While still a doctoral student in plant pathology, Margaret Newton discovered that there was more than one strain of wheat rust. Her experiments advanced scientific knowledge of stem rust in wheat, which represented a major threat to the Canadian economy. Throughout her long career, much of it spent at Winnipeg’s Dominion Rust Research Laboratory, her meticulous research led to the development of rust-resistant grains. Margaret Newton became an internationally acclaimed scientist and a striking role model for Canadian women in science.