Monique Bégin (March 1, 1936 – September 8, 2023) was a Canadian academic and politician.

Early life

Bégin was born in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

to a Canadian-born sound engineer Joseph Lucien Bégin (1895–1964) and Belgian-born accountant Marie-Louise Vanhavre (1906–1967) and raised in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

and

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

before emigrating to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

at the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. She received an MA degree in

sociology Sociology is the scientific study of human society that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. The term sociol ...

from the

Université de Montréal The Université de Montréal (; UdeM; ) 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-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce on M ...

and a

PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

degree from the Sorbonne. She described her early life in Montreal as challenging, but credited community groups and her childhood role as a

Girl Guides of Canada Girl Guides of Canada (GGC; ) is the national Guiding association of Canada. Guiding in Canada started on September 7, 1910, and GGC was among the founding members of the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS) in 1928. Histo ...

member as "sav(ing) her life".

Political career

In 1967, Bégin became executive secretary 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 ...

, which published its report in 1970. She won election to the

House of Commons of Canada The House of Commons of Canada () is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Monarchy of Canada#Parliament (King-in-Parliament), Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the Bicameralism, bicameral legislature of Ca ...

as a Liberal candidate in the riding of Saint-Michel in Montreal in the 1972 election. Bégin, Albanie Morin and

Jeanne Sauvé Jeanne Mathilde Sauvé (; ; April 26, 1922 – January 26, 1993) was a Canadian politician, journalist and stateswoman who served as the 23rd governor general of Canada from 1984 to 1990 and as the 29th Speaker of the House of Commons (Canada), ...

, all elected in 1972, were the first women ever elected to the House of Commons from

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

. Bégin was appointed to the

Canadian Cabinet The Canadian Ministry ( French: ''Conseil des ministres''), colloquially referred to as the Cabinet of Canada (), is a body of ministers of the Crown that, along with the Canadian monarch, and within the tenets of the Westminster system, forms ...

Prime Minister A prime minister 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. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

Pierre Trudeau Joseph Philippe Pierre Yves Elliott Trudeau (October 18, 1919 – September 28, 2000) was a Canadian politician, statesman, and lawyer who served as the 15th prime minister of Canada from 1968 to 1979 and from 1980 to 1984. Between his no ...

Minister of National Revenue The minister responsible for the Canada Revenue Agency () is the minister of the Crown in the Canadian Cabinet who is responsible for the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA), as well as the administration of taxation law and collection. The position is ...

from 1976 to 1977, and served as Minister of Health and Welfare from 1977 to 1979 and again from 1980 to 1984 during which she introduced the

Canada Health Act The ''Canada Health Act'' (CHA; '), adopted in 1984, is the federal legislation in Canada for publicly-funded health insurance, commonly called " medicare", and sets out the primary objective of Canadian healthcare policy. As set out in the A ...

in Parliament which was passed by the House of Commons and is still in force today. She declined to run again in the 1984 election and retired from politics.

Post-politics

In 1986, she joined the

University of Ottawa The University of Ottawa (), often referred to as uOttawa or U of O, is a Official bilingualism in Canada, bilingual public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on directly to the northeast of Downtown Ot ...

and

Carleton University Carleton University is an English-language public university, public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1942 as Carleton College, the institution originally operated as a private, non-denominational evening college to se ...

as the first joint Ottawa-Carleton Chair of Women's Studies. From 1990 to 1997, she was the University of Ottawa's dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences and continued teaching as a

professor emeritus ''Emeritus/Emerita'' () is an honorary title granted to someone who retirement, retires from a position of distinction, most commonly an academic faculty position, but is allowed to continue using the previous title, as in "professor emeritus". ...

. From 1993 to 1995, she also served as co-chair of Ontario's

Royal Commission A royal commission is a major ad-hoc formal public inquiry into a defined issue in some monarchies. They have been held in the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Norway, Malaysia, Mauritius and Saudi Arabia. In republics an equi ...

on Learning with Gerald Caplan. In 1997, she was made an Officer of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada () is a Canadian state order, national order and the second-highest Award, honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the Canadian Centennial, ce ...

. Bégin served as the Treasurer for the

International Centre for Migration and Health The International Centre for Migration, Health and Development (ICMHD) is a Swiss-based non-profit organization based in Geneva, Switzerland. It is a research, training and policy centre founded in 1995 with the purpose of improving, protecting and ...

. In 2015, she was a recipient of the

Governor General's Award The Governor General's Awards are a collection of annual awards presented by the governor general of Canada, recognizing distinction in numerous academic, artistic, and social fields. The first award was conceived and inaugurated in 1937 by the ...

in Commemoration of the

Persons Case ''Edwards v Canada (AG)'', also known as the ''Persons Case'' (), is a Canadian constitutional case that decided in 1929 that women were eligible to sit in the Senate of Canada. The legal case was put forward by the Government of Canada on the ...

. In 2018, she published the memoir ''Ladies, Upstairs!: My Life in Politics and After''. Bégin was elevated to a Companion of the Order of Canada in 2020.

Death

Monique Bégin died in

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

on September 8, 2023, at the age of 87.The Honourable Monique Bégin passes away – 1936–2023
/ref>

Electoral record

References

External links

Citation for Governor General's Award in Commemoration of the Person's Case
{{DEFAULTSORT:Begin, Monique 1936 births 2023 deaths Canadian academics of women's studies University of Paris alumni Academic staff of Carleton University Ottawa University faculty Academic staff of McGill University University of Notre Dame faculty Canadian university and college faculty deans Women deans (academic) Fellows of the Royal Society of Canada Fellows of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences Liberal Party of Canada MPs Members of the 20th Canadian Ministry Members of the 22nd Canadian Ministry Members of the 23rd Canadian Ministry Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Quebec Companions of the Order of Canada Members of the King's Privy Council for Canada Women members of the House of Commons of Canada Université de Montréal alumni Women in Quebec politics Ministers of health and welfare of Canada Politicians from Rome Women government ministers of Canada 20th-century Canadian women politicians 21st-century Canadian women writers 21st-century Canadian memoirists Politicians from Ottawa Canadian women memoirists Italian expatriates in France Italian expatriates in Portugal Italian emigrants to Canada Governor General's Award in Commemoration of the Persons Case winners 20th-century members of the House of Commons of Canada