“Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.” Dr. Seuss

Margaret Newall was born on June 10, 1937 in Davidson, Saskatchewan to Cecil Havelock Lick and Ona Fraser Lick (née Mackenzie). She died peacefully at home in Toronto in the early hours of Saturday, July 8, 2023, after a short illness.

Along with her sisters Roberta, Dorothy and Alison, Margaret grew up on the farm in Davidson, and she never lost her prairie roots. Margaret was an indomitable spirit who married compassion and intelligence in pursuit of justice. She was not complicated. She lived and breathed her core values: healthy living, taking care of others, and responsibility for our world, its environment and other people. Margaret learned from her parents that you must look after one another.

Margaret placed great importance on education and learning. When a hailstorm destroyed the crop which had been meant to fund her education, Margaret taught piano to put herself through university. Her childhood piano lessons opened a door into the world of music that not only became a lifelong source of joy, but also a means to higher education when the family farm couldn't be relied upon.

Margaret was a voracious reader. On the farm, when Ona would come back from town with a book, Margaret would read and reread it until she could get her hands on another. She wanted anyone with the interest in learning to be able to access books, so one of Margaret’s earliest volunteer initiatives was to help build Roxboro’s first public library in the Montreal community where she and her husband Ted had settled.

Having benefited from her own education, Margaret was determined to help others do so. Margaret earned her teaching certificate at McGill University and taught elementary school until the couple eventually moved to Toronto. Margaret understood the tenuousness of many peoples' access to education, so she and Ted later established a bursary program at the University of Saskatchewan for students who had had to leave their rural communities to pursue their degree, as well as bursaries at the University of Calgary. Margaret never stopped helping others to learn, whether she was teaching music or simply finding the teachable moments in everyday life.

Margaret shared her love for music in every way that she could. She had a myriad of instruments that she’d encourage any friend, family member, and especially child to access. She saw the impact music had on people's spirits and supported it at every level, whether it be helping a toddler playing a xylophone for the first time, hosting a world-class pianist competing at the annual Honens International Piano Competition, or supporting the creation of the National Music Centre in Calgary.

One of Margaret’s deepest values was her sense of justice, and a visceral intolerance for injustice. While teaching elementary school in Montreal, Margaret noticed that one of her students was being abused at home. This marked her very deeply, horrified that anyone should suffer violence at the hand of someone with whom they should feel safest. Margaret later co-founded Research and Education for Solutions to Violence and Abuse (RESOLVE), as well as the PrairieAction Foundation, whose mission is to support research into family violence and identify effective, community-led solutions.

After Ted’s passing, Margaret returned to Toronto where she immediately joined the First Unitarian Congregation. She soon got involved in their refugee committee, because she wanted newcomers to be welcomed with a sense of security and community. She attributed much of her own success to the love she received from family and friends, and she didn’t want anyone to go without.

Margaret was also drawn to their Truth and Reconciliation working group. She dedicated herself to learning about the injustices that underpin the making of this country. She sought to find her place in righting those wrongs and fight ongoing discrimination experienced by Indigenous women. Of particular importance to Margaret in recent years has been her support for the Thunder Woman Healing Lodge, whose mission is to establish a healing space in Toronto for Indigenous women emerging from incarceration.

Described by a friend as “small but mighty”, Margaret’s service and leadership have been recognized many times over. She earned honorary degrees from the Universities of Regina, Manitoba, and Calgary. She was presented with the YWCA Toronto President’s Award at their 2022 Women of Distinction Gala. In 2004, Margaret became a Member of the Order of Canada, and in 2012 she received the Queen Elizabeth II’s Diamond Jubilee Medal in recognition for her contributions to Canada.

While she appreciated this recognition, the awards were less important to her than the underlying causes. Proudly from Saskatchewan and fiercely Canadian, Margaret was not proud of the injustice woven into our history, and she was determined to help knit a more caring and inclusive Canada. During her life, Margaret instilled a strong sense of compassion and justice in her children and grandchildren. Margaret and Ted created the Newall Family Foundation Trust, so that even after their passing, their descendants could take up the reins and continue this pursuit of a more equitable society.

Of all her passions, though, family was paramount. Margaret leaves behind many to grieve and remember her: her sisters Roberta Kirby and Alison de la Gorgendière (Marcel); her three children and their partners Alison (Emmett), Ian (Sheila) and Malcolm (Nandini); her adored grandchildren David, Edward, Robert, Elisabeth, Gavin, Cassandra, Alexander and Phillip. Margaret will be sorely missed by her many nieces and nephews, honorary nieces, nephews, and great-grandchildren, and the many, many lifelong friends she made wherever she went.

The family would like to thank Dr. Subita Behki for her care and support before and throughout Margaret’s illness, as well as Women’s College Hospital and Toronto General Hospital.

A visitation will be held on Saturday 22 July from 4 to 8 pm at the Mount Pleasant Funeral Centre, 375 Mount Pleasant Avenue, Toronto. Margaret’s Celebration of Life will be held there on Sunday 23 July at 2pm, with reception to follow. For those who are unable to attend in person, the Celebration of Life will also be webcast.

In lieu of flowers, those who wish to do so are invited to contribute to the Thunder Woman Healing Lodge Society on Margaret’s behalf. https://www.canadahelps.org/en/charities/thunder-woman-healing-lodge-society/