Canada celebrates National Physicians Day on May 1st. The Canadian Medical Association chose to celebrate this day annually in recognition of the work of physicians and physicians-in-training across Canada. The Canadian Medical Association chose May 1st to pay tribute to “one of the most influential individuals in Canadian medical history”, Dr. Emily Stowe, her birthdate being May 1st. (1831- 1903)
What I find interesting in much of the published material is that there is a glaring omission to the fact that Emily Stowe was a Homeopath. I have to point that out right away because it’s, well, glaringly missing.
Emily Stowe was a Homeopath, a teacher, school principal, and a suffragist. She was the first female principal of a public school in Ontario. She was a founder of the Canadian Women’s Suffrage Association. She was a founder of Woman’s Medical College, which later became Women’s College Hospital in Toronto. She was the first female medical practitioner in Canada and the second female doctor in Canada. Remarkable achievements for a woman at a time where they were not allowed into medical schools in Canada and were not allowed to vote, etc.,etc.
Emily Stowe’s mother taught her herbal healing. Family friend, Dr. Joseph J. Lancaster was a homeopath and Stowe apprenticed with him during her teens and young adulthood. She studied at the New York Medical College for Women which taught homeopathy. After graduating in New York Stowe came back to Ontario. She was the first female physician in Canada because she did not have a licence to practice medicine so she practiced homeopathy. Stowe was forced to get further training as a foreign doctor and attended the Toronto School of Medicine in order to get her Canadian licence to practice medicine. She did not get a licence to practice because of the harassment from faculty and students that her, together with her only other female fellow student, Jenny Kidd Trout, experienced in the Toronto School of Medicine and Stowe refused to write the exams. She practiced homeopathic medicine for over a decade without a medical licence. Eventually Stowe was awarded the licence to practice. That is how Emily Stowe became the second female doctor in Canada.
Dr. Emily Stowe was inspirational in her fortitude, her accomplishments against all odds, and her championship of just causes. And she was a HOMEOPATH.
Canadian Medical Association, May 1: https://www.cma.ca/recognizing-work-medical-profession-cma-celebrate-national-physicians-day-may-1
The Canadian Encyclopedia, Emily Stowe. Article by Katrine Raymond, April 1, 2008: https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/emily-stowe
Canadian Medical Hall of Fame, Inductees, Emily Stowe, MD: https://www.cdnmedhall.org/inductees/emilystowe
Schulich Medicine and Dentistry, Honoured Physician, Dr. Emily Stowe: https://www.schulich.uwo.ca/meds66/sculpture/honoured_physicians/Dr.%20Emily%20Stowe.html
Womens College Hospital, WCH founder, Dr. Emily Stowe, inducted in The Canadian Medical Hall of Fame. Atifa Hamir April 30, 2018: https://www.womenscollegehospital.ca/news-and-publications/Connect-2018/wch-founder-dr.-emily-stowe-inducted-into-canadian-medical-hall-of-fame
Marilyn Freedman, Toronto Homeopath, Library https://torontohomeopath.ca/library