Gladys Porter

"It is satisfying to know that women join in this partnership, working together 'to hold fast to basic principles and values and to exert influence to preserve a democratic way of life.'"

Gladys Porter
Nova Scotia House of Assembly
February 8, 1961

Gladys Muriel Porter, née Richardson, daughter of Walter Richardson and Christina Macpherson, (August 1893, Sydney, Nova Scotia, Canada – April 30, 1967, Kentville, Nova Scotia, Canada) was the first woman in the Maritimes to be elected as Mayor, and the first female Member of the Nova Scotia House of Assembly.

Porter was elected to Kentville town council in 1943. She was then elected Mayor of Kentville in 1946 and served until 1960, when she ran successfully as a Progressive Conservative to represent the provincial electoral district of Kings North.

Porter was re-elected to the Legislature in 1963 and served until her death on April 30, 1967.