Peace & War

The Congress of Canadian Women began in the 1950s. As an organization, it was primarily concerned with peace issues, children's rights, poverty and discrimination.

This section contains material on feminist anti-war activism at a local and global scale, including anti-nuclear efforts, solidarity with anti-colonial and anti-imperial struggles, and organizing around the specific impacts of war and weapons on women and children.

More about Peace & War

Key themes include:

  • Militarism as an expression of male dominance
  • Nuclear threats and disarmament
  • Solidarity with anti-colonial struggles and independence movements within Canada and globally
  • Impact of war and weapons on women and children, including sexual violence, poverty, dislocation, and access to resources

Archival Materials

Buttons

This declaration of solidarity to end the Israeli occupation of Palestinian land was created by Women Against the Occupation in Ottawa, and shows a woman symbol and fist superimposed on the Palestinian flag.
End the Occupation Now! WAO

  • Year created:

    --

  • Region:

    Ontario

  • Language:

    English
The Congress of Canadian Women began in the 1950s. As an organization, it was primarily concerned with peace issues, children's rights, poverty and discrimination.
I am a Woman for Peace – Congress of Canadian Women

  • Year created:

    --

  • Region:

    National (all of Canada)

  • Language:

    English
"Oka to the Gulf. Make the links" is the theme of this button for the 1991 International Women's Day March and Rally in Toronto. It refers to the Gulf War of 1990-91 and to the struggle for Indigenous rights in Oka, Quebec in 1990. It highlights the role of the military and connects militarism, colonialism and imperialism here at home and internationally.
International Women’s Day 1991 (Toronto) – From Oka to the Gulf!

  • Year created:

    1991

  • Region:

    Ontario

  • Language:

    English
Created by the Jewish Women's Committee to End the Occupation in Toronto, these buttons in both English and Hebrew represented a hand saying stop, we are against the occupation of Palestinian land. These buttons were worn prominently at the weekly vigils at the Israeli Consulate and were the subject of an attempted boycott of the Toronto Women's Bookstore, that sold them.
Jewish Women against the Occupation

  • Year created:

    --

  • Region:

    Ontario

  • Language:

    English
WAR Is Menstruation Envy

  • Year created:

    --

  • Region:

    National (all of Canada)

  • Language:

    English
This button features intertwined symbols for Woman and Peace.
Women / Peace

  • Year created:

    --

  • Region:

    National (all of Canada)

  • Language:

    English
Many feminists were active around a wide range of concerns, including peace and the environment. This undated button expresses women's solidarity for the campaign to stop the proliferation of nuclear weapons and testing.
Women Against Nukes

  • Year created:

    --

  • Region:

    National (all of Canada)

  • Language:

    English
In July 1983, the Canadian government announced the guidance system for the U.S. cruise missile would be tested in Northern Alberta. The announcement was followed by widespread opposition across the country. Many feminists were part of organizing and supporting protest actions.
Women Gathering to Stop the Cruise

  • Year created:

    1983

  • Region:

    National (all of Canada)

  • Language:

    English
Women in Black is a women's anti-war movement with an estimated 10,000 activists around the world. The first group was formed by Israeli women in Jerusalem in 1988, following the outbreak of the First Intifada. It began as a vigil held every Friday in central Jerusalem, where women would wear black in mourning for all victims of the conflict and hold signs protesting the occupation of Palestinian land.The initiative soon spread to various other locations in Israel, with women standing weekly in main squares of cities. The movement soon spread to many European and North American cities.
Women in Black – End the Occupation

  • Year created:

    --

  • Language:

    English

Documents
Agenda: Conference on Women & Education for Peace and Non-Violence

  • Year created:

    1984

  • Region:

    Ontario

  • Language:

    English
Angela Davis: International Women’s Day 1985

  • Year created:

    1985

  • Region:

    Ontario

  • Language:

    English
Anti-War Demonstration

  • Year created:

    1973

  • Region:

    Ontario

  • Language:

    English
Committee for Racial Equality – International Women’s Day Pamphlet (1986)

  • Year created:

    1986

  • Region:

    Ontario

  • Language:

    English
For Every Woman Raped in Every War

  • Year created:

    1979

  • Region:

    Ontario

  • Language:

    English
International Women’s Day Toronto (1984) – Pamphlet

  • Year created:

    1984

  • Region:

    Ontario

  • Language:

    English
Issues & Campaigns (1987): Women Peace Politics

  • Year created:

    1987

  • Region:

    National (all of Canada)

  • Language:

    English
Issues & Campaigns (1988): Women Vote! Vote No to the Free Trade Deal

  • Year created:

    1988

  • Author(s):

  • Region:

    National (all of Canada)

  • Language:

    English
Jewish Women’s Call for Peace: Days of Awe – 5750

  • Year created:

    1989

  • Region:

    Ontario

  • Language:

    English
The Schvester: International Women’s Day (1989)

  • Year created:

    1989

  • Region:

    Ontario

  • Language:

    English
Voice of Women – History Overview – 1976 and Update

  • Year created:

    1976

  • Author(s):

    Kay Macpherson

  • Region:

    Ontario

  • Language:

    English
Voice of Women – Proposal and History – February 1983

  • Year created:

    1983

  • Author(s):

    Kay Macpherson

  • Region:

    Ontario

  • Language:

    English
Women’s Action for Peace (1982)

  • Year created:

    1982

  • Region:

    Ontario

  • Language:

    English

Ephemera

The banner For Every Woman Raped in Every War was produced by the Feminist Action Collective and used in an action with the poem of the same name on November 11, 1979, at the War Memorial on Wellington street, Ottawa. The banner was sewn at the Ottawa Women's Centre by a number of women who dropped in and picked up a threaded needle. - Wendy McPeake fonds 10-032, Canadian Women’s Archives, University of Ottawa Archives and Special Collections
For Every Woman Raped in Every War: Banner

  • Year created:

    1979

  • Region:

    Ontario
National Action Committee on the Status of Women: Bookmark 

  • Year created:

    1997

  • Region:

    National (all of Canada)
PEACE – SISTERHOOD : Greeting Card

  • Year created:

    1971

  • Region:

    Ontario
PEACE – SISTERHOOD: Greeting Card

  • Year created:

    1971

  • Region:

    Ontario

Films

Still from the film "A Writer in the Nuclear Age" featuring Margaret Laurence, an older white woman with short brown hair and glasses, speaking to the camera.
A Writer in the Nuclear Age: A Conversation with Margaret Laurence

  • Year created:

    1985

  • Filmmaker(s):

    Terre Nash

  • Language:

    English

  • Region:

    National (all of Canada)
Film still from "If You Love This Planet" of Dr. Helen Caldicott speaking into a microphone on a stage.
If You Love This Planet

  • Year created:

    1982

  • Filmmaker(s):

    Terre Nash

  • Language:

    English

  • Region:

    National (all of Canada)

Periodicals

Matriart

Matriart – Vol. 4, No. 2 – 1994

  • Year created:

    1994

  • Publisher:

    Women's Art Resource Centre

  • Author(s):

    Fay Cromwell-Tollenaar, Esther Lee Deitch, Janice Andreae, Gloria Zenar, Yvonne Singer, Penelope Glasser, Jamelie Hassan

  • Region:

    National (all of Canada)

  • Language:

    English

Newfoundland Status of Women Newsletter/St. John's Status of Women Council Newsletter

St. John’s Status of Women Council Newsletter – June 1985

  • Year created:

    1985

  • Publisher:

    St. John's Status of Women Council

  • Author(s):

    Roberta Buchanan, Pat Balsom, Sandy Stavlo, Sheila Moore, Martha Muzychka

  • Language:

    English

Tapestry

Tapestry – Okanagan and Shuswap Women’s Quarterly – Winter 1987

  • Year created:

    1987

  • Publisher:

    Okanagan Women's Coalition

  • Language:

    English

Photos

The banner of the Congress of Canadian Women calls for Peace not War at the1983 International Women's Day March in Toronto.
International Women’s Day 1983 (Toronto) – Peace Not War

  • Year created:

    1983

  • Photographer:

    Judy Blankenship

  • Region:

    Ontario
The Congress of Canadian Women at the 1983 International Women's Day March in Toronto call for A Nuclear Weapon-Free Zone and an End to the Arms Race.
International Women’s Day 1983 (Toronto)- Congress of Canadian Women

  • Year created:

    1983

  • Photographer:

    Judy Blankenship

  • Region:

    Ontario
Jewish Women to End the Occupation of the West Bank and Gaza join the 1990 International Women's Day March in Toronto.
International Women’s Day 1990 (Toronto) – Jewish Women Against the Occupation

  • Year created:

    1990

  • Photographer:

    Amy Gottlieb

  • Region:

    Ontario
Marchers at the 1990 International Women's Day March in Toronto carry signs outside Queen's Park calling for settlement of Native Land claims and an end to the Gulf War.
International Women’s Day 1990 (Toronto)- Settle Native Land Claims/Stop Racist War

  • Year created:

    1990

  • Photographer:

    Diana Meredith

  • Region:

    Ontario
A member of the Jewish Women’s Committee to End the Occupation of the West Bank and Gaza (JWCEO) at 1990 protest against the War in the Gulf.
Jewish Women Vs. the War

  • Year created:

    1990

  • Photographer:

    Amy Gottlieb

  • Region:

    Ontario
Kari Delhi (l) and Liv Mjelde (r) are seen at the October 22 “Refuse the Cruise” protest in Toronto. The march was organized by the Toronto Disarmament Network (TDN) and the Against Cruise Testing Coalition (ACT). The International Women’s Day Committee also supported the action.
Refuse the Cruise March (Toronto) – October 1983

  • Year created:

    1983

  • Photographer:

    Judy Blankenship

  • Region:

    Ontario
The October 22 “Refuse the Cruise” protest in Toronto was co-sponsored by the Toronto Disarmament Network (TDN) and the Against Cruise Testing Coalition (ACT). The International Women’s Day Committee was one of the many groups supporting the march.
Refuse the Cruise March (Toronto) – October 1983

  • Year created:

    1983

  • Photographer:

    Judy Blankenship

  • Region:

    Ontario
The October 22, 1983 “Refuse the Cruise” protest in Toronto was co-sponsored by the Toronto Disarmament Network (TDN) and the Against Cruise Testing Coalition (ACT). The International Women’s Day Committee was one of many groups to support the march. Sheryl Pollock, a member of IWDC, can be seen to the left and behind “Reagan”.
Refuse the Cruise March (Toronto) – October 1983

  • Year created:

    1983

  • Photographer:

    Judy Blankenship

  • Region:

    Ontario
The International Women’s Day Committee was one of many groups to support the October 22, 1983 “Refuse the Cruise” protest in Toronto. The march was co-sponsored by the Toronto Disarmament Network (TDN) and the Against Cruise Testing Coalition (ACT).
Refuse the Cruise March (Toronto) – October 1983

  • Year created:

    1983

  • Photographer:

    Judy Blankenship

  • Region:

    Ontario
Members of The Women's Press join the "Refuse the Cruise" demonstration in Toronto in October 1983. The photo shows Lois Pike in the foreground; Margie Wolfe behind her; Daphne Read carrying banner and Carolyn Wood beside her.
Refuse the Cruise March (Toronto) – October 1983: The Women’s Press

  • Year created:

    1983

  • Photographer:

    Judy Blankenship

  • Region:

    Ontario
Members of The Women's Press carry a banner at the October 22, 1983 “Refuse the Cruise” protest organized by the Toronto Disarmament Network (TDN) and the Against Cruise Testing Coalition (ACT). The International Women’s Day Committee was one of many groups to support the march.
Refuse the Cruise March (Toronto) – October 1983: The Women’s Press

  • Year created:

    1983

  • Photographer:

    Judy Blankenship

  • Region:

    Ontario
The Red Berets playing outside the US consulate in Toronto at the Against Cruise Testing (ACT) Demo on April 23, 1983.
The Red Berets – Against Cruise Testing (ACT) Demonstration (Toronto)

  • Year created:

    1983

  • Photographer:

    Helena Wehrstein

  • Region:

    Ontario
Members of The Red Berets at the Against the Cruise Missile Testing (ACT) Demonstration outside Old City Hall, Toronto, April 23, 1983.
The Red Berets – Against the Cruise (ACT) Demo (Toronto)

  • Year created:

    1983

  • Photographer:

    Wally Seccombe

  • Region:

    Ontario

Posters
A Vision in the Darkness

  • Year created:

    1991

  • Region:

    Ontario, Quebec

  • Language:

    English and French
This poster for "Sizzle City: women's nuclear reactions" advertises a feminist anti-nuclear guerrilla theatre performance for International Women's Day Celebrations in Toronto. The performance includes four sketches satirizing the government's lack of concern for the dangers of nuclear technology.
Sizzle City: anti-nuclear guerrilla theatre by feminists (Toronto IWD)

  • Year created:

    --

  • Region:

    Ontario

  • Language:

    English