Monique Vézina, (July 13, 1935 – December 15, 2024) was a Canadian politician and cabinet minister in the government of

Brian Mulroney Martin Brian Mulroney (March 20, 1939 – February 29, 2024) was a Canadian lawyer, businessman, and politician who served as the 18th prime minister of Canada from 1984 to 1993. Born in the eastern Quebec city of Baie-Comeau, Mulroney studi ...

. She subsequently worked with a

non-governmental organization A non-governmental organization (NGO) is an independent, typically nonprofit organization that operates outside government control, though it may get a significant percentage of its funding from government or corporate sources. NGOs often focus ...

in the field of international development.

Life and career

Vézina was born in

Rimouski Rimouski ( ; ) is a city in Quebec, Canada. Rimouski is located in the Bas-Saint-Laurent region, at the mouth of the Rimouski River. It has a population of 48,935 (as of 2021). Rimouski, whose motto is ''Legi patrum fidelis'' (Faithful to ...

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, ...

on July 13, 1935. Prior to entering politics, she worked for numerous community agencies in the fields of education, family services and women's rights in the Lower

Saint Lawrence River The St. Lawrence River (, ) is a large international river in the middle latitudes of North America connecting the Great Lakes to the North Atlantic Ocean. Its waters flow in a northeasterly direction from Lake Ontario to the Gulf of St. Lawrenc ...

valley region of

. In 1976, she became chair of the ''Federation of the Caisses Populaires Desjardins'' (a credit union organization) in her region, and joined the executive of the Quebec-wide

Mouvement Desjardins The Desjardins Group (, ) is a Canadian financial service cooperative and the largest federation of credit unions () in North America. It was founded in 1900 in Lévis, Quebec by Alphonse Desjardins. While its legal headquarters remains in Lé ...

. From 1978 to 1982, she served as a member of the ''Conseil supérieur de l’éducation'' and as vice-president of the ''Régie de l’assurance automobile du Québec''. Vézina entered politics in the 1984 general election being elected as the Progressive Conservative Member of Parliament for Rimouski—Témiscouata. She was one of a number of Quebec nationalists recruited to the PC Party as part of the creation of a coalition that could win power. She was appointed to the first Cabinet of

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 ...

as Minister of External Relations (a junior portfolio to the Secretary of State for External Affairs), and as Minister responsible for La Francophonie. Her focus in Cabinet was in the field of international development. In 1986, she became

Minister of Supply and Services Minister of Supply and Services was an office in the Cabinet of Canada from 1969 to 1996. On July 12, 1996, office of the Minister of Supply and Services and the office of the Minister of Public Works were abolished and replaced with the office of M ...

. From 1987 to 1993, she held a succession of junior portfolios as a

Minister of State Minister of state is a designation for a government minister, with varying meanings in different jurisdictions. In a number of European countries, the title is given as an honorific conferring a higher rank, often bestowed upon senior minister ...

first for Transport (1987–1988), for Employment and Immigration (1988–1993), and for Seniors (1988–1993). From January to June 1993, she again served as Minister for External Relations and Minister responsible for ''

la Francophonie LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second most populous city in the United States of America. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * La (musical note), or A, the sixth note *"L.A.", a song by Elliott Smi ...

''. She decided not to remain in politics following Mulroney's retirement, and left Cabinet in June 1993 when

Kim Campbell Avril Phaedra Douglas "Kim" Campbell (born March 10, 1947) is a Canadian politician who was the 19th prime minister of Canada from June to November 1993. Campbell is the first and only female prime minister of Canada. Prior to becoming the f ...

became PC leader and prime minister. Vézina did not run in the 1993 general election. After leaving politics, Vézina remained active in the field of international development as a member of the board of directors of the

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

-based ''Centre d’éducation et de coopération internationale'' from 1994 to 1997. In 1995, she chaired the ''Commission des aînés'' and the ''Commission nationale sur l’avenir du Québec'', bodies set up by the ''

Parti Québécois The Parti Québécois (PQ; , ) is a sovereignist and social democratic provincial political party in Quebec, Canada. The PQ advocates national sovereignty for Quebec involving independence of the province of Quebec from Canada and establishi ...

'' government of Quebec in preparation for the

1995 Quebec referendum The 1995 Quebec referendum was the second referendum to ask voters in the predominantly French-speaking Canadian province of Quebec whether Quebec should proclaim sovereignty and become an independent country, with the condition precedent of ...

. The next year, she was elected ''Patriote de l’année'' by the Quebec nationalist '' Société Saint-Jean-Baptiste de Montréal'', and was named a member of ''l’Ordre du mérite coopératif québécois''. In 1998, Vézina caused controversy in

English Canada English Canada comprises that part of the population within Canada, whether of British origin or otherwise, that speaks English. The term ''English Canada'' is also used for any of the following: *Describing all the provinces of Canada ...

by stating that she had never been a Canadian federalist. Vézina served as vice-president of the ''Conseil des relations internationales de Montréal'', president of the ''Mouvement national des Québécoises et Québécois'' and of the ''Conférence des peuples de langue française''. She died on December 15, 2024, at the age of 89.

Honours

In 2007, she was made an Officer of the

National Order of Quebec The National Order of Quebec ( French: ), also known as the Order of Quebec, is a civilian honour for merit in the Canadian province of Quebec. Instituted in 1984 when Lieutenant Governor Jean-Pierre Côté granted royal assent to the (Natio ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Vezina, Monique 1935 births 2024 deaths Women members of the House of Commons of Canada Members of the House of Commons of Canada from Quebec Members of the King's Privy Council for Canada Officers of the National Order of Quebec People from Rimouski Politicians from Bas-Saint-Laurent Progressive Conservative Party of Canada MPs Women in Quebec politics Members of the 24th Canadian Ministry 20th-century Canadian women politicians Women government ministers of Canada 20th-century members of the House of Commons of Canada