Leadership Quote by Agnes Macphail

Agnes Macphail’s joke lands because it refuses the script while exposing it. The scene is stiff with ritual: the House of Commons lobby, men “springing to their feet,” a choreography of deference designed to signal who belongs and who is being “honored.” Macphail doesn’t accept the compliment. She rewrites it on the spot: sit down, I’m here to walk. The line turns courtesy into inconvenience, and in doing so, punctures the power behind the etiquette.

The intent is double-edged. On the surface, it’s self-deprecating humor from a newcomer. Underneath, it’s a political act: she’s rejecting the idea that her presence is exceptional enough to warrant spectacle. As Canada’s first female MP, she’s naming the trap women in male institutions still recognize: you can be welcomed as an event, but not treated as a peer. Standing up is a “favor” that creates a debt, a subtle way of placing her in the role of grateful guest rather than equal legislator.

The subtext also cuts at paternalism. “I didn’t want them doing me favours” frames politeness as a currency men control, offered and withdrawn to manage women’s access to authority. Her punchline flips the hierarchy: she sets the terms, claims the space, and declines the soft patronage that would make her easier to dismiss. It’s a small moment of stagecraft with real stakes - an early lesson in how to survive Parliament by refusing to be ornamental.