Lise Bacon (born August 25, 1934) is a former

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 ...

politician who served as Deputy Premier of Quebec from 1985 to 1994. A member of the

Quebec Liberal Party The Quebec Liberal Party (QLP; , PLQ) is a provincial political party in Quebec. It has been independent of the federal Liberal Party of Canada since 1955. The QLP has traditionally supported a form of Quebec federalist ideology with nuance ...

, she served as a Member of the

National Assembly of Quebec The National Assembly of Quebec (, ) is the Legislature, legislative body of the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec in Canada. Legislators are called MNAs (Members of the National Assembly; ). The lieutenant governor of Que ...

(MNA) for the riding of Bourassa from 1973 to 1976 and again for the riding of Chomedey from 1981 to 1994. She was the second woman elected to the National Assembly after Marie-Claire Kirkland. She served as president of the Quebec Liberal Party from 1970 to 1973, making her the first woman elected president of a political party in Canada. After leaving provincial politics, she served as a

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...

from 1994 to 2009.

Early life and education

Bacon was born August 25, 1934, in Salaberry-de-Valleyfield,

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, ...

to Joseph D. Bacon and Yvonne Jetté. Bacon attended Collège Marie-de-l'Incarnation and Académie Saint-Louis-de-Gonzague in

Trois-Rivières Trois-Rivières (, ; ) is a city in the Mauricie administrative region of Quebec, Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Saint-Maurice River, Saint-Maurice and Saint Lawrence River, Saint Lawrence rivers, on the north shore of the Sain ...

and went on to study political science, psychology, and sociology at the Institut Albert-Thomas in

Chicoutimi Chicoutimi ( , ) is the most populous borough (arrondissement) of the city of Saguenay in Quebec, Canada. It is situated at the confluence of the Saguenay and Chicoutimi rivers. During the 20th century, it became the main administrative and ...

Early career

Bacon worked as an Office Manager at the Prudential Insurance Company of America from 1951 to 1971. During this time, she was active with the

. Among other roles, she served as Treasurer of the Association des femmes libérales Louis Saint-Laurent in Trois-Rivières from 1952 to 1956, Executive Director of the Fédération des jeunes libéraux du Québec from 1954 to 1956, and Vice-President for the Mauricie region of the Fédération des femmes libérales du Québec from 1965 to 1967. She became Secretary of the Quebec Liberal Party in 1968. From 1970 to 1973, she served as President of the Quebec Liberal Party, making her the first woman elected president of a political party in Canada.

Political career

Bacon was elected as an MNA for the riding of Bourassa in the 1973 Quebec general election, becoming the second women elected to the

after Marie-Claire Kirkland. While in office, she served as Secretary of State for Social Affairs from 1973 to 1975, as Minister of Consumers, Co-operatives and Financial Institutions from 1975 to 1976, and as Minister of Immigration in 1976. Bacon was defeated in the 1976 election, losing to the

Parti québécois The Parti Québécois (PQ; , ) is a sovereignist and social democratic provincial political party in Quebec, Canada. The PQ advocates national sovereignty for Quebec involving independence of the province of Quebec from Canada and establishi ...

candidate, Patrice Laplante. Bacon worked as a citizenship judge from 1977 to 1979, then as Vice-President of the Canadian Life and Health Insurance Association for Quebec from 1979 to 1981. In the 1981 election, Bacon was elected to the riding of Chomedey and served as Vice-Chair of the Commission de l'aménagement et des équipements from 1984 to 1985. She was re-elected in the 1985 election and was appointed Deputy Premier of Quebec, a post she would hold until 1994. She served as Minister of Cultural Affairs from 1985 to 1989, Minister responsible for the Charter of the French Language from 1985 to 1988, and Minister of the Environment from 1988 to 1989. Re-elected in

1989 1989 was a turning point in political history with the "Revolutions of 1989" which ended communism in Eastern Bloc of Europe, starting in Poland and Hungary, with experiments in power-sharing coming to a head with the opening of the Berlin W ...

, she served as Minister of Energy and Resources from 1989 to 1994, as well as Minister of Regional Development and Chair of the Standing Cabinet Committee on Regional Development and the Environment.

Post-political career and appointment to Senate

After leaving politics in 1994, Bacon served as Governor of the Canada Post Learning Institute and as a member of the National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy. She was appointed

, representing the area of De la Durantaye,

, by

Governor General Governor-general (plural governors-general), or governor general (plural governors general), is the title of an official, most prominently associated with the British Empire. In the context of the governors-general and former British colonies, ...

Ray Hnatyshyn on September 14, 1994. Her term ended on August 25, 2009.

Honours

In 2003, she was made Officer of the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

of France. In 2004, she was made a Grand Officer of the

National Order of Quebec The National Order of Quebec ( French: ), also known as the Order of Quebec, is a civilian honour for merit in the Canadian province of Quebec. Instituted in 1984 when Lieutenant Governor Jean-Pierre Côté granted royal assent to the (Natio ...

. In 2010, she was appointed a Member of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada () is a Canadian state order, national order and the second-highest Award, honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the Canadian Centennial, ce ...

. In 2010, she received a Doctorate Honoris Causa from the

Université de Montréal The Université de Montréal (; UdeM; ) is a French-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university's main campus is located in the Côte-des-Neiges neighborhood of Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce on M ...

References

External links

Tribute to Hon. Lise Bacon, Senator
*
Liberal Senate Forum
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bacon, Lise 1934 births Canadian citizenship judges Canadian political party presidents Canadian senators from Quebec Women members of the Senate of Canada Deputy premiers of Quebec Grand Officers of the National Order of Quebec Liberal Party of Canada senators Living people Members of the Executive Council of Quebec Members of the Order of Canada People from Salaberry-de-Valleyfield Politicians from Montérégie Prudential Financial people Quebec Liberal Party MNAs Women MNAs in Quebec 20th-century Canadian women politicians 21st-century Canadian women politicians Women government ministers of Canada 20th-century members of the National Assembly of Quebec 20th-century members of the Senate of Canada 21st-century members of the Senate of Canada