Zoé, Lady Laurier ( Lafontaine; June 26, 1841 – November 1, 1921), was the wife of

Sir Wilfrid Laurier Sir Henri Charles Wilfrid Laurier, ( ; ; November 20, 1841 – February 17, 1919) was a Canadian lawyer, statesman, and politician who served as the seventh prime minister of Canada from 1896 to 1911. The first French Canadian prime minist ...

, the seventh

Prime Minister of Canada The prime minister of Canada (french: premier ministre du Canada, link=no) is the head of government of Canada. Under the Westminster system, the prime minister governs with the Confidence and supply, confidence of a majority the elected Hou ...

Biography

Zoé Lafontaine was born on 27 June 1841 to Godefroy-Napoleon Robert and Zoé Tessier dite LavigneMacdonald & Laurier Days » Answers from Historians Christopher Moore and Réal Bélanger
The genealogist Jean-Jacques Lefebvre is mistaken when he refers to her as Zoé Tessier. 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

baptized Baptism (from grc-x-koine, βάπτισμα, váptisma) is a form of ritual purification—a characteristic of many religions throughout time and geography. In Christianity, it is a Christian sacrament of initiation and adoption, almost ...

on 28 June at the Notre-Dame Basilica.Généalogie Zoe Lafontaine
/ref> In Montreal, Lafontaine was educated at the School of the Bon Pasteur, and at the Convent of the Sisters of the Sacred Heart, St. Vincent de Paul. She served as one of the vice presidents on the formation of the

National Council of Women of Canada The National Council of Women of Canada (NCWC, french: Conseil national des femmes du Canada, (''CNFC'')) is a Canadian advocacy organization based in Ottawa, Ontario, aimed at improving conditions for women, families, and communities. A federati ...

and was honorary vice president of the

Victorian Order of Nurses The Victorian Order of Nurses (VON) has been leading home and community care in Canada for over a century. Today, VON provides home and community support services to over 10,000 people every day across Ontario and Nova Scotia. It is registered as a ...

. In 1861, Lafontaine first met her future husband,

, at the home of Dr. Séraphin Gauthier, where both were boarding. During this time she was a piano teacher to Gauthier's children. On May 13, 1868, the two were married in the Saint-Jacques Cathedral. The couple lived at

Arthabaskaville Victoriaville is a town in central Quebec, Canada, on the Nicolet River. Victoriaville is the seat of Arthabaska Regional County Municipality and a part of the Centre-du-Québec (Bois-Francs) region. It is formed by the 1993 merger of Arthabaska, ...

until they moved to Ottawa in 1896. Ultimately, their union was childless, to Laurier's dismay. Lafontaine served as one of the vice presidents on the formation of the National Council of Women and was honorary vice president of the Victorian Order of Nurses. On 17 February 1919, Laurier died. Lafontaine outlived her husband by more than two years. She died in

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

on November 1, 1921, at the age of 80. Her will bequeathed her Ottawa home to

William Lyon Mackenzie King William Lyon Mackenzie King (December 17, 1874 – July 22, 1950) was a Canadian statesman and politician who served as the tenth prime minister of Canada for three non-consecutive terms from 1921 to 1926, 1926 to 1930, and 1935 to 1948. A Li ...

Legacy

Graham-Laurier Provincial Park Graham-Laurier Provincial Park is a provincial park in British Columbia, Canada. It is part of the larger Muskwa-Kechika Management Area. The main recreation activity in the park is hunting. The park is a remote wilderness area located approximate ...

, in

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

, has a lake named 'Lady Laurier Lake' and a mountain named 'Lady Laurier Mountain', which is the highest peak in the park. *In 1985, a lounge in the

Château Laurier The Fairmont Château Laurier is a hotel with 429 guest rooms in the downtown core of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, located near the intersection of Rideau Street and Sussex Drive and designed in a French Gothic Revival Châteauesque style to complem ...

was named in her honour. The lounge overlooks

Rideau Street Rideau Street (french: Rue Rideau) is a major street in downtown Ottawa, Ontario, Canada and one of Ottawa's oldest and most famous streets running from Wellington Street in the west to Montreal Road in the east where it connects to the Vanier ...

. *, a Canadian Coast Guard ship was christened after her. The ship operated between 1902 and 1960. *DuVillage, a specialty cheesemaker, has a

soft cheese There are many different types of cheese. Cheeses can be grouped or classified according to criteria such as length of fermentation, texture, methods of production, fat content, animal milk, and country or region of origin. The method most comm ...

called "Lady Laurier d'Arthabaska".

Notes

References

External links

A Love Letter From W. Laurier
{{DEFAULTSORT:Laurier, Zoe 1841 births 1921 deaths Spouses of prime ministers of Canada Canadian socialites Wilfrid Laurier Wives of knights

Biography

Legacy

See also

Notes

References

External links