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

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 ...

politician who served as

Deputy Premier of Quebec The deputy premiers of Quebec (French: ''Vice-premier ministres du Québec'' (masculine) or ''Vice-première ministres du Québec'' (feminine)), is the deputy head of government in Quebec. There was no deputy premier until July 1960. In the 1960s ...

from 1985 to 1994. A member of the Quebec Liberal Party, she served as a Member of the

National Assembly of Quebec The National Assembly of Quebec (officially in french: link=no, Assemblée nationale du Québec) is the legislative body of the province of Quebec in Canada. Legislators are called MNAs (Members of the National Assembly; french: link=no, déput ...

(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 women elected to the National Assembly after

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, ...

. 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 politics, she served as a Senator from 1994 to 2009.

Early life and education

Bacon was born August 25, 1934 in

Salaberry-de-Valleyfield Salaberry-de-Valleyfield is a city in southwestern Quebec, Canada, in the Regional County Municipality of Beauharnois-Salaberry. The population as of 2019 was 42,410. Situated on Grande-Île, an island in the Saint Lawrence River, it is bordere ...

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 ...

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 (, – 'Three Rivers') is a city in the Mauricie administrative region of Quebec, Canada, at the confluence of the Saint-Maurice and Saint Lawrence rivers, on the north shore of the Saint Lawrence River across from the city of ...

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 com ...

Early career

Bacon worked as an Office Manager at the

Prudential Insurance Company of America Prudential Financial, Inc. is an American Fortune Global 500 and Fortune 500 company whose subsidiaries provide insurance, retirement planning, investment management, and other products and services to both retail and institutional customers t ...

from 1951 to 1971. During this time, she was active with the Quebec Liberal Party. 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 The 1973 Quebec general election was held on October 29, 1973 to elect members to National Assembly of Quebec, Canada. The incumbent Quebec Liberal Party, led by Premier Robert Bourassa, won re-election, defeating the ''Parti Québécois'', led ...

, becoming the second women elected to the

after

. 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 establishin ...

candidate, Patrice Laplante. Bacon worked as a

citizenship judge The Citizenship Commission is an administrative tribunal within Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC). The overall mandate of the Commission is to assess referred applications to ensure they meet the residence or physical-presence ...

from 1977 to 1979, then as Vice-President of the

Canadian Life and Health Insurance Association The Canadian Life and Health Insurance Association Inc. (CLHIA; french: Association canadienne des compagnies d'assurances de personnes) is a voluntary trade organization representing life insurance and health insurance providers in Canada. The or ...

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

, 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 File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxon Valdez oil tanker runs ...

, 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 Senator, 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 office-holder. In the context of governors-general and former British colonies, governors-general are appointed as viceroy ...

Ray Hnatyshyn Ramon John Hnatyshyn ( ; uk, Роман Іванович Гнатишин, Roman Ivanovych Hnatyshyn, ; March 16, 1934December 18, 2002) was a Canadian lawyer and statesman who served as governor general of Canada, the 24th since Canadian Co ...

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 (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

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

National Order of Quebec The National Order of Quebec, termed officially in French as ''l'Ordre national du Québec'', and in English abbreviation as the Order of Quebec, is an order of merit in the Canadian province of Quebec. Instituted in 1984 when Lieutenant Governo ...

. In 2010, she was appointed a Member 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 cen ...

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

Université de Montréal The Université de Montréal (UdeM; ; translates to University of Montreal) 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- ...

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 Prudential Financial people Quebec Liberal Party MNAs Women MNAs in Quebec 21st-century Canadian politicians 21st-century Canadian women politicians Women government ministers of Canada