Marie-Claire Kirkland-Casgrain, (September 8, 1924 – March 24, 2016) 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 ...
lawyer, judge and politician. She was the first woman elected to the
Legislative Assembly of Quebec
The Legislative Assembly of Quebec (French: ''Assemblée législative du Québec'') was the name of the lower house of Quebec's legislature from 1867 to December 31, 1968, when it was renamed the National Assembly of Quebec. At the same time, t ...
, the first woman appointed a Cabinet minister in Quebec, the first woman appointed acting premier, and the first woman judge to serve in the Quebec Provincial Court.
Life
Born in
Palmer
Palmer may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Palmer (pilgrim), a medieval European pilgrim to the Holy Land
* Palmer (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters
* Palmer (surname), including a list of people and ...
,
, the daughter of
Charles-Aimé Kirkland (who was studying at Harvard), a Quebec MLA from 1939 to 1961, and Rose Demers, she received a
Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...
in 1947 and a
Bachelor of Civil Law
Bachelor of Civil Law (abbreviated BCL, or B.C.L.; la, Baccalaureus Civilis Legis) is the name of various degrees in law conferred by English-language universities. The BCL originated as a postgraduate degree in the universities of Oxford and Camb ...
in 1950 from
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 admitted to the Quebec Bar in 1952 and was made a
Queen's Counsel
In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of ...
in 1969. From 1952 to 1961, she practiced law 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 ...
.
She was elected in a
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 ...
as a
Liberal
Liberal or liberalism may refer to:
Politics
* a supporter of liberalism
** Liberalism by country
* an adherent of a Liberal Party
* Liberalism (international relations)
* Sexually liberal feminism
* Social liberalism
Arts, entertainment and m ...
in her father's riding of
Jacques-Cartier
Jacques-Cartier is an electoral district in the West Island of Montreal, Canada, that elects members to the National Assembly of Quebec. It is the only provincial electoral district in Quebec with an Anglophone majority. It notably includes th ...
after his death in 1961. She was re-elected in
1962
Events January
* January 1 – Western Samoa becomes independent from New Zealand.
* January 3 – Pope John XXIII excommunicates Fidel Castro for preaching communism.
* January 8 – Harmelen train disaster: 93 die in the wors ...
. She held two cabinet posts in the government of
Jean Lesage
Jean Lesage (; 10 June 1912 – 12 December 1980) was a Canadian lawyer and politician from Quebec. He served as the 19th premier of Quebec from 22 June 1960 to 16 June 1966. Alongside Georges-Émile Lapalme, René Lévesque and others, he is o ...
: Minister without Portfolio (1962 to 1964) and Minister of Transport and Communications (1964 to 1966). In
1966
Events January
* January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko.
* January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo i ...
, she was elected in the riding of
Marguerite-Bourgeoys
Marguerite-Bourgeoys is a provincial electoral district in the Montreal region of Quebec, Canada that elects members to the National Assembly of Quebec. It comprises the LaSalle borough of the city of Montreal.
It was created for the 1966 elect ...
and re-elected in
1970
Events
January
* January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC.
* January 5 – The 7.1 Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli intensity of X (''Extrem ...
. She also held two cabinet posts in the government of
Robert Bourassa
Robert Bourassa (; July 14, 1933 – October 2, 1996) was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 22nd premier of Quebec from 1970 to 1976 and from 1985 to 1994. A member of the Liberal Party of Quebec, he served a total of just un ...
: Minister of Tourism, Game and Fishing (1970 to 1972) and Minister of Cultural Affairs (1972 to 1973).
She resigned in 1973 to become a judge. She retired in 1991.
In 1985, she was made a Knight 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 Gove ...
. In 1992, she was made 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 ...
. In 1993, she was the recipient of the Governor General's Award in Commemoration of the Persons Case.
She was married to lawyer Philippe Casgrain with whom she had three children before they eventually divorced. She remarried Wyndham Strover. On March 24, 2016, she died at the age of 91.
Legacy
In 2012, Quebec premier
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 Casgrain,
Idola Saint-Jean
Idola Saint-Jean (May 19, 1880 – April 6, 1945) was a Quebec 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 ...
and Kirkland outside the National Assembly of 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 female cabinet minister in Quebec.
She was the first woman in the history of Quebec to be honoured with a national funeral.
References
External links
National Order of Quebec citation
*
Order of Canada citation*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kirkland, Marie-Claire
1924 births
2016 deaths
Judges in Quebec
Lawyers in Quebec
Knights of the National Order of Quebec
Members of the Order of Canada
McGill University alumni
McGill University Faculty of Law alumni
People from Palmer, Massachusetts
Quebec Liberal Party MNAs
Women MNAs in Quebec
Canadian women judges
Canadian women lawyers
Canadian King's Counsel
Women government ministers of Canada
Beaubien-Casgrain family
Governor General's Award in Commemoration of the Persons Case winners