Simonne Monet-Chartrand (November 4, 1919 – January 18, 1993) was a Canadian

labor activist A union organizer (or union organiser in Commonwealth spelling) is a specific type of trade union member (often elected) or an appointed union official. A majority of unions appoint rather than elect their organizers. In some unions, the orga ...

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 ...

writer, and

pacifist Pacifism is the opposition or resistance to war, militarism (including conscription and mandatory military service) or violence. Pacifists generally reject theories of Just War. The word ''pacifism'' was coined by the French peace campaign ...

. She was an advocate for

syndicalist Syndicalism is a revolutionary current within the left-wing of the labor movement that seeks to unionize workers according to industry and advance their demands through strikes with the eventual goal of gaining control over the means of pr ...

causes and a proponent of women in the labor movement. A co-founder of

Concordia University Concordia University ( French: ''Université Concordia'') is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1974 following the merger of Loyola College and Sir George Williams University, Concordia is one of the t ...

's Simone de Beauvoir Institute, dedicated to feminist studies, Monet-Chartrand also co-founded the Federation des femmes du Quebec, the pacifist movement Voix des Femmes, and the Movement for Nuclear Disarmament.

Early life

Simonne Monet-Chartrand was born 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, Canada, in 1919. Her parents were Aurore-Berthe Alain and Amédée Monet, who was a judge, as was her grandfather

Dominique Monet Dominique Monet, QC (January 2, 1865 – February 6, 1923) was a Canadian lawyer, politician, and judge. Born in St-Michel de Napierville, Canada East, the son of Dominique Monet, Monet was educated at L'Assomption College and received an ...

. Her family was well-off, spending summers on the

Richelieu River The Richelieu River () is a river of Quebec, Canada, and a major right-bank tributary of the St. Lawrence River. It rises at Lake Champlain, from which it flows northward through Quebec and empties into the St. Lawrence. It was formerly kno ...

in Beloeil. She studied at a Catholic boarding school in Montreal, and began noting the inequalities between boys and girls at a young age. A dark stain on her otherwise idyllic childhood was the death of her brother Roger, of

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...

; Monet-Chartrand also caught the disease, but she survived thanks to a long stay in a

sanatorium A sanatorium (from Latin '' sānāre'' 'to heal, make healthy'), also sanitarium or sanitorium, are antiquated names for specialised hospitals, for the treatment of specific diseases, related ailments and convalescence. Sanatoriums are often ...

in the

Laurentides The Laurentides () is a region of Quebec. While it is often called the Laurentians in English, the region includes only part of the Laurentian mountains. It has a total land area of and its population was 589,400 inhabitants as of the 2016 Cens ...

. After graduating high school, she attended 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-de ...

from 1939 to 1942, where she studied literature. Her activist career began with joining the

Jeunesse Étudiante Chrétienne Jeunesse Étudiante Chrétienne (JEC) is a worldwide group of young Christian students. The movement also goes by the name YCS (Young Christian Students) in English or JEC (Juventud Estudiantil Catolica) in Spanish. History Created 1929 in Franc ...

, a youth organization of the Catholic social movement, during her student years. She led the organization's provincial-level board of directors and began to work with a number of influential activist figures, including fellow Catholic youth leader

Michel Chartrand Michel Chartrand (20 December 1916 – 12 April 2010) was a Canadian trade union leader from Quebec. Born in Outremont and trained as a typography and print worker, Chartrand became involved in union activism in the 1940s. During the ''Grande ...

. Her upper-class family opposed her relationship with the working-class Chartrand—they temporarily sent her to

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

in an effort to split the couple up, and three priests refused to marry them before they could find one who would agree to do so. Nevertheless, the two wed in 1942. They would go on to have seven children together and to support each other in their political activism.

Career

Monet-Chartrand took up the cause of

feminism 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 ...

beginning in the 1930s, fighting for women's right to vote in Quebec, which was the last province to institute women's

suffrage Suffrage, political franchise, or simply franchise, is the right to vote in representative democracy, public, political elections and referendums (although the term is sometimes used for any right to vote). In some languages, and occasionally i ...

. Her political involvement grew during the

Conscription Crisis of 1944 The Conscription Crisis of 1944 was a political and military crisis following the introduction of forced military service for men in Canada during World War II. It was similar to the Conscription Crisis of 1917, but not as politically damaging. ...

, and she joined the Bloc populaire, an anti-conscription political party. In the 1950s, Monet-Chartrand joined the

labor movement The labour movement or labor movement consists of two main wings: the trade union movement (British English) or labor union movement (American English) on the one hand, and the political labour movement on the other. * The trade union movement ...

, helping the wives of

strikers Forwards (also known as attackers) are outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring goals as well as assisting them. As with any attacking player, the role ...

and arguing that women should be able to participate in union contract negotiations. She was a member of the socio-political committee for the Quebec Teachers Union, and in the '70s she worked for the teachers' union in

Champlain, Quebec Champlain is a municipality in the province of Quebec, Canada. It is located in Les Chenaux Regional County Municipality and the administrative region the Mauricie, on the north shore of St. Lawrence River. Champlain is also part of the metrop ...

. In the '60s, Monet-Chartrand co-founded the pacifist group Voix des Femmes and the Fédération des femmes du Québec, a feminist organization. Her

anti-war An anti-war movement (also ''antiwar'') is a social movement, usually in opposition to a particular nation's decision to start or carry on an armed conflict, unconditional of a maybe-existing just cause. The term anti-war can also refer to pa ...

activism had begun with opposition to

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

and an

anti-nuclear The anti-nuclear movement is a social movement that opposes various nuclear technologies. Some direct action groups, environmental movements, and professional organisations have identified themselves with the movement at the local, natio ...

instinct in response to the

bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki The United States detonated two atomic bombs over the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki on 6 and 9 August 1945, respectively. The two bombings killed between 129,000 and 226,000 people, most of whom were civilians, and remain the onl ...

, which she stuck with through the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

, the

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...

, the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

, and the

Gulf War The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Iraq were carried out in two key phases: ...

. She was also a co-founder of the Movement for Nuclear Disarmament. Monet-Chartrand's activism, particularly her feminist organizing, extended internationally. She attended women's conferences in Europe and represented the Human Rights League of Quebec at conferences in the Middle East. She organized the Peace Train's arrival in Ottawa in 1962 to present the demands of feminist pacifists. She also held a conference to express these demands during

Expo 67 The 1967 International and Universal Exposition, commonly known as Expo 67, was a general exhibition from April 27 to October 29, 1967. It was a category One World's Fair held in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is considered to be one of the most su ...

. In 1978 and 1979, Monet-Chartrand returned to her studies at

, where she also co-founded the Simone de Beauvoir Institute, a college dedicated to feminist studies. In 1979, she was a candidate for the

Rhinoceros Party The Rhinoceros Party (sometimes referred to in English as the Second Rhinoceros Party), officially the Parti Rhinocéros Party, is a Canadian federal-level political party. It was known as neorhino.ca until 2010, when the party changed its na ...

, a satirical political party, to represent the district of

Longueuil Longueuil () is a city in the province of Quebec, Canada. It is the seat of the Montérégie administrative region and the central city of the urban agglomeration of Longueuil. It sits on the south shore of the Saint Lawrence River directly acr ...

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

. She received 5 percent of the vote. Monet-Chartrand also worked as a journalist, contributing to various publications as a writer, including ''

Châtelaine ''Châtelaine'' is a French-language magazine of women's lifestyles, published in Quebec by St. Joseph Communications. History and profile The magazine was first published in 1960 by Maclean-Hunter Publishing. It covers issues and interests ...

'', ''La Vie en rose'', and ''Les têtes de pioche.'' She was also a longtime writer, researcher, and presenter for

Radio Canada The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (french: Société Radio-Canada), branded as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian public broadcaster for both radio and television. It is a federal Crown corporation that receives funding from the government. ...

, particularly for religious broadcasts and women’s broadcasts. Her work as a writer also included her four-volume autobiography, ''Ma vie comme rivière'', which was originally published in 1981 and re-issued with updates in 1992. Her second book, focusing on her pacifist activism, was published in 1988 with the title ''L'espoir et le défi de la paix.'' She also wrote a two-volume history of Quebec's women, published in 1990 and 1994. In 1992, she received the Prix Idola Saint-Jean for her feminist work. In her own words, Monet Chartrand fought to "build a

socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...

society." She also remained a deeply religious person, true to her roots on the Catholic left. As she once said, in response to being called a "fanatic":

"Christ was a fanatic, and anybody who ever accomplished anything for their country was a fanatic."

Death and legacy

Simonne Monet-Chartrand died of cancer on January 18, 1993, in

Richelieu Richelieu (, ; ) may refer to: People * Cardinal Richelieu (Armand-Jean du Plessis, 1585–1642), Louis XIII's chief minister * Alphonse-Louis du Plessis de Richelieu (1582–1653), French Carthusian bishop and Cardinal * Louis François Armand ...

. In 1996, her son Alain Chartrand and the filmmaker

Diane Cailhier Diane Cailhier (1947 – 5 February 2020) was a Canadian filmmaker and director. She was married to fellow film director Alain Chartrand. Biography Cailhier was born in 1947 in Salaberry-de-Valleyfield. Her father, Antonin Cailhier, was a profess ...

released a film about her life, titled ''

My Life Is a River ''My Life Is a River'' (french: Une vie comme rivière) is a Canadian documentary film, directed by Alain Chartrand and released in 1996.Bill Brownstein, "Film-maker Chartrand knows his subject". ''Montreal Gazette'', March 11, 1996. The film is ...

(Une vie comme rivière)''. They also produced a television mini-series about Monet-Chartrand and her husband called ''

Chartrand et Simonne ''Chartrand et Simonne'' is a French-Canadian biographical drama television mini-series about social activists Michel Chartrand and Simonne Monet. The series lasted for a total of twelve episodes, with the first six airing in 2000 on Radio-Canada ...

'' in 2000. Several buildings and institutions have been named for her, including a center for victims of domestic violence and an elementary school in Montreal.

Electoral record

Selected works

* ''Ma vie comme rivière'', 1981 * ''L'espoir et le défi de la paix'', 1988 * ''Pionnières québécoises et regroupements de femmes d'hier à aujourd'hui'', 1990 * ''Les Québécoises et le mouvement pacifiste : 1939-1967'', 1993 * ''Pionnières québécoises et regroupements de femmes : 1970-1990'', 1994

References