Herstory

Thérèse Casgrain was the first Canadian woman to be elected to lead a political party. She fought for the right of women to vote in her home province of Québec and spoke out on social and political issues.

 

Casgrain was born into a wealthy family in Montréal, Québec on July 10, 1896. Her parents were Lady Blanche MacDonald and Sir Joseph David Rodolphe Forget. Her father held a Conservative seat in the ridings of Charlevoix and Montmorency, QC from 1904-1917 and politics was a part of his family’s legacy. Elections Canada recounts, “while still a young woman, Thérèse displayed a strong, self-confident, humorous personality; one that challenged realities that seemed wrong to her and that liked to lead.”

 

In 1916, she married Pierre-François Casgrain, a Liberal politician, and they later had four children. Coinciding with his father-in-law’s retirement from politics, Pierre-François ran and successfully held Liberal seats in the Charlevoix riding from 1917-1921. Casgrain would go on to become a politician in her own right.

 

In 1921, Casgrain established the Provincial Franchise Committee and led the campaign to secure women in Québec the right to run for office and to vote in provincial elections. From 1928 to 1942 she led the League for Women’s Rights. In the 1930s, Casgrain also hosted a popular radio show called Fémina, which, according to CBC Archives, provided “women with information in the form of sketches regarding their rights, social responsibility, and cultural life.”

 

Casgrain has been featured in Herstory: The Canadian Women’s Calendar as a Canadian feminist political icon. The authors, the Saskatchewan Women’s Calendar Collective, describe, “One of the main obstacles to winning suffrage in Quebec was the lack of support from rural French women. She was able to reach many of them through her radio program, "Femina," which was broadcast over French and English networks, and by speaking at conventions.” It is likely that Casgrain’s radio show may have influenced rural constituents. As Casgrain stated in her autobiography,

 

“The true liberation of women cannot take place without the liberation of me.”

 

Finally, in 1940, Quebec women were successfully granted the right to vote.

 

Casgrain’s political career continued after helping to achieve the vote. The Collective recalls, “Following the war and the final achievement of the vote in 1940 she continued faithfully to press for child protection laws, prison reform, government appointments for women and amendments to the civil code.”

 

In 1942, Casgrain joined the Liberal party. After WWII, she chose to join the social democratic Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF) – a forerunner of the New Democratic Party (NDP). Casgrain became one of the federal vice presidents of the CCF in 1948 and led the Parti social democratique du Quebec, the Quebec wing of the party, from 1951 to 1957. Casgrain continued to run as a candidate in subsequent by-elections and federal general elections. Unfortunately, she did not secure public office.

 

In keeping with her activist nature, Casgrain founded the Quebec wing of Voice of Women, an organization dedicated to world peace, and began to campaign against nuclear weapons. She also established the Fédération des femmes du Québec and co-founded the League for Human Rights.

 

In 1970, Prime Minister Trudeau appointed Casgrain to an independent seat in the Canadian Senate which she kept until reaching the mandatory retirement age of 75.

 

Casgrain was widely recognized for her contributions. Library and Archives Canada recounts, “In 1967, the National Council of Jewish Women of Canada awarded Thérèse Casgrain its medal as the ‘Woman of the Century’ for Quebec, and the Société de criminologie du Canada awarded her its medal as ‘the person who has been most distinguished in the defence of human rights and the ideals of justice in our society’. During the same year, she was appointed Officer of the Order of Canada, and in 1974, she was made Companion of the Order. In 1979, in recognition of her tireless leadership of the effort for women's right to vote in Quebec, she was a recipient of the Governor General's Award in Commemoration of the Persons Case.”

 

Casgrain’s memoir A Woman in a Man’s World was published in 1972. She shared her experiences and wisdom with modern Canadian women, “Today women do not have to face the same difficulties as of old; they can make their influence more widely felt and they are listened to a little more, but a world in which men and women are completely equal is still far from being realized. All my life I have recommended that one must ask questions, take a position, and act upon it.”

 

 

References

 

Brown, W. (2010, June 14). Electoral Insight - Thérèse  Casgrain. Retrieved August 9, 2015, from http://www.elections.ca/res/eim/article_search/article.asp?id=79&lang=e&frmpagesize=10  

 

Casgrain, T. (1972) A Woman in a Man's World. Toronto, ON: McClelland and Stewart Limited.

 

Fémina. (n.d.). Retrieved August 9, 2015, from http://archives.radio-canada.ca/emissions/249/

 

Forster, M. (2004) 100 Canadian heroines: famous and forgotten faces. (pp. 62-64). Toronto, ON: Dundurn Group.

 

Forster, M. (2004). Thérèse Casgrain and the Voice of Women in Quebec - heroines.ca, Women in Canadian History. Retrieved August 8, 2015, from http://www.heroines.ca/history/casgrain.html

 

Hallowell, G. (2004). The Oxford companion to Canadian history. (pp. 119). Don Mills, ON: Oxford University Press.

 

Marie Thérèse (Forget) Casgrain. (2000, October 2). Retrieved August 8, 2015, from https://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/women/030001-1339-e.html

 

PARLINFO - Parliamentarian File - Federal Experience - CASGRAIN, The Hon. Pierre-François, P.C., B.A., LL.M. (n.d.). Retrieved August 9, 2015, from http://www.parl.gc.ca/ParlInfo/Files/Parliamentarian.aspx?Item=bd9b695e-03eb-4481-be01-3402cff4d261&Language=E

 

PARLINFO - Parliamentarian File - Federal Experience - FORGET, Sir Joseph David Rodolphe. (n.d.). Retrieved August 8, 2015, from http://www.parl.gc.ca/Parlinfo/Files/Parliamentarian.aspx?Item=21707cca-53c0-45ee-bc24-f51541501b91&Language=E

 

Politics: Thérèse Casgrain. (n.d.). Retrieved August 8, 2015, from http://library.usask.ca/herstory/casgrain.html

 

Stoddart, J. (2008, March 24). Thérèse Casgrain. Retrieved August 8, 2015, from http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/therese-casgrain/

 

Thérèse Casgrain, humaniste. (n.d.). Retrieved August 8, 2015, from http://archives.radio-canada.ca/sports/national/clips/15620/

 

Une fédération pour les femmes du Québec. (n.d.). Retrieved August 8, 2015, from http://archives.radio-canada.ca/sante/droits_libertes/clips/7280/