Margaret Newall is remembered for her deep determination in tackling social issues; no social issue, unfairness or need was too trivial for her attention.Supplied
Margaret Newall walked the path of her life with a powerful intent: to mitigate the hardships of those in need. At five-foot-two, she was tiny in stature but mighty in determination; no social issue, unfairness or need was too trivial for her attention. From assisting Syrian and Afghan refugees, to helping victims of domestic violence, the people and causes that benefitted from Ms. Newall’s skill at fundraising constituted her life’s work. Ms. Newall died from cancer on July 8 at her home in Toronto. She was 86. Her work continues through the Newall Family Foundation Trust, which supports, amongst other causes, access to higher education and research into preventing family violence.
Ms. Newall became a member of the Order of Canada in 2004, and in 2012, received Queen Elizabeth II’s Diamond Jubilee Medal. Honorary degrees were bestowed upon her from universities in Western Canada; in 2022 she was named as a YWCA “Woman of Distinction.” Such recognition was gratifying to Ms. Newall but far less important to her than the reasons it was bestowed.
Ms. Newall was greatly affected by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), a federally funded investigation into institutional abuse of Indigenous peoples. Ms. Newall embraced this issue through her membership in the First Unitarian Congregation in Toronto. The Congregation’s Truth, Healing and Reconciliation Initiative was one of many that took place in communities across the country as people sought to amend wrongs of the past. Always keen to learn, Ms. Newall’s eyes were opened to cruelties imposed on Indigenous people, including the Sixties Scoop, in which children were forcibly removed from their family and placed into the welfare system.
“Mom brought the full TRC report to the cottage and read the entire thing. I don’t know any other Canadian who did that,” her son Ian said. “That summer, Mom bounced between anger and sadness at the injustices that were suffered by indigenous peoples … then swept under the historical carpet.”
To Ms. Newall, the report, plus other emerging issues, such as indifference to missing Indigenous women and the discovery of mass graves of Indigenous children, represented an unacceptable blot of shame on the Canadian flag, a symbol of which Ms. Newall was otherwise fiercely proud. It was a natural fit for her Unitarian congregation to support the Thunder Woman Healing Lodge Society, an organization formed to help incarcerated Indigenous women reintegrate into society. Having met at the YWCA Women of the Year Awards, Ms. Newall developed a close friendship with founder and executive director of the Society, Patti Pettigrew. Ms. Newall raised the profile of the society through her Unitarian network as well as raising significant funds, some of which she contributed personally.
“She was a humble person, and very smart,” Ms. Pettigrew said. “My experience as an Aboriginal woman has left me not very trusting. Margaret actually restored my faith in humanity.”
Margaret Elizabeth Newall (nee Lick) was a prairie girl, born in Davidson, Saskatchewan on June 10, 1937. She was the third of four daughters born to Cecil Lick and his wife Ona. The Licks were farmers who instilled in their brood a sense of responsibility for other people. Margaret’s sister Alison said their father kept them in line with a simple glower from his dark eyes. Even when times were hard during the tail end of the Great Depression in the thirties, anyone passing through, or whose car broke down nearby, would be invited to share a meal. Before eating, Mrs. Lick would quietly intone the letters F.H.B. The children understood it meant “Family Hold Back” It was one of many reminders that others came first.
As soon as she could read, and into her teenaged years, Margaret tore through books as fast as her mother could bring them home from the library. She would re-read them until new ones arrived. After a hailstorm destroyed the family crop, along with the means to fund Margaret’s university tuition, she turned childhood piano lessons to advantage by teaching the instrument to pay for her education, a B.A. in English from the University of Saskatchewan. The piano remained forever in her life as a source of joy. Another source of joy was a tall, handsome man named James Edward (Ted) Newall, who was studying commerce at the same university. The two married in 1959 and relocated to Montreal, where they raised their three children. Margaret got a teaching certificate from McGill while Ted Newall went on to become an extremely successful corporate executive. He died in 2012 of cancer.
As an elementary school teacher in Montreal, Ms. Newall noticed that one of her pupils put his hands over his head, as if to ward off blows, when she approached from behind. She was horrified that home, a place of supposed safety, should be a place of fear. It prompted her to later co-found RESOLVE, Research and Education for Solutions to Violence and Abuse, as well as the Prairie Action Foundation to support research into family violence and identify community led solutions.
When it came to squeezing money out of corporations, Ms. Newall was fearless. She’d assume a trademark posture that clearly stated she meant business. With shoulders squared and an upward tilt to her head, she’d quietly state her case. The most cocky and unresponsive of CEOs would inevitably cave. “Dad might occasionally offer some tactical advice like, ‘You’re not asking for a big enough contribution. You should ask for double that amount.’ Mr. Newall said. “But the courage, determination and tenacity were all Mom.”
Mr. Newall said the last piece of music his mother played on her Bösendorfer piano, just three weeks before she died, was the Ukrainian national anthem. She taught herself to play it in solidarity with the country after it was invaded by Russia in 2022. Ukrainian and other refugees continue to receive support through the family trust.
“I’m going to put a plaque up for Margaret in our sacred circle as an honour.” Ms. Pettigrew said. ”You could say Margaret walked her talk.”
Ms. Newall leaves her three children, Alison, Ian and Malcolm, sisters Roberta and Alison, eight grandchildren, and many nieces and nephews.