Helena Squires

Helena Emeline Squires (née Strong; October 29, 1878 – March 21, 1959) was a Newfoundland teacher and politician. She was the wife of Prime Minister Sir Richard Squires. In 1930, she was elected as the member of the Newfoundland House of Assembly for Lewisporte, making her the first woman to ever stand for and win a seat in the House of Assembly.

Lady Helena E. Squires (née Strong) was born in Little Bay Islands, Newfoundland, in 1879. She attended The St. John's Methodist College and Mount Allison University, where she was trained to be a teacher. She was also a social activist who worked to found a teachers school and a maternity hospital. She was elected in 1930 in a by-election and lost her seat in 1932.^[1]

One of her sons, named after her husband, Richard Anderson Squires, served with Lord Strathcona's Horse regiment in the Canadian army during the Second World War. He was killed on June 17, 1942, at Headley Downs, England. The 31-year-old Lieutenant had been riding on the outside of his tank during manoeuvres in order to direct his driver when the tank lurched, throwing him forward and under the track of the moving tank.^[2]

When Newfoundland joined Confederation in 1949, Lady Squires was elected the first president of the provincial Liberal Association a position she held until 1958. She died in 1959 at her retirement home in Toronto.

• Women's Suffrage in Newfoundland