Pearl Kathryne McGonigal (born June 10, 1929) is a retired

Manitoba Manitoba ( ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population o ...

politician and office-holder. She was a prominent

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...

-area municipal politician from 1969 to 1981, and served as the province's 19th

Lieutenant Governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

from October 23, 1981 to December 11, 1986. She was the first woman to serve as Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba and only the second woman to serve as a viceroy in Canadian history, after

Pauline McGibbon Pauline Mills McGibbon (21 October 1910 – 14 December 2001) served as the 22nd Lieutenant Governor of Ontario from 1974 to 1980. In addition to being the first woman to occupy that position, she was also the first woman to serve as a vi ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

. McGonigal was born in Melville,

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada, western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on t ...

. Before entering politics, she spent nine years in the banking sector and seven as a merchandising representative. McGonigal was elected to the city council of St. James-Assiniboia in 1969, two years before its amalgamation with

. Following amalgamation, she served on the Greater City Council from 1971 to 1981, and was the city's Deputy Mayor from 1979 to 1981. Throughout her time on council, she was a member of the

Independent Citizens' Election Committee Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

, an unofficial alliance of right-wing and pro-development interest groups in the city (McGonigal's husband was a prominent Winnipeg-area developer). McGonigal was appointed Lt. Governor of Manitoba 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 t ...

Edward Schreyer Edward Richard Schreyer (born December 21, 1935) is a Canadian politician, diplomat, and statesman who served as Governor General of Canada, the 22nd since Canadian Confederation. Schreyer was born and educated in Manitoba, and was first electe ...

, on the advice of

Pierre Trudeau Joseph Philippe Pierre Yves Elliott Trudeau ( , ; October 18, 1919 – September 28, 2000), also referred to by his initials PET, was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 15th prime minister of Canada The prime mini ...

, in 1981. The office was essentially a ceremonial post by this time, and McGonigal had little if any practical influence over the government of

Howard Pawley Howard Russell Pawley (November 21, 1934 – December 30, 2015) was a Canadian politician and professor who was the 18th premier of Manitoba from 1981 to 1988. Prior to his premiership, Pawley served in various ministerial positions after his t ...

during her time in office. She was notable, however, as the first woman in Manitoba (and only the second 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 ...

) to hold such a position. McGonigal has also worked as the Manitoba chair of the Council for Canadian Unity. She was appointed to 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 1994 and the

Order of Manitoba The Order of Manitoba (french: Ordre du Manitoba) is a civilian honour for merit in the Canadian province of Manitoba. Instituted in 1999 when Lieutenant Governor Peter Liba granted Royal Assent to The Order of Manitoba Act, the order is administe ...

in 2000. In 2003, she received the President's Award from the Winnipeg Press Club. She is a gourmet cook that has written regular columns on the subject in Winnipeg's daily and community newspapers. Also during the early 2000s, McGonigal served as Chairman of the Canadian Forces Liaison Council in Manitoba, which regularly lobbies public bodies and private businesses to grant time off to military reservists for training purposes.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McGonigal, Pearl 1929 births Living people Lieutenant Governors of Manitoba Winnipeg city councillors Members of the Order of Canada Members of the Order of Manitoba People from Melville, Saskatchewan Women municipal councillors in Canada Canadian Anglicans Women in Manitoba politics Canadian women viceroys