HISTORY THROUGH OUR EYES

Dec. 4, 1971: Thérèse Casgrain discusses her life, work

Thérèse Casgrain was a pioneering feminist. She led the fight for women’s suffrage in Quebec, fought for social reforms and served as leader of the CCF (the forerunner of the NDP) in Quebec. She stood for office nine times, but was never elected. In 1970, she was appointed to the Senate, but sat for less than a year, as an independent, before reaching the mandatory retirement age of 75.

On Dec. 4, 1971, after she had left the Senate, we published excerpts of an interview conducted by columnist Solange Chaput-Rolland. The English translation of Casgrain’s book Une femme chez les hommes was about to be published. The two are shown in conversation in this photo by Len Sidaway, with Casgrain at right. (Chaput-Rolland later entered politics herself, sitting in the National Assembly as a Quebec Liberal and then in the Senate as a Progressive Conservative.)

Chaput-Rolland asked Casgrain whether she wanted to be known for her work on women’s liberation, then a hot topic.

Casgrain replied that while it had been an important part of her life, “my efforts toward more efficient social reforms are to my mind, more important . ... I always worked in terms of family welfare, and I have always urged co-operation with men, rather than confrontation.”

They also discussed a variety of other topics, including how difficult it was for women to succeed in politics, Casgrain’s recollections of Sir Wilfrid Laurier and William Lyon Mackenzie King, and her thoughts about the future of Quebec and Canada. (“Nothing can be achieved by destroying. We have to amend, to correct ... and build, and build, and build.”)

Casgrain died in 1981 at age 85. Chaput-Rolland died in 2001 at age 82.