable Manitobans

This is a collection of noteworthy Manitobans from the past, compiled by the Manitoba Historical Society. We acknowledge that the collection contains both reputable and disreputable people. All are worth remembering as a lesson to future generations.

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