Barbara Hanley

Who was Barbara Hanley?

Barbara McCallum Hanley, née Smith was the first woman to be elected a mayor in Canada.

Born in Magnetawan, Ontario, she moved to Webbwood, west of Sudbury, in 1909 to work as a schoolteacher. She married Joseph Hanley, a Canadian Pacific Railway foreman, in 1913. She subsequently served on the public school board from 1923 to 1935, and then served one year on the town council.

On January 6, 1936, Hanley made history when she defeated Robert Streich by 13 votes in the town's election. She served as mayor of Webbwood for eight years, and championed the establishment of a home for the aged in the Sudbury District. She stepped down as mayor in 1944, and served for four more years as the town clerk and treasurer before retiring.

Hanley died on January 26, 1959 in Sudbury. She was buried in Burk's Falls.