Claudette MacKay-Lassonde (July 2, 1948 – June 15, 2000) was a Canadian engineer who became the first woman president of the Professional Engineers Ontario (PEO; known until 1993 as the Association of Professional Engineers of Ontario, APEO).

Early life and education

Claudette MacKay was born on 2 July 1948 in

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

to Thérèse Dufresne and Raymond MacKay. She was the eldest of 6 children (siblings: Viviane, Gilles, Robert, Johanne, Anna). She attended the

École polytechnique de Montréal École or Ecole may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région Île-de-France * Éco ...

where she completed her degree in chemical engineering in 1971 before going on to gain a master's degree in nuclear engineering at the

University of Utah The University of Utah (the U, U of U, or simply Utah) is a public university, public research university in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. It was established in 1850 as the University of Deseret (Book of Mormon), Deseret by the General A ...

in 1973. In 1983 she graduated with an MBA from the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...

Career

Through her career MacKay-Lassonde worked for a number of companies including Xerox, Hydro Ontario, the Government of Ontario and Northern Telecom. She was on the board of Enghouse Systems Limited, AGF Group of Funds, Abitibi-Price, Clearnet Communications and Aeterna Laboratories. She was a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Engineering. MacKay-Lassonde was a founder of Women in Science and Engineering (WISE) and spoke at the first conference. In 1986, MacKay-Lassonde became the first woman president of the Professional Association of Professional Engineers of Ontario. During that time she created the Canadian Engineering Memorial Foundation in response to the murder of 14 engineering students at her alma mater in 1989. There is a doctoral award named in her honour. She created the ''Women in Engineering Advisory Committee'' and also chaired the Canadian Engineering Workforce Office. She was particularly involved in ensuring opportunities for women in the engineering profession. In 1987 MacKay-Lassonde ran in the 1987 general election as a Liberal. She was defeated by

Margaret Marland Margaret Marland (born February 15, 1934) is a former Canadian politician in Ontario. She was a Progressive Conservative member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1985 to 2003, and served as a cabinet minister in the government of Mike ...

who achieved only 599 votes more in retaining her seat. The Claudette-MacKay-Lassonde Pavilion at Western University in London, Ontario is so named after a financial gift to fund the construction. There is a chair in Mineral Engineering at the University of Toronto named after her. In 2021, the Claudette MacKay-Lassonde Scholarship was established at the Pierre Lassonde School of Fine Arts at

Mount Allison University Mount Allison University (also Mount A or MtA) is a Canadian primarily undergraduate liberal arts university located in Sackville, New Brunswick, founded in 1839. Mount Allison was the first university in the British Empire to award a baccal ...

. The award is named in honour of MacKay-Lassonde — who beyond being an advocate for opportunities for women in engineering, was also a lover of fine arts and a painter herself.

Personal life

MacKay married fellow engineer

Pierre Lassonde Pierre Lassonde (born 1947) is a Canadian businessman and philanthropist. Early life Pierre Lassonde was born in Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec, the third of four children. He studied at the Séminaire de Saint-Hyacinthe and graduated in 1967 with ...

, and added his surname to her own. They had two children: daughter Julie and son Christian. MacKay-Lassonde died in Toronto of cancer in 2000.

Honours and Awards

* 1986, Doctor of Engineering, ''honoris causa'',

University of Windsor The University of Windsor (UWindsor, U of W, or UWin) is a public university, public research university in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's southernmost university. It has approximately 17,500 students. The university was incorporated by ...

* 1987, Doctor of Engineering, ''honoris causa'',

Carleton University Carleton University is an English-language public university, public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1942 as Carleton College, the institution originally operated as a private, non-denominational evening college to se ...

* 1989, Fellowship,

Toronto Metropolitan University Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU, or Toronto Met), formerly Ryerson University, is a Public university, public research university located in Toronto, Canada. The university's core campus is situated within the Garden District, Toronto, Gar ...

formerly

Ryerson University Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU, or Toronto Met), formerly Ryerson University, is a public research university located in Toronto, Canada. The university's core campus is situated within the Garden District in downtown Toronto, although i ...

* 1990, Doctor of Science, ''honoris causa'', St Mary's University * 1992, Doctor of Science, ''honoris causa'',

University of Guelph The University of Guelph (abbreviated U of G) is a comprehensive Public university, public research university in Guelph, Ontario, Canada. It was established in 1964 after the amalgamation of Ontario Agricultural College (1874), the MacDonald I ...

* 1992, Doctor of Engineering, ''honoris causa'',

Technical University of Nova Scotia The Technical University of Nova Scotia (TUNS) was a Canadian university located in Halifax, Nova Scotia. TUNS was officially founded as the Nova Scotia Technical College on 25 April 1907, and was renamed as the Technical University of Nova Sco ...

now part of

Dalhousie University Dalhousie University (commonly known as Dal) is a large public research university in Nova Scotia, Canada, with three campuses in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Halifax, a fourth in Bible Hill, Nova Scotia, Bible Hill, and a second medical school campus ...

* 1993, Doctor of Science, ''honoris causa'', Queen's University * 1996, Doctor of Laws, ''honoris causa'',

Concordia University Concordia University () is a Public university, public English-language research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1974 following the merger of Loyola College (Montreal), Loyola College and Sir George Williams Universit ...

https://www.concordia.ca/offices/archives/honorary-degree-recipients/1996/06/claudette-mackay-lassonde.html

References and sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:MacKay-Lassonde, Claudette 1948 births 2000 deaths Engineers from Montreal Canadian women engineers Ontario Liberal Party candidates in Ontario provincial elections