In the years between 1869 and 1907, the P.E.O. Sisterhood grew from seven sisters in a college sorority chapter to a community sisterhood that expanded to Bellingham, Washington. By 1911, the first Canadian chapter was organized in Vancouver, British Columbia.
Each provincial chapter has a unique history, beginning with the dedication of a few extraordinary women, and strengthened over the years through provincial chapter mergers. Canadian chapters are fewer than U.S. chapters and usually further apart, yet common bonds have made P.E.O. a vital presence in Canada for 100 years.
British Columbia Provincial Chapter—38 chapters and 820 members
The P.E.O. sister who blazed the trail to Canada was Bertha Clarke. Bertha had been invited to join Chapter F in Bellingham, Washington, just before her husband was transferred to Vancouver, British Columbia. Bertha chose the charter list, and Chapter F sponsored the first chapter outside the United States. On August 28, 1911, Chapter A, Vancouver, was organized. On the day of the organization, the supplies did not arrive until noon. Bertha, along with Edith Prouty from Supreme 
Chapter, somehow convinced customs officials not to open the packages! With only one chapter in the province, some members had great distances to travel to meetings. One new initiate to Chapter A, who took the streetcar into Vancouver to meetings, was met with a pleasant surprise on her way to one meeting. The hostess had placed marguerites from the streetcar stop to her doorstep so her sister would not get lost! Decades later, in 1983, Chapter A was in decline. In a beautiful gesture, members of Chapter AG transferred to Chapter A, giving it new vitality. On June 19, 1925, British Columbia gained provincial chapter status. In 1941, Victoria hosted the Convention of Supreme Chapter (now International Chapter), and Mabel Scurrah, convention chair and president of British Columbia Provincial Chapter, was elected to the board of Supreme Chapter as corresponding secretary—all at the same convention! In 1953, when British Columbia hosted the Convention of Supreme Chapter in Vancouver, Mabel was president of Supreme Chapter—the only Canadian to hold this office to date. Vancouver hosted again in 2005, with the support of P.E.O.s from surrounding states and provinces.
Ontario-Québec Provincial Chapter—13 chapters and 353 members
Chapter A, Ontario could also be called a descendant of Bertha Clarke. Bertha’s niece, Rae Welsh, was teaching in Toronto, Ontario, and joined Eva McDuffee in 1934 to organize Chapter A. On June 24, 1955, Ruth Rippey organized Ontario Provincial Chapter. Provincial convention was dedicated to Eva that year, in celebration of her bringing P.E.O. to Ontario. Three chapters were organized in Québec, all in Montréal: Chapter A on November 26, 1946; Chapter B on May 11, 1954; and Chapter C on May 11, 1965. Twenty years later, Ontario Provincial Chapter and members of the Québec chapters met to discuss a 
merger, an idea that represented uncharted waters to the P.E.O Sisterhood. Even so, Supreme Chapter was supportive, and Ontario-Québec Provincial Chapter was organized on May 9, 1987. Helen Gladstone, who was originally a Manitoba P.E.O., became the first president of the newly merged provinces. Other mergers of provincial or state chapters have occurred in the best interest of the existing membership and of growing P.E.O. In 2009, Alberta and Saskatchewan merged to form today’s Alberta-Saskatchewan Provincial Chapter. That left another vast area of Ontario bordering on Manitoba with no chapters but with several towns that could support P.E.O. In 2009, Ontario-Québec ceded that area to the Manitoba Provincial Chapter to form the Manitoba-Northwest Ontario Provincial Chapter.
Alberta-Saskatchewan Provincial Chapter—20 chapters 
and 445 members
Alberta’s P.E.O. history began when Laura Storms Knapp came to Edmonton on November 9, 1944, to form Chapter A, with Bertha Greer as sponsor. Bertha was a friend of Mabel Scurrah in Victoria, British Columbia, and Mabel came for the organization of Chapter A, Edmonton at the magnificent Hotel MacDonald. Many P.E.O. events occurred at this hotel during those early years. It was common for organizers of Supreme Chapter to be honored at a lunch at the now historic hotel. In those days, P.E.O. events were announced in the newspaper, with the added excitement of visiting dignitaries. President Bertha Duncan Lipsey received the provincial charter at the 46th Convention of Supreme Chapter in 1963. Chapter A, Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, was organized March 12, 1947 by Mabel Scurrah, and Chapter C, Regina, was organized on May 14, 1969. Chapter D, Saskatoon, was organized on March 19, 2005, by Elizabeth Garrels, with excited past presidents and board members from other provinces in attendance. In March 2008, International Chapter President Barbara Andes met to discuss the merger of Alberta and Saskatchewan, and May 2009 saw the first Convention of Alberta-Saskatchewan Provincial Chapter.
Manitoba-Northwest Ontario Provincial Chapter—18 chapters and 466 members
P.E.O. began in Manitoba when May Blackert, who had moved from Iowa to Selkirk, Manitoba, had a visit from her childhood friend, Mary Cory, a member of Chapter AT in Spencer, Iowa. The two talked about P.E.O., and Chapter AT granted consent for May to select a charter list, resulting in Chapter A, Selkirk. Supreme Organizer Zora Knight organized the first Canadian chapter outside British Columbia on September 21, 1926, with May as president. After steady chapter growth, Manitoba Provincial Chapter was organized in Selkirk on June 22 and 23, 1951; the first provincial president was Evelyn Simpson. Manitoba proudly hosted the Convention of International Chapter in 1985, and as was said at convention, “Never before was an International Convention hosted by so few.” Beyond the Borders The contribution of the Canadian chapters to the P.E.O. Sisterhood has a longstanding tradition. Several Canadian P.E.O.s have served on International committees, and one of the first P.E.O. Scholar Award recipients was Ida Tjosvold from Chapter F, Calgary, Alberta. The Canadian Room at Cottey College is endowed by the Canadian chapters. A Canadian f lag now f lies at the P.E.O. Executive Office in Des Moines, Iowa, a gift from all Canadian chapters in 1985. The P.E.O. scene has changed over the years, but the growth of P.E.O. in Canada can be credited entirely to the intensity of purpose of those first members. Today we can all be proud of the history of P.E.O. and celebrate 100 years in Canada with a continued vision of growth. 
