Constance Hamilton

Constance E. Hamilton
Toronto City Councillor for Ward 3
In office
1920–1922
Personal details
Born1862
Yorkshire, England
Died (aged 82)
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
NationalityBritish-Canadian
SpouseLauchlan A. Hamilton
Residence(s)30 St. Joseph Street, Toronto, Ontario
Alma materConservatory of Music (Leipzig, Germany)
OccupationPolitician, philanthropist, activist, patron
Known forFirst female councilperson in Ontario
WebsiteConstance Hamilton Award

Constance Eaton Hamilton (1862 June 27, 1945) was a British-Canadian government official and activist. After activism supporting refugees and women in Winnipeg, she moved to Toronto and continued to support causes such as women's suffrage, becoming president of the Equal Franchise League of Toronto. She was elected for a one-year term on the Toronto City Council in the 1920 elections, becoming the first female member of Toronto City Council and the first woman in Ontario to hold elected office at either the federal, provincial, or municipal level. After two terms she resigned to continue her work campaigning for immigrant settlement and refugee issues, and for equal rights. In 1979, the Toronto city council established the Constance E. Hamilton Award on the Status of Women.