Agnes Campbell Macphail (March 24, 1890 – February 13, 1954)[1] was a Canadian politician and the first woman elected to Canada's House of Commons.

Agnes Macphail was born to Dougald McPhail and Henrietta Campbell in Proton Township, Grey County, Ontario.

[3] She taught in several rural Ontario schools in such communities as Port Elgin, Honeywood, and Newmarket “Roots and branches of Saugeen”, a local history book, states that Agnes MacPhail was the teacher in the Gowanlock School, and would “hoist herself up to the counter top” in the Burgoyne Store and argue politics with the “boys” for hours.

Macphail objected to the Royal Military College of Canada in 1924 on the grounds that it taught snobbishness and provided a cheap education for the sons of the rich; in 1931 she objected to government support for the college as she opposed it on pacifist grounds.

Macphail was also a strong advocate for penal reform and her efforts contributed to the launch of the investigative Archambault Commission in 1936.

The final report became the basis for reform in Canadian penitentiaries following World War II.

Macphail was also the first Canadian woman delegate to the League of Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, where she worked with the World Disarmament Committee.

Macphail was a frequent contributor to newspapers in Grey County such as the Flesherton Advance and Markdale Standard, often acting as a correspondent or ambassador to the rest of the country.

[11] She wrote dispatches from Parliament about political news of interest to the rural communities back home, and contributed columns when she travelled and spoke to citizens in other regions.

[13] Out of office, she wrote agricultural columns for The Globe and Mail newspaper in Toronto and contributed pieces about politics to the Newmarket Era.

Macphail was responsible for Ontario's first equal-pay legislation, passed in 1951, but was unable to continue her efforts when she was defeated in elections later that year.

At that time, Macphail was barely able to support herself through journalism, public speaking and organizing for the Ontario CCF.