Joyce Fairbairn (November 6, 1939 – March 29, 2022) was a

Canadian senator The Senate of Canada () is the upper house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Crown and the House of Commons, they compose the bicameral legislature of Canada. The Senate is modelled after the British House of Lords, with its member ...

and was the first woman to serve as the leader of the Government in the Senate.

Early life and education

Born in Lethbridge, Alberta on November 6, 1939, Fairbairn was the daughter of Mary Elizabeth (née Young) and Lynden Eldon Fairbairn, a judge of the District Court of Alberta, lawyer, and

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * Generally, a supporter of the political philosophy liberalism. Liberals may be politically left or right but tend to be centrist. * An adherent of a Liberal Party (See also Liberal parties by country ...

candidate for the

1935 Events January * January 7 – Italian premier Benito Mussolini and French Foreign Minister Pierre Laval conclude an agreement, in which each power agrees not to oppose the other's colonial claims. * January 12 – Amelia Earhart ...

and 1940 federal elections in

Lethbridge Lethbridge ( ) is a city in the province of Alberta, Canada. With a population of 106,550 in the 2023 Alberta municipal censuses, 2023 municipal census, Lethbridge became the fourth Alberta city to surpass 100,000 people. The nearby Canadian ...

. She was a teenage journalist when she was a student at

Lethbridge Collegiate Institute Lethbridge Collegiate Institute (LCI) is a public high school in Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada, operated by Lethbridge School District No. 51 that serves grades nine through twelve. LCI was the first school in Lethbridge designated only for seconda ...

, and wrote a column entitled "Teen Chatter" in the ''

Lethbridge Herald The ''Lethbridge Herald'' is the leading daily newspaper in greater Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada. It is owned by Alta Newspaper Group and also publishes and distributes a weekly newspaper, the ''Lethbridge Sun Times''. Early history On November ...

''. She attended the

University of Alberta The University of Alberta (also known as U of A or UAlberta, ) is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford, the first premier of Alberta, and Henry Marshall Tory, t ...

where she earned a bachelor's degree in English and

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 ...

where she earned a degree in journalism. She married Michael Charles Frederick Gillan in 1967; he died in 2002.

Political life

Fairbairn worked as a journalist in the Parliamentary Press Gallery in

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

before being hired as a legislative assistant to Prime Minister

Pierre Trudeau Joseph Philippe Pierre Yves Elliott Trudeau (October 18, 1919 – September 28, 2000) was a Canadian politician, statesman, and lawyer who served as the 15th prime minister of Canada from 1968 to 1979 and from 1980 to 1984. Between his no ...

in 1970. In 1981, she became Communications Coordinator in the Prime Minister's Office. On June 29, 1984, just prior to leaving office, Trudeau recommended her for appointment as a Liberal senator for

Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...

, her home province. Over the years as a senator, she held a number of positions within the Liberal Party, including Vice-Chair of the National as well as the Western and Northern Liberal Caucus from 1984 to 1991, and Co-Chair of the National Campaign Committee for her party in 1991. When the Liberals returned to power after the 1993 election, Prime Minister

Jean Chrétien Joseph Jacques Jean Chrétien (; born January 11, 1934) is a retired Canadian politician, statesman, and lawyer who served as the 20th prime minister of Canada from 1993 to 2003. He served as Leader of the Liberal Party of Canada, leader of t ...

appointed Fairbairn to the cabinet as Government Leader in the Senate, the first female senator in the post, and Minister with Special Responsibility for Literacy. She served in cabinet until 1997, after which she took on the role as Special Advisor on Literacy to the

Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development Minister of labour (in British English) or labor (in American English) is typically a cabinet-level position with portfolio responsibility for setting national labour standards, labour dispute mechanisms, employment, workforce participation, traini ...

. She also chaired the Standing Senate Committee on Agriculture and Forestry, and the Special Senate Committee on the Anti-terrorism Act. She sat on the Senate Committee on Agriculture and Forestry until June 2012. Fairbairn became involved with the Paralympics movement in Canada as early as 1998. That year, to counter a funding shortfall, she spearheaded fundraising efforts to send a Canadian team to compete in the 2000 Paralympic Games in Sydney, Australia, through "Friends of the Paralympics", a group that grew and became "a strong political and fundraising voice for the Canadian Paralympic Movement". By 2000, she co-founded and chaired the Canadian Paralympic Foundation, the first official charitable foundation connected to the

Canadian Paralympic Committee The Canadian Paralympic Committee (CPC; French: ''Comité paralympique canadien''), also known as Team Canada, is the private, non-profit organization representing Canadian Paralympic athletes in the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) and ...

, to secure long-term financial support for Paralympic athletes and the committee. In recognition of her role in promoting and supporting Paralympic sports across the country, she was inducted to the Canadian Paralympic Hall of Fame as a builder in 2011. In August 2012, Fairbairn took indefinite

sick leave Sick leave (or paid sick days or sick pay) is paid time off from work that workers can use to stay home to address their health needs without losing pay. It differs from paid vacation time or time off work to deal with personal matters, because ...

from the Senate due to the onset of

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease and the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As the disease advances, symptoms can include problems wit ...

. It was subsequently reported that Fairbairn had been declared legally incompetent in February but had continued voting in the Senate until June. The Fairbairn case led to calls for the Senate to establish rules to address similar situations should they arise. On November 30, 2012, she tendered her resignation to the Governor General with effect from January 18, 2013.

Later life

On March 11, 2018, it was announced that the new middle school in Lethbridge, Alberta would be named after Fairbairn. It was named ''Senator Joyce Fairbairn Middle School'', and opened in the fall of 2018. Joyce Fairbairn died in Lethbridge on March 29, 2022, at the age of 82.

Honours

Commonwealth honours

Scholastic

; Honorary Degrees

References

External links

*
Liberal Senate Forum
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fairbairn, Joyce 1939 births 2022 deaths Canadian senators from Alberta Liberal Party of Canada senators Women members of the Senate of Canada Members of the 26th Canadian Ministry Women government ministers of Canada Members of the King's Privy Council for Canada Politicians from Lethbridge University of Alberta alumni Carleton University alumni Women in Alberta politics People with Alzheimer's disease Members of the Order of Canada 20th-century Canadian women politicians 21st-century Canadian women politicians 20th-century members of the Senate of Canada 21st-century members of the Senate of Canada