Andrée Champagne (July 17, 1939June 6, 2020) was a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

actress, pianist and politician.Lisa Fitterman
"Quebec TV star Andrée Champagne became a household name as ‘la belle Donalda'"
''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Newspapers in Canada, Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in Western Canada, western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of more than 6 million in 2024, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on week ...

'', June 24, 2020. Born in

Saint-Hyacinthe Saint-Hyacinthe ( , ) is a city in southwestern Quebec east of Montreal on the Yamaska River. The population as of the 2021 Canadian census was 57,239. The city is located in Les Maskoutains Regional County Municipality of the Montérégie regi ...

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

, Champagne was an accomplished performer and personality in her home province. In the 1960s, she became well known on television playing "Donalda" in

Claude-Henri Grignon Claude-Henri Grignon, OC, FRSC (July 8, 1894 – April 3, 1976)Claude-Henri Grign ...

's series ''

Les Belles Histoires des pays d'en haut ''Les Belles Histoires des pays d'en haut'' (''The Beautiful Stories of the Upper Countries'') is a Canadian television drama series, which aired on Radio-Canada from October 8, 1956, to June 1, 1970. One of the longest-running programs in the his ...

''. After the series ended in 1970, she opened her own casting agency. She remained active as a performer, but also became involved in cultural issues, serving on the board of directors of ''l'Institut québécois du cinéma'' and on the executive of ''l'Union des artistes'' in the early 1980s. She also helped create ''Le Chez Nous des Artistes'', a retirement home for artists. Champagne entered politics as a Progressive Conservative candidate in the 1984 election, and was elected in the Tory landslide as Member of Parliament for Saint-Hyacinthe-Bagot. She was appointed to the

Cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filin ...

Prime Minister A prime minister 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. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

Brian Mulroney Martin Brian Mulroney (March 20, 1939 – February 29, 2024) was a Canadian lawyer, businessman, and politician who served as the 18th prime minister of Canada from 1984 to 1993. Born in the eastern Quebec city of Baie-Comeau, Mulroney studi ...

Minister of State Minister of state is a designation for a government minister, with varying meanings in different jurisdictions. In a number of European countries, the title is given as an honorific conferring a higher rank, often bestowed upon senior minister ...

for Youth. From 1986 to 1990, she served as Assistant Deputy Chair of the Committee of the Whole House, and became Deputy

Speaker of the House of Commons Speaker of the House of Commons is a political leadership position found in countries that have a House of Commons, where the membership of the body elects a speaker to lead its proceedings. Systems that have such a position include: * Speaker of ...

in 1990. She served in that role until her electoral defeat in the 1993 general election. On August 2, 2005, Prime Minister

Paul Martin Paul Edgar Philippe Martin (born August 28, 1938), also known as Paul Martin Jr., is a Canadian lawyer and retired politician who served as the 21st prime minister of Canada and the leader of the Liberal Party of Canada from 2003 to 2006. Th ...

announced her appointment as a

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

member of the

Senate of Canada The Senate of Canada () is the upper house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Monarchy of Canada#Parliament (King-in-Parliament), Crown and the House of Commons of Canada, House of Commons, they compose the Bicameralism, bicameral le ...

. She retired upon reaching the age of 75 on July 17, 2014. Champagne died on June 6, 2020, in

."Champagne, Andrée - Avis de décès"
''

La Presse is a French-language online newspaper published daily in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1884, it is now owned by an independent nonprofit trust. ' was formerly a broadsheet daily, considered a newspaper of record in Canada. Its Sunday edi ...

'', June 13, 2020.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Champagne, Andree 1939 births Canadian senators from Quebec Canadian television actresses Women members of the House of Commons of Canada Women members of the Senate of Canada Place of death missing Conservative Party of Canada senators 2020 deaths Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Quebec Members of the Order of Canada Members of the King's Privy Council for Canada People from Saint-Hyacinthe Politicians from Montérégie Progressive Conservative Party of Canada MPs Progressive Conservative Party of Canada senators Women in Quebec politics Actresses from Quebec Canadian actor-politicians Members of the 24th Canadian Ministry 21st-century members of the Senate of Canada 21st-century Canadian women politicians 20th-century Canadian women politicians Women government ministers of Canada 20th-century members of the House of Commons of Canada