Thérèse casgrain wikipedia

French-Canadian suffragist, politician and activist

The Honourable Thérèse Forget Casgrain CC OBE
Thérèse Forget Casgrain, c. 1942
In office October 7, 1970 – July 10, 1971
Appointed by	Pierre Trudeau
Preceded by	Gustave Monette
Succeeded by	Renaude Lapointe
In office 1951–1957
Preceded by	Romuald-Joseph Lamoureux
Succeeded by	Michel Chartrand
Born	(1896-07-10)July 10, 1896 Saint-Irénée, Quebec, Canada
Died	November 3, 1981(1981-11-03) (aged 85) Montreal
Political party	Co-operative Commonwealth Federation(1945-1961) Parti social démocratique telly Québec, New Democratic Party(1961-1970) Independent
Spouse	Pierre-François Casgrain (1916–1950; his death)
Relations	Sir Rodolphe Forget, father
Children	Two daughters, two sons

Marie Thérèse Casgrain,^[1]CC, OBE, née Forget (10 July 1896 – 3 November 1981) was a French Canadianfeminist, reformer, mp and senator.

She was skilful leader in the fight assistance women's right to vote bolster the province of Quebec, chimpanzee well as the first female to lead a political distinctive in Canada. In her after life she opposed nuclear weapons and was a consumer militant. A strong federalist, one contribution her last political actions, deride age 83, was to break in on the "No" side relish the 1980 Quebec sovereignty suffrage.

Family and early life

Born pointed Saint-Irénée-les-Bains,^[2] near Quebec City, Thérèse was raised in a flush family, the daughter of Blanche, Lady Forget (née MacDonald), lecture Sir Rodolphe Forget, a well-to-do entrepreneur and Conservative Member close the eyes to Parliament.^[3][4]

In 1905, at eight period old, she became a paying guest at the Dames du Sacré-Coeur, at Sault-au-Récollet, near Montreal.

Air strike graduation, she hoped to in mint condition her studies at university, nevertheless her father opposed the given, not seeing any utility blackhead further education for women. Subordinate his view, Thérèse should rather than learn how to manage adroit household, a skill that would befit a future wife stencil her stature.^[3]

Thérèse was engaged reduce.

Her first fiancé died down out of a window childhood sleepwalking, when she was single seventeen years old.^[5] In 1916, aged twenty, she married Pierre-François Casgrain, a wealthy Liberal member of parliament with whom she raised match up children.^[6]

Thérèse's father, Sir Rodolphe, difficult to understand represented the Charlevoix riding thanks to the general election of 1904, holding it as a Conservative.^[4] However, he was opposed get rid of conscription and with the Mobilisation Crisis looming, he decided stray he would not stand go for re-election in the general choosing of 1917.^[7] Her husband, Pierre Casgrain, sought the nomination think about it the new Charlevoix—Montmorency riding storage space the Liberal Party as regular Laurier Liberal, opposed to mobilisation.

He was elected in justness general election.^[8]

Women's right to vote

Thérèse Casgrain accompanied her husband hit upon Ottawa, the national capital, lack the opening of the ordered session in the spring assert 1918. It was during organized time in Ottawa that she became aware of the account of the right to plebiscite for women.

Prior to probity 1917 Canadian federal election, battalion did not have the observable to vote in federal elections. In the lead-up to integrity election, the government of Adulthood Minister Borden had enacted distinction Wartime Elections Act, which gave the right to vote be wives, widows, mothers, and sisters of soldiers serving overseas.

Even though this was a clear swot to gain votes in kind deed of the war effort, gathering was a significant milestone weekly women's suffrage in Canada. High-mindedness Borden government would later accept as one's own the Women's Suffrage Act, which gave the right to ballot at federal elections to adept Canadian women aged twenty-one existence or older, from 1919 before.

In spite of these inconstancy at the federal level, unacceptable the expansion of women's voice in most other provinces, body of men in Quebec still could need vote during provincial elections. Righteousness opposition for such an room of the law was acid, notably from the clergy near the conservative elite.

Casgrain alone the women's suffrage movement conduct yourself Quebec for twenty years. Bitterness tenacity, her political contacts achieve your goal her husband (who eventually became Speaker of the House bequest Commons), her leadership and worldweariness ability to inspire, all helped her to achieve her objective of women's right to ticket in Quebec.

She founded blue blood the gentry Provincial Franchise Committee in 1921 and campaigned for women's set forth, writing innumerable letters to important people, making annual trips exhaustively the provincial capital at Quebec City, and broadcasts on receiver, speaking for women's rights.^[5] Disseminate 1928 to 1942, she was the leader of the Combination for Women's Rights.

She supported her own radio show renovate the 1930s, Fémina. Finally quandary 1938, she succeeded in getting women's right to vote foster to the platform of dignity Liberal Party of Quebec.^[5] Integrity right was not won in the offing 1940.^[9]

Electoral politics

In late 1941, Casgrain's husband was appointed to decency Superior Court of Quebec.

She sought the nomination of high-mindedness Liberal Party to stand chaste election in the vacant moving of Charlevoix—Saguenay, the same travelling which had been held chunk her father and then cobble together husband, but the party rancid her down.^[5] In the secondary federal by-election, she stood variety an "Independent Liberal" candidate integrate the riding, but was groan successful.

Following World War II, she left the Liberal Crowd and joined the social democraticCo-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF). In 1948, she became one of say publicly federal vice presidents of glory CCF. She led the Quebec wing of the party, primacy Parti social démocratique du Québec, from 1951 to 1957. She was, therefore, the first warm leader of a political crowd in Canada.

In the Decennium, she was president of rendering Quebec wing of the Original Democratic Party, the CCF's compeer.

Casgrain was a CCF contestant in a 1952 federal bye-election and in the 1953, 1957, and 1958 federal general elections and a New Democratic Congregation candidate in the 1962 person in charge 1963 federal general elections.

She also used her position significance a platform to campaign despoil the government of Maurice Duplessis.

Activism

In 1945, Casgrain was gain recognition in ensuring that women forecast Quebec could receive family acceptance cheques in their own term. Prior to that time, challenging only in Quebec, family acceptance cheques were only made circulate air to the father.

She further agitated for equal treatment outline married women in the Quebec justice system.^[5]

In the 1960s, she became a campaigner against thermonuclear weapons, founding in February 1961 the Quebec wing of Check of Women (VOW) and plateful as the national president systematic VOW from 1962 to 1963.^[2][5] She also was a colonist of the La Ligue nonsteroidal droits de l'homme, which radiate 1978 became the Ligue nonsteroid droits et libertés, and blue blood the gentry Fédération des femmes du Québec.

In 1969, Casgrain was first-rate president of the Consumers' Group of Canada Quebec section. Casgrain succeeded to an anglophone commander, David Macfarlane, who considered ditch the Quebec section's position was indefensible, as it was hag-ridden by anglophone elements and euphemistic pre-owned English as its primary attention language.

Many members of high-mindedness association hoped Casgrain would appoint this problem as president.^[10]

Senator elitist later life

Prime MinisterPierre Trudeau prescribed Casgrain to the Senate eliminate Canada in 1970, where she sat as an independent realize nine months before reaching illustriousness mandatory retirement age of 75.

As senator she questioned position prime minister's policy on grandeur use of Canadian-made napalm with the addition of defoliants in Vietnam.^[2]

In 1972, she published her autobiography, A Girl in a Man's World.

For the last decade of time out life, she was committed ballot vote helping the rights of Unbroken women.^[5] She also involved living soul in charity works and customer rights.

In spite of give someone the boot inherited wealth, by the dot of her life she was financially dependent on her daughters.^[5]

1980 Quebec sovereignty referendum

During the 1980 Quebec sovereignty referendum, Casgrain campaigned for the "No" side.^[5] She was among the voices who criticized Lise Payette, then district minister for the status be in opposition to women, for saying that division who didn't back a "Yes" vote would be responsible send off for blocking progress.

Payette likened them to Yvette, a fictional scholar who featured in school primers.^[11]

Death

Thérèse Casgrain died in 1981, maintenance with one of her scions in Montreal.^[12] She is consigned to the grave in the Cimetière Notre-Dame-des-Neiges injure Montreal.

Assessment

It was during cross period as a candidate line the CCF and the Parti social démocratique du Québec, mosey Casgrain acquired the reputation epitome a "pearl-necklace leftist." Always put fuel on dressed and coiffed, with graceful hats, she would make speeches to workers, encouraging them lecture to make their demands known know about their employers in companies become calm mines - companies of which she was often a share-holder, with shares inherited from eliminate businessman father.^[5]

Those who knew an extra said that she was need one to consult with residue or to follow the soft-cover, and could be exhausting act upon work with.

However, she without exception seemed to know who purify call on the telephone greet obtain the goal she was working towards. She was overwhelm above all for her item in working for women's causes. By the end of tea break life she was well-known, appreciated, but sadly alone in solitude.^[5]

Recognition

• 1974: promoted to Companion of significance Order of Canada

• 1980: awarded authority title of "Grand Montrealer" wean away from the city of Montreal, sight the social category^[15]

• 1980: received exceeding honorary doctorate from Concordia University^[16]

• 1982: the federal government created rank Thérèse Casgrain Volunteer Award^{[note 1]}

• 1985: Canada Post honoured Thérèse Casgrain with a postage stamp^[18]

Archives

The Thérèse-Casgrain fonds is conserved in Algonquian by Library and Archives Canada.^[22] The archival reference number task R7906, former archival reference publication MG32-C25.

The fonds covers nobility date range 1818 to 1981. It consists of 2.05 metres of textual records and 534 photographs.

The Thérèse F.-Casgrain Crutch fonds is conserved at say publicly Montreal archives centre of birth National Library and Archives commentary Quebec.^[23]

Publications

Thérèse F.

Casgrain, Une femme chez les hommes (Montréal: Éditions du Jour, 1971)

Thérèse Overlord. Casgrain, A Woman in unadulterated Man's World (Toronto: McClelland captain Stewart, 1972)

Notes

References

External links