Idola Saint-Jean (May 19, 1880 – April 6, 1945) was a

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

journalist, educator and feminist. She devoted her life to the pursuit of equal rights for women in Quebec and her efforts lead to women being given the right to vote in Quebec in 1940.

Life

Saint-Jean was born in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

and taught in the French studies department at

McGill University McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter granted by King George IV,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill Universit ...

. She was secretary for the board of the Montréal Juvenile Court and was named to the Commission du salaire minimum des femmes du Québec in 1925. In 1927, Saint-Jean founded the Alliance canadienne pour le vote des femmes au Québec. She was among the group of women who met with Quebec prime minister

Louis-Alexandre Taschereau Louis-Alexandre Taschereau (; March 5, 1867 – July 6, 1952) was the 14th premier of Quebec from 1920 to 1936. He was a member of the Parti libéral du Québec. Early life Taschereau was born in Quebec City, Quebec, the son of Jean-Thoma ...

to demand that women be given the right to vote. She returned before the Quebec National Assembly each subsequent year until 1940, when women finally won the right to vote. In 1930, she ran unsuccessfully for a seat in the Canadian House of Commons as an independent candidate in Saint-Denis, finishing third. Saint-Jean died in Montreal at the age of 64. In 2016, she was one of five finalist to be on Canadian banknotes, a competition closed to men. She ultimately lost to civil rights activist

Viola Desmond Viola Irene Desmond (July 6, 1914 – February 7, 1965) was a Canadian civil and women's rights activist and businesswoman of Black Nova Scotian descent. In 1946, she challenged racial segregation at a cinema in New Glasgow, Nova Scotia by refu ...

Legacy

Monument en hommage aux femmes en politique 08

The Rue Idola-Saint-Jean in

Sherbrooke Sherbrooke ( ; ) is a city in southern Quebec, Canada. It is at the confluence of the Saint-François and Magog rivers in the heart of the Estrie administrative region. Sherbrooke is also the name of a territory equivalent to a regional count ...

and Parc Idola-Saint-Jean in Montreal were named in her honour. The Prix Idola St-Jean is awarded by the

Fédération des femmes du Québec The Fédération des femmes du Québec (FFQ; English: "Quebec Women's Federation") is a feminist organization binding individuals and groups in a common goal to "promote and defend the interests and the rights of women and to fight against all form ...

to a woman or group of women who have made a significant contribution to improving conditions for Quebec women. In March 1981, a Canadian stamp was issued depicting Idola St-Jean. In 2012,

Quebec Premier The premier of Quebec (French: ''premier ministre du Québec'' (masculine) or ''première ministre du Québec'' (feminine)) is the head of government of the Canadian province of Quebec. The current premier of Quebec is François Legault of th ...

Pauline Marois Pauline Marois (; born March 29, 1949) is a retired Canadian politician, who served as the 30th premier of Quebec from 2012 to 2014. Marois had been a member of the National Assembly in various ridings since 1981 as a member of the Parti Québ� ...

unveiled a statue of Saint-Jean,

Thérèse Casgrain Marie Thérèse Casgrain, ., née Forget (10 July 1896 – 3 November 1981) was a French Canadian feminist, reformer, politician and senator. She was a leader in the fight for women's right to vote in the province of Quebec, as well as the first ...

and

Marie-Claire Kirkland Marie-Claire Kirkland-Casgrain, (September 8, 1924 – March 24, 2016) was a Quebec lawyer, judge and politician. She was the first woman elected to the Legislative Assembly of Quebec, the first woman appointed a Cabinet minister in Quebec, ...

. The statue by

Jules Lasalle Jules Lasalle (born April 1, 1957, Saint-Michel-des-Saints, Quebec, Canada) is a sculptor living and working in Montreal. He has made many commemorative monuments that can be seen in Montreal, Longueuil, Quebec city, and other places... Works I ...

was to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Kirkland being made the first Canadian female minister.Monument to women in politics
Radio Canada, in French, retrieved 28 December 2014

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Saint-Jean, Idola 1880 births 1945 deaths Activists from Montreal Journalists from Montreal Canadian feminists Canadian women's rights activists Persons of National Historic Significance (Canada) Canadian suffragists Burials at Notre Dame des Neiges Cemetery Women in Quebec