Margaret Crang

Margaret Tryphena Frances Crang (1910 – January 5 or 6, 1992) was a lawyer, teacher, journalist, and political activist. She served two terms on council from 1933 to 1937 under the banner of the Labour Party. During her time in office, Crang advocated for women's rights, labour rights, and against fascism. At the front lines near Madrid, Crang "went up to the sandbag barricade and, borrowing a rifle, fired two shots for the government side" (Edmonton Journal).

As well, her candidacy in a 1936 Edmonton by-election in opposition to an official CCF candidate caused her to be banned from the CCF party and damaged her political fortunes. She was not elected after that.

Personal life

Early life Crang was born in 1910 in Strathcona, Alberta, at the time a separate city from Edmonton.

Political career 1933 municipal campaign Crang said she believed that having a woman on city council would greatly benefit Edmonton. ) Due to two Labour councillors carrying over from the previous election (staggered terms), Labour held a majority of seats on the 11-seat council after the 1933 election.

Margaret Crang is the youngest person ever to be elected to Edmonton's city council. She was the second woman to be elected to Edmonton's city council and was the first person born in Edmonton to be elected to that body. She was also the only woman to serve on a city council anywhere in Canada at the time, being identified simply as "Woman Alderman" as far away as Winnipeg.

Crang's re-election to council in 1935 made her the first woman to be re-elected to the Edmonton City Council.

Edmonton voters turned away from Crang and other Labour candidates due to the city emerging from the Depression. Many of the province's major newspapers were criticizing the Social Credit government. Crang had run as a joint labour-SC candidate in provincial by-elections, and her popularity was hurt by criticism of Aberhart's government.

Provincial by-elections Crang ran as candidate in two provincial by-elections. Each time she was not an official CCF candidate, which opened a split between her and that party.

She ran in a June 22, 1936 by-election to fill the seat left empty by the resignation of William R. Howson. But she met with defeat. Crang asked the 1938 hospital board to "approve of the principle of admission to the Nurses Training School of girls irrespective of race and color, providing they meet the cultural, educational, and physical requirements". The hospital board rejected the motion, and disallowed Utendale to study at the Royal Alexandra Hospital.

Health issues Sometime in the 1930s, Crang was diagnosed with Cushing's disease. Due to a medical error, her working adrenal gland was removed, not her faulty one. This would have caused her death if not for hormone treatment. Crang was one of the first people to be cured of Cushing's disease through the use of cortisone.

Death The exact date of Crang's death is unknown. She died alone in her Vancouver apartment at the age of 82 on January 5 or 6th in 1992.

Legacy There is no memorial dedicated to the legacy of Margaret Crang in Edmonton. In 2013, there was an approval to name a road and a proposal to name a park in the Edmonton neighborhood of Cavanagh.