Stapleford, Maude (1884-1962)

Maude Stapleford (née Bunting) was a Regina community leader who promoted the arts, the welfare of children, and justice for women. Born on September 19, 1884, in St. Catharines, Ontario, she received a BA from Victoria College in 1907. That same year she married Ernest Stapleford, a Methodist minister; they had four children. They came to Regina when he became president of Regina College in 1915. Active in college life, Stapleford gathered around her local artists, distinguished visitors, and women involved in community betterment. She participated in many women’s organizations. As president of the Regina Women’s Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) in 1915, she addressed the Saskatchewan legislature on Woman Suffrage. She was president of the Regina Council of Women (RCW) from 1921 to 1926 and convened several RCW committees, including the Arts and Letters Committee and the Babies Welfare Committee. As convenor of the Committee on Laws, she campaigned for legislative reforms benefiting women and children. She assisted the development of a fund providing free care for tubercular mothers and children, and was a founder of the Regina University Women’s Club and of the Regina branch of the Victorian Order of Nurses. Other activities included the Young Women’s Christian Association, the Imperial Order Daughters of the Empire, and the General Hospital Women’s Auxiliary. She and her husband supported the Liberal Party; at its 1917 convention, Maude Stapleford seconded William Martin’s nomination as leader, and was one of two women convention officers elected from the floor. The Staplefords left Regina in 1937. She died on September 12, 1962, in Toronto.

Elizabeth Kalmakoff

Print Entry