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Marie Thérèse Casgrain, ., née Forget (10 July 1896 – 3 November 1981) was a
French Canadian French Canadians (referred to as Canadiens mainly before the twentieth century; french: Canadiens français, ; feminine form: , ), or Franco-Canadians (french: Franco-Canadiens), refers to either an ethnic group who trace their ancestry to Fre ...
feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...
, reformer, politician and
senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
. She was a leader in the fight for women's right to vote in the
province of Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirteen ...
, as well as the first woman to lead a political party in Canada. In her later life she opposed nuclear weapons and was a consumer activist. A strong
federalist The term ''federalist'' describes several political beliefs around the world. It may also refer to the concept of parties, whose members or supporters called themselves ''Federalists''. History Europe federation In Europe, proponents of de ...
, one of her last political actions, at age 83, was to intervene on the "No" side in the 1980 Quebec sovereignty referendum.


Family and early life

Born in Saint-Irénée-les-Bains, near
Quebec City Quebec City ( or ; french: Ville de Québec), officially Québec (), is the capital city of the Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the metropolitan area had a population of 839,311. It is t ...
, Thérèse was raised in a wealthy family, the daughter of Blanche, Lady Forget (née MacDonald), and Sir Rodolphe Forget, a wealthy entrepreneur and
Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...
Member of Parliament.Parliament of Canada—Parlinfo: Sir Joseph David Rodolphe Forget.
/ref> In 1905, at eight years old, she became a boarder at the Dames du Sacré-Coeur, at
Sault-au-Récollet Sault-au-Récollet (English: Recollet Rapids) is a neighbourhood in Montreal. It is located in the eastern edge of the borough of Ahuntsic-Cartierville, bordering the Rivière des Prairies. Autoroute 19 connects Sault-au-Récollet to Laval. Th ...
, near
Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple- ...
. Upon graduation, she hoped to further her studies at university, but her father opposed the idea, not seeing any utility in further education for women. In his view, Thérèse should instead learn how to manage a household, a skill that would befit a future wife of her stature. Thérèse was engaged twice. Her first fiancé died falling out of a window while sleepwalking, when she was only seventeen years old. In 1916, aged twenty, she married
Pierre-François Casgrain Pierre-François Casgrain, (August 4, 1886 – August 2, 1950) was a Canadian lawyer and politician. He was Speaker of the Canadian House of Commons from 1936 to 1940. Born in Montreal, Quebec, his father was a physician. Following the d ...
, a wealthy
Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...
politician with whom she raised four children.Library and Archives Canada: Thérèse Casgrain.
/ref> Thérèse's father, Sir Rodolphe, had represented the Charlevoix riding since the general election of 1904, holding it as a
Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...
. However, he was opposed to conscription and with the Conscription Crisis looming, he decided that he would not stand for re-election in the general election of 1917. Her husband, Pierre Casgrain, sought the nomination in the new Charlevoix—Montmorency riding for the Liberal Party as a Laurier Liberal, opposed to conscription. He was elected in the general election.


Women's right to vote

Thérèse Casgrain accompanied her husband to Ottawa, the national capital, for the opening of the parliamentary session in the spring of 1918. It was during her time in Ottawa that she became aware of the importance of the right to vote for women. Prior to the
1917 Canadian federal election The 1917 Canadian federal election (sometimes referred to as the khaki election) was held on December 17, 1917, to elect members of the House of Commons of Canada of the 13th Parliament of Canada. Described by historian Michael Bliss as the "mo ...
, women did not have the right to vote in federal elections. In the lead-up to the election, the government of Prime Minister Borden had enacted the ''
Wartime Elections Act The Canadian ''Wartime Elections Act'' was a bill passed on September 20, 1917 by the Conservative government of Robert Borden during the Conscription Crisis of 1917 and was instrumental in pushing Liberals to join the Conservatives in the formati ...
'', which gave the right to vote to wives, widows, mothers, and sisters of soldiers serving overseas. Although this was a clear attempt to gain votes in favour of the war effort, it was a significant milestone for women's suffrage in Canada. The Borden government would later adopt the '' Women's Suffrage Act'', which gave the right to vote at federal elections to all Canadian women aged twenty-one years or older, from 1919 onwards. In spite of these changes at the federal level, and the expansion of women's suffrage in most other provinces, women in Quebec still could not vote during provincial elections. The opposition for such an extension of the law was strong, notably from the clergy and the conservative elite. Casgrain led the
women's suffrage Women's suffrage is the right of women to vote in elections. Beginning in the start of the 18th century, some people sought to change voting laws to allow women to vote. Liberal political parties would go on to grant women the right to vot ...
movement in Quebec for twenty years. Her tenacity, her political contacts through her husband (who eventually became Speaker of the House of Commons), her leadership and her ability to inspire, all helped her to achieve her goal of women's right to vote in Quebec. She founded the Provincial Franchise Committee in 1921 and campaigned for women's rights, writing innumerable letters to influential people, making annual trips to the provincial capital at Quebec City, and broadcasts on radio, speaking for women's rights. From 1928 to 1942, she was the leader of the League for Women's Rights. She founded her own radio show in the 1930s, ''Fémina''. Finally in 1938, she succeeded in having women's right to vote added to the platform of the
Liberal Party of Quebec The Quebec Liberal Party (QLP; french: Parti libéral du Québec, PLQ) is a provincial political party in Quebec. It has been independent of the federal Liberal Party of Canada since 1955. The QLP has always been associated with the colour red; ...
. The right was not won until 1940.


Electoral politics

In late 1941, Casgrain's husband was appointed to the
Superior Court of Quebec The Superior Court of Quebec (french: Cour supérieure du Québec) is a superior trial court in the Province of Quebec, in Canada. It consists of 157 judges who are appointed by the federal government. Appeals from this court are taken to the Que ...
. She sought the nomination of the Liberal Party to stand for election in the vacant riding of
Charlevoix—Saguenay Charlevoix—Saguenay may refer to: * Charlevoix—Saguenay (federal electoral district), for House of Commons elections, 1924–47 * Charlevoix—Saguenay (provincial electoral district), for National Assembly of Quebec elections, 1912–44 ...
, the same riding which had been held by her father and then her husband, but the party turned her down. In the resulting federal by-election, she stood as an "Independent Liberal" candidate in the riding, but was not successful. Following
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
, she left the Liberal Party and joined the
social democratic Social democracy is a political, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocating economic and social interventions to promote so ...
Co-operative Commonwealth Federation The Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF; french: Fédération du Commonwealth Coopératif, FCC); from 1955 the Social Democratic Party of Canada (''french: Parti social démocratique du Canada''), was a federal democratic socialistThe follo ...
(CCF). In 1948, she became one of the federal vice presidents of the CCF. She led the Quebec wing of the party, the
Parti social démocratique du Québec The Parti social démocratique du Québec (PSD; ) was the Quebec wing of the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation. It was founded in 1939 as the Fédération du Commonwealth Coopératif and was led by Romuald-Joseph Lamoureux in the 1944 general e ...
, from 1951 to 1957. She was, therefore, the first female leader of a political party in Canada. In the 1960s, she was president of the Quebec wing of the
New Democratic Party The New Democratic Party (NDP; french: Nouveau Parti démocratique, NPD) is a federal political party in Canada. Widely described as social democratic,The party is widely described as social democratic: * * * * * * * * * * * * ...
, the CCF's successor. Casgrain was a CCF candidate in a 1952 federal by-election and in the
1953 Events January * January 6 – The Asian Socialist Conference opens in Rangoon, Burma. * January 12 – Estonian émigrés found a government-in-exile in Oslo. * January 14 ** Marshal Josip Broz Tito is chosen President of Yugosl ...
,
1957 1957 ( MCMLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1957th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 957th year of the 2nd millennium, the 57th year of the 20th century, and the 8th year ...
, and
1958 Events January * January 1 – The European Economic Community (EEC) comes into being. * January 3 – The West Indies Federation is formed. * January 4 ** Edmund Hillary's Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition completes the third ...
federal general elections and a
New Democratic Party The New Democratic Party (NDP; french: Nouveau Parti démocratique, NPD) is a federal political party in Canada. Widely described as social democratic,The party is widely described as social democratic: * * * * * * * * * * * * ...
candidate in the
1962 Events January * January 1 – Western Samoa becomes independent from New Zealand. * January 3 – Pope John XXIII excommunicates Fidel Castro for preaching communism. * January 8 – Harmelen train disaster: 93 die in the wor ...
and
1963 Events January * January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Co ...
federal general elections. She also used her position as a platform to campaign against the government of
Maurice Duplessis Maurice Le Noblet Duplessis (; April 20, 1890 – September 7, 1959), was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 16th premier of Quebec. A conservative, nationalist, anti-Communist, anti-unionist and fervent Catholic, he and hi ...
.


Activism

In 1945, Casgrain was successful in ensuring that women in Quebec could receive family allowance cheques in their own name. Prior to that time, and only in Quebec, family allowance cheques were only made out to the father. She also agitated for equal treatment of married women in the Quebec justice system. In the 1960s, she became a campaigner against
nuclear weapon A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission (fission bomb) or a combination of fission and fusion reactions ( thermonuclear bomb), producing a nuclear explosion. Both bomb ...
s, founding in February 1961 the Quebec wing of Voice of Women (VOW) and serving as the national president of VOW from 1962 to 1963. She also was a founder of the ''La Ligue des droits l'homme'' devenue en 1978 la
Ligue des droits et libertés The ''Ligue des droits et libertés'' (known in English as the Quebec Civil Liberties Union) is a not-for-profit human rights organization based in Montreal in the Canadian province of Quebec. Under the Duplessis regime, some of the founders of the ...
and the ''Fédération des femmes du Québec''. In 1969, Casgrain was elected president of the Consumers' Association of Canada Quebec section. Casgrain succeeded to an anglophone president, David Macfarlane, who considered that the Quebec section's position was indefensible, as it was dominated by anglophone elements and used English as its primary work language. Many members of the association hoped Casgrain would fix this problem as president.


Senator and later life

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...
Pierre Trudeau Joseph Philippe Pierre Yves Elliott Trudeau ( , ; October 18, 1919 – September 28, 2000), also referred to by his initials PET, was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 15th prime minister of Canada from 1968 to 1979 and ...
appointed Casgrain to the
Senate of Canada The Senate of Canada (french: region=CA, Sénat du Canada) is the upper house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Crown and the House of Commons, they comprise the bicameral legislature of Canada. The Senate is modelled after the ...
in 1970, where she sat as an independent for nine months before reaching the mandatory retirement age of 75. As senator she questioned the prime minister's policy on the use of Canadian-made
napalm Napalm is an incendiary mixture of a gelling agent and a volatile petrochemical (usually gasoline (petrol) or diesel fuel). The name is a portmanteau of two of the constituents of the original thickening and gelling agents: coprecipitated alu ...
and defoliants in Vietnam. In 1972, she published her autobiography, ''A Woman in a Man's World''. For the last decade of her life, she was committed to helping the rights of Indigenous women. She also involved herself in charity works and consumer rights. In spite of her inherited wealth, by the end of her life she was financially dependent on her daughters.


1980 Quebec sovereignty referendum

During the 1980 Quebec sovereignty referendum, Casgrain campaigned for the "No" side. She was among the voices who criticized
Lise Payette Lise Payette ( Ouimet; August 29, 1931 – September 5, 2018) was a Canadian politician, journalist, writer, and businesswoman. She was a Parti Québécois (PQ) minister under the leadership of Premier René Lévesque and National Assembly of ...
, then provincial minister for the status of women, for saying that women who didn't back a "Yes" vote would be responsible for blocking progress. Payette likened them to Yvette, a fictional schoolgirl who featured in school primers.


Death

Thérèse Casgrain died in 1981, living with one of her daughters in Montreal. She is interred in the Cimetière Notre-Dame-des-Neiges in Montreal.


Assessment

It was during her period as a candidate with the CCF and the Parti social démocratique du Québec, that Casgrain acquired the reputation of a "pearl-necklace leftist." Always impeccably dressed and coiffed, with elegant hats, she would make speeches to workers, encouraging them to make their demands known to their employers in companies and mines - companies of which she was often a share-holder, with shares inherited from her businessman father. Those who knew her said that she was not one to consult with others or to follow the rules, and could be exhausting to work with. However, she always seemed to know who to call on the telephone to obtain the goal she was working towards. She was known above all for her tenacity in working for women's causes. By the end of her life she was well-known, respected, but sadly alone in solitude.


Recognition

* 1967: Officer of the
Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the cen ...
* 1968: received an honorary Ph.D. from the
University of Montreal A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, th ...
. * 1974: promoted to Companion of the Order of Canada * 1974: Loyola College, one of
Concordia University Concordia University (French: ''Université Concordia'') is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1974 following the merger of Loyola College and Sir George Williams University, Concordia is one of the t ...
's founding institutions, awarded her the Loyola Medal. * 1979: one of the first recipients of the Governor General's Award in Commemoration of the
Persons Case ''Edwards v Canada (AG)''also known as the ''Persons Case'' (french: l'Affaire « personne »)is a famous Canadian constitutional case that decided in 1929 that women were eligible to sit in the Senate of Canada. The legal case was put forward b ...
. * 1980: awarded the title of "Grand Montrealer" from the city of Montreal, in the social category * 1980: received an honorary doctorate from Concordia University * 1981: received an honorary Ph.D. from the
University of Windsor , mottoeng = Goodness, Discipline and Knowledge , established = , academic_affiliations = CARL, COU, Universities Canada , former_names = Assumption College (1857-1956)Assumption University of Windsor (1956-1963) , type = Public universi ...
* 1982: the federal government created the Thérèse Casgrain Volunteer Award * 1985: Canada Post honoured Thérèse Casgrain with a postage stamp * 1991-1992: received the medal of the
Bar of Montreal The Bar of Montreal (french: Barreau de Montréal) is the section of the Bar of Quebec for lawyers in the city of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It has it beginnings in 1693 when, as a Royal Province of the French colonial empire, ''Canadien'' lawyers ...
(a posthumous title). * 2004: commemorated on the $50 banknote of the Canadian Journey Series, along with The Famous Five. This commemoration was discontinued in 2012 with the introduction of a new design on the reverse of the fifty-dollar bill. * 2012: statue of Casgrain, along with Marie Lacoste Gérin-Lajoie,
Idola Saint-Jean Idola Saint-Jean (May 19, 1880 – April 6, 1945) was a Quebec journalist, educator and feminist. She devoted her life to the pursuit of equal rights for women in Quebec and her efforts lead to women being given the right to vote in Quebec in ...
and
Marie-Claire Kirkland Marie-Claire Kirkland-Casgrain, (September 8, 1924 – March 24, 2016) was a Quebec lawyer, judge and politician. She was the first woman elected to the Legislative Assembly of Quebec, the first woman appointed a Cabinet minister in Quebec, t ...
, unveiled on the grounds of the
National Assembly of Quebec The National Assembly of Quebec (officially in french: link=no, Assemblée nationale du Québec) is the legislative body of the province of Quebec in Canada. Legislators are called MNAs (Members of the National Assembly; french: link=no, dépu ...
by
Pauline Marois Pauline Marois (; born March 29, 1949) is a retired Canadian politician, who served as the 30th premier of Quebec from 2012 to 2014. Marois had been a member of the National Assembly in various ridings since 1981 as a member of the Parti Québ� ...
, first female premier of Quebec, to commemorate the role of women in politics in Quebec *2016: appointed commander of the Order of Montreal (a posthumous title) *2022: named a National Historic Person by the government of Canada


Archives

The Thérèse-Casgrain
fonds In archival science, a fonds is a group of documents that share the same origin and that have occurred naturally as an outgrowth of the daily workings of an agency, individual, or organization. An example of a fonds could be the writings of a poe ...
is conserved in Ottawa by
Library and Archives Canada Library and Archives Canada (LAC; french: Bibliothèque et Archives Canada) is the federal institution, tasked with acquiring, preserving, and providing accessibility to the documentary heritage of Canada. The national archive and library is t ...
. The archival reference number is R7906, former archival reference number MG32-C25. The fonds covers the date range 1818 to 1981. It consists of 2.05 metres of textual records and 534 photographs. The Thérèse F.-Casgrain Foundation fonds is conserved at the Montreal archives centre of the National Library and Archives of Quebec.


Publications

Thérèse F. Casgrain, ''Une femme chez les hommes'' (Montréal: Éditions du Jour, 1971) Thérèse F. Casgrain, ''A Woman in a Man's World (Toronto: McClelland and Stewart, 1972)


Notes


References


External links


Governor General of Canada — Order of Canada: The Honourable Thérèse F. Casgrain
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Casgrain, Therese 1896 births 1981 deaths Canadian feminists Canadian women's rights activists Canadian socialist feminists Canadian anti–nuclear weapons activists Women in Quebec politics Female Canadian political party leaders 20th-century Canadian women politicians Quebec CCF/NDP leaders Quebec candidates for Member of Parliament Co-operative Commonwealth Federation candidates for the Canadian House of Commons New Democratic Party candidates for the Canadian House of Commons Independent candidates for the Canadian House of Commons Canadian senators from Quebec Independent Canadian senators Women members of the Senate of Canada Companions of the Order of Canada Canadian Officers of the Order of the British Empire Governor General's Award in Commemoration of the Persons Case winners History of women in Canada Canadian women activists Pacifist feminists Canadian pacifists Burials at Notre Dame des Neiges Cemetery Beaubien-Casgrain family