Alberta Women's Institute

Alberta Women's Institute

The Alberta Women's Institute was organized in 1909 by private citizens. It was organized provincially in 1915, and and was established in 1916 as a body within the Department of Agriculture under the Women's Institute Act of 1916 (Statutes of Alberta Chapter 21, 1916). The Alberta Women's Institutes became independent of the government again in 1929. The first Women's Institute in Alberta was established in Lea Park in 1909 by private citizens. It was this group that urged the government to officially establish Women's Institutes in the province. In1912, Roberta MacAdams, a home economist from Ontario, was asked by Alberta's Department of Agriculture to survey the needs of women in the province. Her report led to the development of Women's Institutes as a government- sponsored program. The functions of the institutes were to improve social conditions in rural and other communities by means of studying home economics and child welfare. The institutes functioned to encourage agriculture and improve agricultural conditions. The institutes also held, established and maintained demonstrations, lectures, short course schools, traveling and other libraries, exhibitions, competitions, meetings, conventions and attractions. The Alberta Women's Institutes were composed of local branches from communities throughout Alberta and had as its aim the betterment of life for both home and country;Branches of the Women's Institutes were provincially organized in 1915, and officially incorporated under the Alberta Women's Institutes Act of 1916. The Alberta government believed that by improving the domestic lives of settlers, their comfort, health and efficiency further settlement would follow. The Institutes operated under the auspices of the Department of Agriculture until 1929. On July 1st, 1928 the Women's Home Bureau Act came into effect, declaring that the Alberta Women's Institute should become self-supporting which it did following a 5 year restructuring period. An executive committee was formed and a new constitution was formed and by-laws drawn up in accordance with the Women's Home Bureau Act. Responsibility for the Alberta Women's Institute Act has transferred between departments but as of October of 1996 it has rested with Alberta Agriculture, Food and Rural Development. The Alberta Women's Institute continues to receive an annual government grant from the province of Alberta.