Laura Sabia, (September 18, 1916 – October 17, 1996) was a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) 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 ...

social activist and

feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...

. Born Laura Villela in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

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 ...

, the daughter of Italian immigrants, she played an important part, in the National Chair of the Committee for the Equality of Women, in the creation of the

Royal Commission on the Status of Women The Royal Commission on the Status of Women was a Canadian Royal Commission that examined the status of women and recommended steps that might be taken by the federal government to ensure equal opportunities with men and women in all aspects of C ...

called by Prime Minister

Lester B. Pearson Lester Bowles "Mike" Pearson (23 April 1897 – 27 December 1972) was a Canadian scholar, statesman, diplomat, and politician who served as the 14th prime minister of Canada from 1963 to 1968. Born in Newtonbrook, Ontario (now part of ...

in February 1967. Sabia received her education at Ville-Marie Convent and McGill University. While in Montreal, Laura was noted as the first female to be a part of St. Catharines Separate School Board in 1953, additionally being the president of multiple disciplines including YMCA and the Community Lecture Series. She was a founding member and, from 1969 to 1973, the first president, 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. History It was founded in 1971 as a pressure group to lobby for the implementation of the 167 recommendations made in the Royal Commission on ...

. She was an alderwoman for

St. Catharines City Council The St. Catharines City Council is the governing body of the City of St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada. The council consists of the mayor plus twelve elected councillors, with two councilors representing each of the six municipal wards. A deputy may ...

and wrote columns for ''

The Toronto Sun The ''Toronto Sun'' is an English-language tabloid newspaper published daily in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The newspaper is one of several ''Sun'' tabloids published by Postmedia Network. The newspaper's offices is located at Postmedia Place in ...

'' in the 1970s and 80s. She also held the president position at the Canadian Federation of University Women and used her position to reach and inspire woman into pursuing higher education politics. Sabia's contribution continued onto 1975 when she and 10 other women participated in a project for International Women at the United Nations Conference. Sabia was a two-time candidate for the

Progressive Conservative Party of Canada The Progressive Conservative Party of Canada (PC; french: Parti progressiste-conservateur du Canada) was a centre-right federal political party in Canada that existed from 1942 to 2003. From Canadian Confederation in 1867 until 1942, the ...

. In the 1968 general election, she finished second in the riding of St. Catharines, Ontario, losing by fewer than 4,000 votes, and came in third in a 1981

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...

in the Toronto riding of Spadina, losing by 1,005 votes. In 1974, she was made an Officer of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the ...

"for her devoted service to the cause of the status of women". In 1983, she was awarded the Governor General's Awards in Commemoration of the Persons Case. She was married to Michael Sabia and had four children, including Michael John, former head of

Bell Canada Enterprises BCE Inc., formerly Bell Canada Enterprises Inc., is a publicly traded Canadian holding company for Bell Canada, which includes telecommunications providers and various mass media assets under its subsidiary Bell Media Inc. Founded through a cor ...

, who is married to

Hilary Pearson Hilary or Hillary may refer to: * Hillary Clinton, American politician * Hillary Coast, Antarctica * Hilary (name), or Hilarie or Hillary, a given name and surname * Hilary term, the spring term at the Universities of Oxford and Dublin * ''Hikari ...

, the granddaughter of former

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

Lester Pearson Lester Bowles "Mike" Pearson (23 April 1897 – 27 December 1972) was a Canadian scholar, statesman, diplomat, and politician who served as the 14th prime minister of Canada from 1963 to 1968. Born in Newtonbrook, Ontario (now part of ...

. She died of

Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a long-term degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that mainly affects the motor system. The symptoms usually emerge slowly, and as the disease worsens, non-motor symptoms becom ...

on October 17, 1996, in Toronto, Ontario.

References

* * *Sabia, L. (1966, April).Canadians- Awake! ''Women Speaking''. p. 6 *(1965, October 23). ‘Greatest Discrimination’ Levelled At Universities. ''Women''. *(1966, October 6) Never under-estimate the power of a Mrs. M. J. Sabia. ''Toronto Daily Star.'' *(1967, November 27). Feminist asks men for rights, less love. ''Globe and Mail.'' *(1974, February 19). Woman-power thrust of Sabia’s sorties. ''Kitchener-Waterloo Record'', p. 43. *(1974, December 11). Laura Sabia. ''The St.Catharines Standard''.

External links

CBC.ca March 28, 1967 Television broadcast: Canadian feminists fight for change
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sabia, Laura 1916 births 1996 deaths Canadian columnists Canadian feminists Deaths from Parkinson's disease Neurological disease deaths in Ontario Canadian people of Italian descent Officers of the Order of Canada Ontario candidates for Member of Parliament Journalists from Montreal Politicians from Montreal Women in Ontario politics Canadian women journalists St. Catharines city councillors Canadian women columnists 20th-century Canadian women writers 20th-century Canadian non-fiction writers Progressive Conservative Party of Canada candidates for the Canadian House of Commons Candidates in the 1968 Canadian federal election Writers from Montreal Women municipal councillors in Canada 20th-century Canadian women politicians Canadian women non-fiction writers Governor General's Award in Commemoration of the Persons Case winners