Does the fact that Canadian women obtained the suffrage in 1918 mean that the members of parliament agreed with the principle of equality between men and women? Through an analysis of the debates, we may easily see that equality was not at issue, that many other questions were related to the suffrage issue and that a debate on the fundamental problematic of equality never took place. This is the case in 1885 and 1918, when there is a semblance of debate, but it is all the more obvious in 1898 and 1917 in which cases one witnesses a game of hide-and-seek on the issue of women's suffrage. In conclusion, the consequences regarding women's citizenship are discussed.