Women have long driven scientific discoveries in Canada, yet their contributions often remain unrecognized and overlooked. Spotlighting the work of these innovators is crucial, as it ensures they are remembered without misattribution. The Tribune has compiled a list of women whose groundbreaking achievements continue to inspire future generations.
Elizabeth Elsie MacGill
Elizabeth Elsie MacGill was the first woman to earn a Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering in Canada, and later, in 1929, became the world’s first woman to earn a Master’s degree in Aeronautical Engineering. She led the Canadian production of Hawker Hurricane fighter planes during World War II, earning her the nickname “Queen of Hurricanes” in a male-dominated field. MacGill also served as the national president of the Canadian Federation of Business and Professional Women’s Clubs from 1962 to 1964, and then as a member of the Royal Commission on the Status of Women in Canada from 1967 to 1970.
Anne Innis Dagg
In 1956, at the age of 23, Anne Innis Dagg became the first Canadian biologist and Western researcher to study giraffes in their natural habitat. Despite publishing 20 research papers, universities continually sidelined her: The University of Guelph denied her tenure, and the University of Waterloo rejected her application because she was married. However, in 2010, giraffologists rediscovered Dagg’s contributions to the field, and filmmaker Alison Reid highlighted her journey in an award-winning documentary based on Dagg’s memoir. In 2019, she was named an honorary member of the Canadian Society of Zoologists and a Member of the Order of Canada.
Annette Herscovics
In 1969, Annette Herscovics shaped the future of medicine when she discovered that thyroglobulin—a key precursor to thyroid hormone–goes through carbohydrate modifications. This was one of the earliest discoveries in glycoproteins, and it took place here, at McGill. A few years later, in 1974, she found the universal process by which carbohydrates attach to proteins in nucleated cells while researching at Harvard.
Nadine Caron
Nadine Caron, a member of the Sagamok Anishnawbek First Nation, was the first Indigenous woman to graduate from the University of British Columbia’s medical school and became the first female Indigenous general surgeon in Canada in 2005. Her expertise is broad, and she leads projects on cancer as well as healthcare services in rural and remote settings. In 2025, Caron joined six other individuals as inductees into the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame.
Roberta Bondar
Roberta Bondar, neurologist, medical researcher, and educator, contributed tremendously to the field of space science and medicine. In 1992, she became the first Canadian woman astronaut to go to space, breaking gender barriers in both medicine and aerospace. She also led NASA’s head of space medicine for over a decade. Bondard holds the NASA Space Medal, has been named Officer of the Order of Canada and is an appointee to The Order of Ontario. She was also inducted into the International Women’s Forum Hall of Fame, the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame, and has received 24 honorary doctorates.
Donna Strickland
Donna Strickland, a professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Waterloo, pioneered the development of chirped pulse amplification, enabling the creation of the highest-intensity lasers possible. In 2018, she became the third woman to ever win the Nobel Prize in Physics. Her work has large implications, revolutionizing laser applications, from leading to more precise corneal surgery in patients to the machining of small glass parts for use in cell phones.
Juliet Daniel
Juliet Daniel is a major pioneer in cancer biology who has been credited with finding the ‘missing puzzle piece’ explaining why Black women experience higher breast cancer mortality rates than other racial groups. Her research focuses on colon cancer, as well as triple-negative breast cancers, which are most prevalent in young women of African and Hispanic descent. Daniel’s research is critical to the advancement and study of breast cancer and has earned her several awards, including the Black Excellence in STEM & Medicine Mentorship Award in 2022 from the Canadian Black Scientists Network and WXN Canada’s Most Powerful Women: Top 100 Award in 2020. She was also featured in “Millennium Minds: 100 Black Canadians” in 2000, a testament to her achievements.