Madeleine Parent
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Madeleine Parent (June 23, 1918 – March 12, 2012) was a Canadian labour, feminist and aboriginal rights activist. Her achievements included her work in establishing the Canadian Textile and Chemical Union and the
Confederation of Canadian Unions The Confederation of Canadian Unions (CCU; '' is a national trade union centre, a central labour body of independent unions in Canada. History The Council of Canadian Unions was founded in 1969 by militant labour organizers Madeleine Parent ...
alongside her partner and fellow trade unionist Kent Rowley. She was a prominent figure in the
1946 Montreal Cottons strike The Montreal Cottons Company strike of 1946 was a hundred-day-long Strike action, strike in which 3,000 textile manufacturing, mill workers from Salaberry-de-Valleyfield, Quebec, fought for the right to obtain a collective agreement. Mill worker ...
. Retiring from union work in 1983 to Montréal, Parent continued her social activist role, focusing on women's rights. She became a founding member of the
National Action Committee on the Status of Women The National Action Committee on the Status of Women was a Canadian feminist activist organization that existed from 1971 to 2007. History It was founded in 1971 as a pressure group to lobby for the implementation of the 167 recommendations m ...
(NAC) and has played an active role in addressing issues faced by immigrant and Aboriginal women. In 1955, she was arrested for seditious conspiracy by the government of
Maurice Duplessis Maurice Le Noblet Duplessis, (; April 20, 1890 – September 7, 1959) byname "Le Chef" (, "The Boss"), was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 16th premier of Quebec. A Conservatism in Canada, conservative, Quebec nationalism, ...
. After a six-month incarceration, she was acquitted.


Early life

Born in
Montréal 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 ...
,
Québec Quebec is Canada's 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, New Brunswick to the southeast and a coastal border ...
in 1918, she was the daughter of Marie-Anne Rita Forest and J.B. Parent. Madeleine Parent received her early education in French at the L’Académie St. Urbain, the Villa-Maria Convent and in English at the Trafalgar School for Girls. She then attended
McGill University McGill University (French: Université McGill) is an English-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill University, Vol. I. For the Advancement of Learning, ...
, graduating with a B.A. in 1940. During her McGill years, she took part in her first collective action through the Canadian Students Assembly (CSA) campaign to seek financial aid for students in need. She also met
Val Bjarnason The Communist Party of Canada - Ontario fielded a number of candidates in the 1977 Ontario provincial election, none of whom were elected. Information about these candidates may be found on this page. Val Bjarnason ( Oakwood) Bjarnason was a s ...
, a student from British Columbia, at a CSA conference, and married him in 1941.


Career

By 1942, she was the secretary of the Montreal Trades and Labour Council organizing committee. In 1943, she began working as a key union organizer, with Kent Rowley, for the
United Textile Workers of America The United Textile Workers of America (UTW) was a North American trade union established in 1901. History The United Textile Workers of America was founded following two conferences in 1901 under the aegis of the American Federation of Labor (AFL) ...
(UTW), in Québec. By 1946, 6000 textile workers, organized into a union by Rowley and Parent, engaged in a strike against Dominion Textile in Valleyfield and Montréal. These activities engendered a strong reaction from the provincial government of
Maurice Duplessis Maurice Le Noblet Duplessis, (; April 20, 1890 – September 7, 1959) byname "Le Chef" (, "The Boss"), was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 16th premier of Quebec. A Conservatism in Canada, conservative, Quebec nationalism, ...
against Parent, including arrests, legal proceedings for seditious conspiracy and charges that she was a communist. In 1952, in the midst of another strike in Valleyfield, the international UTWA pushed Parent and Rowley out of the union. Afterwards, both Parent and Rowley eschewed the American international union movement in favour of Canadian-based unions. Madeleine Parent joined with Kent Rowley to found the Canadian Textile Council (CTC) in 1952 that later became the Canadian Textile and Chemical Union (CTCU). Rowley was the President of the union with Madeleine Parent as Secretary-Treasurer. In 1953 Parent married Rowley. In 1969, they became founding members of the Council of Canadian Unions that latter became the Confederation of Canadian Unions (CCU), in which Rowley served as Secretary-Treasurer until his death in 1978. Madeleine Parent's post-1967 union work was focused mainly in Ontario. She served as the Secretary-Treasurer of the CTCU, as well as the Eastern Vice-President of the CCU. The union activities also served as a vehicle for Parent's engagement in issues such as equal pay for equal work. Retiring from union work in 1983 to Montréal, Madeleine Parent continued her social activist role, focusing on women's rights. She became a founding member of the
National Action Committee on the Status of Women The National Action Committee on the Status of Women was a Canadian feminist activist organization that existed from 1971 to 2007. History It was founded in 1971 as a pressure group to lobby for the implementation of the 167 recommendations m ...
(NAC) and has played an active role in addressing issues faced by immigrant and Aboriginal women.


Commemoration

The public place located next to the former Montreal Cotton Company in Valleyfield was named Madeleine-Parent Space in her honour. Madeleine Parent's efforts in organizing workers and fighting for labour rights have made an indelible contribution to the Canadian labour movement. This, in addition to her work for social justice including women's rights, has been recognized through honorary degrees from several Canadian universities including her alma mater, McGill University, in 2002. The
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 ...
Southwest Borough announced that it would spend CDN $1.6 million for a parcel of property along the
Lachine Canal The Lachine Canal (, ) is a canal passing through the southwestern part of the Island of Montreal, Quebec, Canada, running 14.5 kilometres (9 miles) from the Old Port of Montreal to Lake Saint-Louis, through the boroughs of Lachine (borough), L ...
to turn into a park in Parent's name. The park was inaugurated on September 17, 2016. The bridge carrying
Quebec Autoroute 30 Autoroute 30 (A-30), or the Autoroute de l'Acier (In English, ''Steel Freeway'') is an Autoroute in Quebec, Canada. Construction of the A-30 dates back to the early days of autoroute construction in the 1960s. Originally called Highway 3, the A ...
over the
Beauharnois Canal The Beauharnois Canal (, ) is located in southwestern Quebec, Canada. The canal is part of the Saint Lawrence Seaway. Located in Beauharnois-Salaberry Regional County Municipality within the cities of Salaberry-de-Valleyfield, Beauharnois, S ...
was named Madeleine Parent Bridge in her honour. In September 2023, Parent was one of three Quebec feminists and trade unionists, along with Léa Roback and Simonne Monet-Chartrand, honoured by
Canada Post Canada Post Corporation (, trading as Canada Post (), is a Canadian Crown corporation that functions as the primary postal operator in Canada. Originally known as Royal Mail Canada (the operating name of the Post Office Department of the Can ...
with a
postage stamp A postage stamp is a small piece of paper issued by a post office, postal administration, or other authorized vendors to customers who pay postage (the cost involved in moving, insuring, or registering mail). Then the stamp is affixed to the f ...
.


References


External links

*Sabourin, D.
Madeleine Parent
" The Canadian Encyclopedia (2017).
Madeleine Parent fonds
McGill University Archives The McGill University Archives (MUA) performs integrated archival and records management for McGill University McGill University (French: Université McGill) is an English-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founde ...
. {{DEFAULTSORT:Parent, Madeleine 1918 births 2012 deaths Trade unionists from Quebec Canadian women's rights activists Neurological disease deaths in Quebec Deaths from Parkinson's disease in Canada Canadian women trade unionists Confederation of Canadian Unions McGill University alumni Activists from Montreal Canadian trade union leaders Canadian socialist feminists