Wives of Mayors of Ottawa Since 1855

[in progress]

From the beginning of Bytown to today, there have been 73 mayoral mandates. Eight mandates were served in Bytown from 1847 to 1854, 62 mandates were served from 1855 to 2001 (before amalgamation) and three mandates including the current one have been served post amalgamation. There were also two acting mayors for short periods of time in 2009.

There are few details about the wives of the different mayors. In many cases, only names, dates of marriages and number of children have been recorded.


1. ANNA ECCLES
    HELEN STREET
    ELIZABETH SUSAN WILSON
(John Bower Lewis)

All three women were wives of Ottawa’s first mayor John Bower Lewis. Lewis was Mayor of Ottawa from 1855 to 1857, but had also been mayor of Bytown in 1848. He married three times: to Anna Eccles in 1840, to Helen Street in 1843 and to Elizabeth Susan Wilson in 1856.

http://www.biographi.ca


2. (no information found on marriage status)
(Edward McGillivray)

3. MARY ABBOT
(Alexander Workman)

Was the wife of Ottawa’s third mayor. Workman was mayor from 1860 to 1862. Mary Abbot died in 1874 at the age of 72. She is buried in Beechwood Cemetery in Ottawa.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Workman

Mayors of Ottawa

1. CHARLOTTE WHITTON, 1896-1975
48^th mayor of Ottawa, first in 1951-1956, then again in 1961-1964

First woman mayor of Ottawa 

First woman mayor of any large city in Canada

Social worker, politician, feminist

"Whatever women must do they must do twice as well as men to be thought half as good. Luckily, this is not difficult." - Charlotte Whitton

Born in Renfrew; moved to Ottawa in 1922.

Relentless crusader for professional standards of juvenile immigrants and neglected children in the 1920s.

Founder of the Canadian Council on Child Welfare (now the Canadian Council on Social Development).

Lectured across North America on social programs.

Entered Ottawa City politics in 1950. When the elected mayor died the next year she succeeded him (1951). Elected mayor of Ottawa in 1952, 1954, 1960 and 1961 and served as an alderman until 1972.

Historical note on the first woman mayor in Canada: Barbara McCallum Hanley, born in Magnetawan, Ontario was the first woman to be elected mayor in Canada. She was elected mayor of Webbwood, (west of Sudbury) on January 6, 1936 and served the community as mayor for eight years. Charlotte Whitton was the first mayor of a large city in Canada.

wwwfamouscanadianwomen.com

www.citizenship.gov.on.ca

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlotte_Whitton

2. MARION DEWAR, 1928-2008

52^nd mayor of Ottawa from 1978-1985

Advocate for justice, peace, inclusiveness and quality public services

Born in Montreal.

Among the policy areas she emphasized were improved public access to municipal decision-making, low-cost housing and child care.

Became the president of the New Democratic Party in 1985 and a member of the Parliament of Canada from 1986 to 1988.

Co-hosted the Women's Constitutional Conference calling for gender equality provisions in the Canadian Charter of Rights.

Was the Executive Director of the Canadian Council on Children and Youth from 1989 to 1992 and the National Chair of Oxfam Canada from 1994 to 1999.

Awarded a degree in Health Sciences by University of Ottawa and an LL.D. in Public Administration by Carleton University for her outstanding contributions.

Received the Order of Canada in 2002.

In 2004, Canadian women historians established the Marion Dewar Prize in Canadian Women's History in her honour.

www.oxfam.ca

www.cffn.ca

3. JACQUELIN HOLZMAN, 1936-

55^th Mayor of Ottawa from 1991 to 1997

First elected to Ottawa city council in 1982.

Prominent volunteer in the Ottawa community, especially on causes relating to the disabled; over 25 years of community service.

Past chair of the board of directors for the Royal Ottawa Hospital; played a leadership role in the planning of the new Regional Rehabilitation Centre in 1981.

Involved in fundraising for The Ottawa Hospital Foundation and the Ottawa Boys and Girls Club.

Served as governor of Algonquin College, the Community Foundation of Ottawa and as the Honorary Lieutenant Colonel of the Cameron Highlanders of Ottawa.

Member of the Kiwanis Club of Ottawa, honorary chair of Breast Cancer Action, and chair of the Ottawa Health Research Institute.

Co-author of Ottawa Then & Now, a 200-year retrospective of Canada’s capital city.

Received an honorary doctorate from the University of Ottawa and a YM-YWCA Woman of Distinction Award for Lifetime Achievement.

www.canadascapital.gc.ca

en.wikipedia.org


NOTE: Since its foundation as Ottawa in 1855, the city has had 3 women mayors. However, when the city of Ottawa amalgamated in 2001, there were 4 women mayors in different municipalities. They were:

• Claudette Cain in Gloucester
• Merle Nicholds in Kanata
• Mary Pitt in Nepean
• Janet Stavinga in Goulbourn

During the Bytown years, from 1847 to 1854, the city had 8 mayors, none of them were women.

Wives of Canadian Governor Generals Since 1867

[in progress]

The present day office of the Governor General of Canada came into being upon Canadian Confederation in 1867, yet it is generally accepted that the institution of Governor General is a continuation from the first governorship of New France in 1608.

This list presents only the wives of the Governor Generals who served under Queen Victoria, upon the Confederation of Canada in 1867. Since 1867, there have been 28 Governor Generals, three of them women (see entry under Governor Generals of Canada). Therefore, the following list contains 25 names representing the wives of the 25 Governor Generals from 1867 to 2011.

1. Lady Elizabeth Louise Mary Monck

(The Viscount Monck, GG from 1867-1869)

• Wife of the first Governor General of Canada upon confederation.
• Had seven children of which four lived to adulthood.
• Went back to Ireland with her husband in 1868; died in Ireland in 1892.

Of note: In a visit to the new capital in 1864, Lord Monck saw Rideau Hall, which became the Governor General's residence, and was purchased by the Government of Canada from the MacKay estate in 1868 for $82,000. Before living in Ottawa, the Moncks had resided at Spencerwood, near Quebec City. Lady Monck loved horticulture and made considerable improvements to the grounds of the official residence.

http://archive.gg.ca/gg

2. Adelaide Annabella Dalton

(The Lord Lisgar, GG from 1869-1872)

• Born in 1821 in Ireland.
• Was widowed in 1876, remarried twice after Lord Lisgar’s death.
• Died in Paris in 1895.

Of note: Lord Lisgar and his wife, Lady Adelaide Annabella Dalton Lisgar, added many important traditions to Rideau Hall. They held the first recorded New Year's Levee in 1869, while he was Administrator, and organized Christmas and Garden Parties. And in 1872, the noon gun firing on Parliament Hill was established, and the Governor General's Foot Guards army regiment was created.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Young,_1st_Baron_Lisgar

http://archive.gg.ca/gg

3. Hariot Georgina Hamilton-Temple-Blackwood, Marchioness of Dufferin and Ava

(The Earl of Dufferin, GG from 1872-1878)

• Born in 1833; died in 1936.
• Had three daughters and six sons.
• Came to Canada in 1872.
• Built a reputation as “the most effective diplomatic wife of her generation”; was popular and well loved.
• Was the first spouse to accompany the Governor General on a tour, visiting southern Ontario in 1872.
• Visited every province of Canada with her husband. Along with her husband, she drove a spike in the line of what would become the Canadian Pacific Railway.
• Following their mandate in Canada, Lord and Lady Dufferin went to India where he was appointed as the country’s viceroy.
• While in India, she set up the National Association for supplying Female Medical Aid to the Women of India (training women doctors, midwives and nurses to improve the situation of Indian women).
• There are numerous Lady Dufferin hospitals and clinics, medical colleges and midwifery schools named after her.
• Received the Crown of India in 1884 and the Royal Order of Victory and Albert in 1889.

Of note: As an orator and writer, Lord Dufferin closely followed political debate in Parliament, although as Governor General he was not permitted inside the House of Commons. Instead, Lady Dufferin often attended the debates and reported back to him.

http://archive.gg.ca/gg

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hariot_Hamilton-Temple-Blackwood,_Marchioness_of_Dufferin_and_Ava

4. Princess Louise Caroline Alberta

(John George Edward Henry Douglas Sutherland Campbell, 9th Duke of Argyll, better known as Marquess of Lorne, GG from 1878-1883)

• Queen Victoria’s fourth daughter.
• First royal resident of Rideau Hall.
• Along with her husband, Princess Louise made many lasting contributions to Canadian society especially in the arts and sciences.
• Encouraged the establishment of the Royal Society of Canada, the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts and the National Gallery of Canada, even selecting some of its first paintings

Of note: Princess Louise was an able sculptor and artist, and a supporter of the feminist movement. Lake Louise in Alberta is named for her as is the province of Alberta.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Princess_Louise,_Duchess_of_Argyll

Governor Generals of Canada

1. JEANNE SAUVÉ, 1922-1993

23^rd Governor General of Canada

Journalist, politician, stateswoman

• Born Jeanne Mathilde Benoît in Saskatchewan.
• First female Governor General of Canada.
• Appointed by Pierre Trudeau.
• Mandate from 1984 to 1990.
• During her term of office as Governor General of Canada, she emphasized the themes of peace, national unity and young people.

www.canadaonline.com

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeanne_Sauvé

2. ADRIENNE CLARKSON, 1939-

26^th governor general of Canada

Journalist, broadcaster, stateswoman

• Born Adrienne Louise Poy in Hong Kong. Came to Ottawa in 1941.
• First immigrant and first Chinese-Canadian to be Governor General of Canada.
• Appointed by Jean Chrétien.
• Mandate from 1999-2005.
• During her term of office as Governor General, she travelled extensively across Canada to meet Canadians where they live. In her first year as Governor General of Canada she visited 81 communities and travelled 115,000 km (about 71,500 miles). She kept a similar pace for the next five years.

www.canadaonline.com

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adrienne_Clarkson

3. MICHAËLLE JEAN, 1957-

27^th Governor General of Canada

Journalist, broadcaster

• Born in Haiti. Came to Canada as a refugee in 1968.
• First black Governor General of Canada.
• Appointed by Paul Martin.
• Mandate was from 2005-2010.
• During her term of office as Governor General, she declared "the time of the Two Solitudes that for too long described the character of this country is past," and called for the protection of the environment, the shielding of culture against globalization, and an end to the marginalisation of young people.

www.canadaonline.com

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michaëlle_Jean

Valerie Knowles

History instructor, archivist, writer

Born and raised in Montreal, Quebec. Moved to Ottawa in 1961.

Studied at Smith College, Northampton, Massachusetts (history), McGill University (M.A. History) and Carleton University (print journalism).

Author of 11 non-fiction works. Has written many books on historical figures and events related to Ottawa's history such as Making Waves: A History of the Riverside Hospital of Ottawa (1996) and Through the Chateau Door: A History of the Zonta Club of Ottawa, 1929-1989 (1994).

More recently, she has published Capital Lives Vol. II: Profiles of 32 Leading Ottawa Personalities (2010).

www.writersunion.ca
www.valerieknowles.com

Kim Campbell

The 19^th Prime Minister of Canada

"In a democracy, government isn't something that a small group of people do to everybody else, it's not even something they do for everybody else, it should be something they do with everybody else." - Kim Campbell, March 25, 1993

Since 1867, Canada has had 23 different prime ministers with one prime minister being a woman. Kim Campbell replaced Brian Mulroney and was Prime Minister of Canada for a total of 132 days in 1993. She lost the election to Jean Chrétien.

Born Avril Phædra Douglas "Kim" Campbell in 1947 in Port Alberni, B.C.

Is a Canadian politician, lawyer, university professor, diplomat, and writer.

Served as the 19th Prime Minister of Canada from June 25, 1993, to November 4, 1993 (132 days). She was 46 years old.

Spent much of her life breaking barriers for women. Is widely regarded as one of the foremost thinkers and speakers on gender issues in the world.

Kim Campbell Firsts

• First and to date the only female Prime Minister of Canada.
• First baby boomer to hold the office of Prime Minister.
• First and only PM to have been born in British Columbia.
• Frst female Minister of Justice and Attorney General (1990–1993).
• First female Minister of National Defence under Brian Mulroney in 1993.
• First female president of her freshman class at UBC in 1969.
• First female student president of her high school in 1964.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kim_Campbell

http://www.kimcampbell.com/

Prime Minister of Canada

KIM CAMPBELL, 1947-

The 19^th Prime Minister of Canada

"In a democracy, government isn't something that a small group of people do to everybody else, it's not even something they do for everybody else, it should be something they do with everybody else." -- Kim Campbell, March 25, 1993

Born Avril Phædra Douglas "Kim" Campbell in 1947 in Port Alberni, B.C.

Is a Canadian politician, lawyer, university professor, diplomat, and writer.

Served as the 19th Prime Minister of Canada, serving from June 25, 1993, to November 4, 1993 (132 days). She was 46 years old.

Spent much of her life breaking barriers for women. Is widely regarded as one of the foremost thinkers and speakers on gender issues in the world.

Kim Campbell Firsts

• First and to date the only female Prime Minister of Canada.
• First baby boomer to hold the office of Prime Minister.
• First and only PM to have been born in British Columbia.
• Frst female Minister of Justice and Attorney General (1990–1993).
• First female Minister of National Defence under Brian Mulroney in 1993.
• First female student president of her high school in 1964.
• First female president of her freshman class at UBC in 1969.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kim_Campbell

http://www.kimcampbell.com/

Margaret M. Kehoe

Activist, politician, advocate
Winner of Y Women of Distinction Lifetime Achievement Award, Ottawa 2011

Born in 1918. Known in Ottawa as "Toddy" and for being an inspiration to girls and women, encouraging them to pursue their ambitions.

One of the first women to graduate from the University of Ottawa in 1940.

Founded the Brighthope School for children with disabilities.

Worked with Marion Dewar in the 1960s and 1970s to move Ottawa towards progressive social change.

As alderman in Carleton Ward, was part of a project of conservation of the ByWard Market and Project 4000, which led to the establishment of Ottawa's Office of Equal Opportunity.

Her work led to the commissioning of the Capital's Terry Fox Monument.

Retired from politics in 1985.

The Wrap, The Ottawa Citizen
http://www.ymcaywca.ca
http://ca.rss.news.yahoo.com

Jean Spear

Founder of the first war brides club in Canada

Moved to Ottawa in 1944.

Originally from Kingston-on-Thames, Surrey, came to Canada in December 1944 for love of her Canadian husband and his country.

Started Canada’s first war brides club in 1945, the ESWIC (England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland and Canada) club for war brides. She continues to serve as its president to this day. There are nearly 50,000 war brides who, like her, left their homeland between 1944 and 1946 to come to Canada to be with their soldier-husbands.

Was named a Member of the Order of the British Empire in the Queen's new year's honours list for 2006.

www.ottawacitizen.com
www.canadianwarbrides.com
http://members.shaw.ca/francislyster/warbride/updates.htm

Wives of Canadian Prime Ministers Since 1867

Since 1867, Canada has had 22 different prime ministers. Among those 22, three of them remarried, and both wives are therefore included in the list. Two of them never married, one was a widower at the time he was elected PM of Canada ( (but his wife is still included in the list below at #7), and one prime minister was a woman, therefore the following list contains 22 entries corresponding to the 22 wives of the Prime Ministers of Canada from 1867 to 2012.

You can find the information on Canada's only female prime minister under "Prime Minister of Canada" or under "Kim Campbell".


1. ISABELLA CLARK, 1811-1857
(John A. Macdonald)

First wife of John A. Macdonald, the 1st prime minister of Canada from 1867-1873, and again from 1878-1891. Was Macdonald’s first cousin; they met in Britain in 1842; Isabella journeyed to Kingston to visit with a sister in late 1842, and married John A. in 1843. Became ill after two years of marriage, died in 1857. Medical examinations concluded that she was suffering from a somatization disease.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isabella_Macdonald
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_A._Macdonald


2. AGNES BERNARD, 1836-1920

(John A. Macdonald)

Second wife of John A. Macdonald, the 1st prime minister of Canada from 1867-1873, and again from 1878-1891. Born Susan Bernard near Spanish Town, Jamaica, raised in England, died in England. Came to Canada to live with her brother who introduced her to John A. in 1856; she married him in 1867 after seeing him in London where he was to prepare the British North America Act. They had one daughter who was born severely handicapped.

Was intimately acquainted with many of the intricacies of the political and historical events of the country. After her husband's death in 1891, Queen Victoria raised her to the peerage in his honour as Baroness Macdonald of Earnscliffe, in the Province of Ontario and Dominion of Canada. (Note: Earnscliffe was the home of Canada's first Prime Minister, and also the place where he died).

There is a trailhead at Lake Louise in Alberta for hikers to visit Lake Agnes, named in her honour.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agnes_Macdonald,_1st_Baroness_Macdonald_of_Earnsclife
www.canada.com


3. HELEN NEAL, 1826-1852
(Alexander Mackenzie)

First wife of Alexander Mackenzie, the 2nd prime minister of Canada from 1873-1878.

Had three children with A. Mackenzie but only one survived infancy.

http://www.biologydaily.com/biology/Alexander_Mackenzie


4. JANE SYM, 1825-1894
(Alexander Mackenzie)

Second wife of Alexander Mackenzie, the 2nd prime minister of Canada from 1873-1878.

Born in Perthshire, Scotland, married A. Mackenzie in 1853. The couple had no children and are buried in Sarnia, Ontario.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jane_Sym


5. MARY BETHUNE, 1823-1898
(John Abbott)

Wife of John Abbott, the the 3rd prime minister of Canada in 1891-92.

Had four sons and four daughters with John Abbot, Canada's first native-born prime minister. Was a relative of Dr. Norman Bethune, Canadian physicist and medical innovator.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Bethune_Abbott


6. ANNIE EMMA AFFLECK, 1845-1913
(John Thompson)

Wife of John Thompson, the 4th prime minister of Canada from 1892-1894.

Born in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Married Thompson in 1870 in Portland, Maine. Their first child, a son, was stillborn on September 3, 1871. They had eight more children. The Thompson family finally moved to Ottawa in 1888, and John Thompson became Prime Minister in 1892. He died of a heart attack in 1894 while at Windsor Castle. Lady Thompson moved to Toronto in 1895 where she lived at 18½ St Joseph Street. Was diagnosed with inoperable cancer in 1913 and died on the operating table. Buried in Mount Hope Catholic Cemetery in Toronto.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annie_Thompson


7. HARRIET MOORE, 1829-1884 (passed away before her husband was elected as PM)
(Mackenzie Bowell)

Wife of Mackenzie Bowell, the 5th prime minister of Canada from 1894-1896.

Formally known as Lady Bowell; had 9 children with M. Bowell.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harriet_Moore
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mackenzie_Bowell


8. FRANCES AMÉLIA MORSE, 1826-1912
(Charles Tupper)

Born in Amherst, Nova Scotia.

Wife of Charles Tupper, the 6th prime minister of Canada from 1896-1896 (69-day term).

Granddaughter of Col. Joseph Morse, one of the founders of Amherst, Nova Scotia.

They had six children together, three boys and three girls. Two of their sons, Charles Hibbert Tupper and William Johnston Tupper, also had careers in politics.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Tupper


9. ZOÉ LAFONTAINE, 1842-1921
(Wilfrid Laurier)

Wife of Wilfrid Laurier, the 7th prime minister of Canada from 1896-1911.

Born in Montréal, married W. Laurier in 1868, moved to Ottawa in 1896.

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) was founded on October 27, 1893, at a public meeting in Toronto, chaired by Lady Aberdeen, wife of the Governor-General of Canada and attended by 1500 women.

Was Honorary Vice-President of the Victorian Order of Nurses.

A lounge in the Château Laurier in Ottawa was named in her honour.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilfrid_Laurier


10. LAURA BOND, 1862-1940
(Robert Borden)

Wife of Robert Borden, the 8th prime minister of Canada from 1911-1920.

Born in Halifax, Nova Scotia to a local hardware merchant; married Borden in 1889. They didn’t have children.

Died in Ottawa and buried next to her husband at Beechwood Cemetery in Ottawa.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laura_Borden

11. ISABEL COX, 1883-1985
(Arthur Meighen)

Wife of Arthur Meighen, the 9th Prime Minister of Canada from 1920-1921, and again in 1926.

Born in Quebec; married Arthur Meighen in 1904, and they had two sons and one daughter.

Died at the age of 102, and was interred next to her husband in the St. Marys Cemetery in the town of St. Marys, Ontario.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isabel_Meighen

12. JEANNE RENEAULT, 1887-1966
(Louis St-Laurent)

Wife of Louis St. Laurent, the 12th prime minister of Canada from 1948-1957.

Born in Beauceville, Québec. Her father Pierre-Ferdinand Renault was a businessman who changed his family name from Renaud.

Married L. St. Laurent in 1908; they had five children.

13. EDNA MAY BROWER, 1899-1951
(John Diefenbaker)
Was the first wife of John Diefenbaker before he became the 13th prime minister of Canada from 1957-1963.

N.B. Diefenbaker appointed the first female minister to his Cabinet and the first aboriginal member of the Senate. 
Born inWawanesa, Manitoba, and worked as a school teacher in Saskatoon before marrying J. Diefenbaker in 1929.

Devoted her energies to the advancement of Diefenbaker's political career. She would visit towns before her husband so that he was prepared with information on the inhabitants.

Also edited his speeches, and upon Diefenbaker's election as aProgressive ConservativeMember of Parliament, worked tirelessly on his behalf, in an unpaid capacity. She was a constant presence in the visitor's gallery in the Canadian House of Commons, and was crucial in establishing close relationships between John and reporters in the Ottawa press gallery.

She died of leukemiain 1951. MPs in the Canadian House of Commons gave her "unprecedented eulogies" for a non-MP.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edna_Brower
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Diefenbaker


14. OLIVE EVANGEINE FREEMAN PALMER, 1902-1976
(John Diefenbaker)

Was the second wife of John George Diefenbaker, the13th prime minister of Canada from 1957-1963.

Was a school teacher, married J. Diefenbaker in 1953. They had no children together but raised a daughter from her previous marriage to solicitor Harry Palmer.

On her husband's death in 1979, her remains, buried in 1976 in Ottawa, were reburied in Saskatoon in 1979.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Diefenbaker http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olive_Diefenbaker


15. MARYON ELSPETH MOODY, 1901-1989

(Lester B. Pearson)

Wife of Lester Bowles Pearson, the 14^th prime minister of Canada from 1963-1968.

Married L. Pearson in1925. They met at the University of Toronto, where he was a teacher and she was a student. They had two children.

Was known for her sharp tongued wit. Among her most famous quotations: "Behind every successful man, there stands a surprised woman."

Reportedly at her request that the practice of curtseying to the Governor General and his consort was discontinued (apparently because Maryon refused to act deferentially toward her old friend Norah Michener).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maryon_Pearson

16. MARGARET JOAN SINCLAIR, 1948-
(Pierre E. Trudeau)

Wife of Pierre E. Trudeau, the 15th prime minister of Canada, from 1968-1979 and again, from 1980-1984.

Born in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, the daughter of Doris Kathleen (née Bernard) and James Sinclair, a former Liberal member of the Parliament of Canada and Minister of Fisheries and Oceans.

Studied English literature at Simon Fraser University.

Met P. Trudeau when she was 18 years old; they married in 1971 when she was 22. They had 3 children.

Separated from her husband in 1977 and became a much talked about jet-setter. She gave many "tell-all" interviews to Canadian and American magazines and appeared in two motion pictures.

Honorary president of WaterCan, an Ottawa-based organization dedicated to helping the poorest communities in developing countries build sustainable water supply and sanitation services.

In 2006, she announced that she had been suffering from bipolar disorder. Since then, she has advocated for reduced stigma of mental illness — bipolar disorder in particular — with speaking engagements across North America.

She wrote Changing My Mind, a book about her personal experience having bipolar disorder, published by HarperCollins Canada in 2010.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret_Trudeau

17. MAUREEN MCTEER, 1952-
(Joe Clark)

Wife of Joe Clark, the 16th Prime Minister of Canada, from 1979-1980.

Became the first wife of a Prime Minister to use her own surname rather than her husband's.

Born in Ottawa (Cumberland) in 1952.

Specialist in medical law; past member of the Royal Commission on Reproductive and Genetic Technologies (1989–1993).

Currently an adjunct Professor in the Common Law Section at the University of Ottawa.

Earned an undergraduate degree in 1973 and a law degree in 1976, both from the University of Ottawa.

First Canadian to be awarded an MA in Biotechnology, Law and Ethics from the Department of Law at the University of Sheffield in 2004; received an honorary LLD from that institution in 2008.

Among the organizers of the Esso Women's Nationals championship tournament for women's ice hockey in 1982; the Maureen McTeer Trophy, is named for her.

Ran as a Progressive Conservative candidate in Carleton—Gloucester in the 1988 federal election; to this day, remains the first and only spouse of a former Canadian Prime Minister to have run for political office.

Received the Governor General's Award in Commemoration of the Persons Case in 2008.

www.nsb.com
www.maureenmcteer.com

18. GEILLS McCRAE KILGOUR, 1937-
(John Turner)

Wife of John Turner, the 17th prime minister of Canada in 1984.

Born in Winnipeg, Manitoba in 1937, she married J. Turner in 1963 and had four children.

She is the great-niece of John McCrae, author of the poem In Flanders Fields, and the sister of long time Alberta Member of Parliament David Kilgour.

Went to Harvard Business School and was employed at IBM.

Her contribution to John Turner's political life included being a "campaign worker" for him in the Canadian federal election of 1962, and she "brought computers into Turner's campaign."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geills_Turner


19. MILICA (MILA) PIVNICKI, 1953-
(Brian Mulroney)

Wife of Brian Mulroney, the 18^th prime minister of Canada from 1984-1993.

Born in Sarajevo, SR Bosnia-Herzegovina, SFR Yugoslavia. Immigrated to Montreal with her family in 1958.

Studied engineering at Concordia University, but did not graduate.

Married B. Mulroney in 1973 at the age of 19. Both were involved with the Progressive Conservatives in Westmount. Mila played a large role in Brian’s first campaign for the Progressive Conservative Party leadership. Many PC campaign buttons featured both Mulroney’s face and hers.

She took on a greater role than many Prime Ministers’ wives while Brian was in office, acting as a campaigner for several children’s charities.

She is currently a director of the Canadian Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and of Astral Media.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mila_Mulroney

20. ALINE CHAÎNÉ, 1936-

(Jean Chrétien)

Wife of Jean Chrétien, the 20th prime minister of Canada from 1993-2003.

Born in Saint-Boniface-de-Shawinigan, Quebec in 1936.

Was appointed as the first chancellor of Laurentian University in 2010; In this volunteer role, she will be preside over convocation ceremonies, confer degrees, advise the president and help promote Laurentian over a period of 3 years.

Was Honorary Chair of the National Advisory Council of the Royal Conservatory of Music.

www.thestar.com

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aline_Chrétien


21. SHEILA ANN COWAN, 1943-
(Paul Martin)

Wife of Paul Martin, the 21^st prime minister of Canada from 2003-2006.

She and Paul were neighbours and her father was law partners with Paul Martin Sr in Windsor, Ontario. Married in 1965, they have three sons.

A Canada Steamship Lines ship, Sheila Ann, is named in her honour.

Before her husband became the Prime Minister of Canada, Sheila Martin's work in Ottawa included serving on a committee called Politics and the Pen, and on this committee she helped give prizes and money to Canadian writers.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sheila_Martin


22. LAUREEN ANN TESKEY, 1963-
(Stephen Harper)

Wife of Stephen Harper, the 22^nd prime minister of Canada, since 2006.

Born in Turner Valley, a rural town south-west of Calgary, Alberta. Her parents were ranchers and owned an electrical contracting company;.

Attended the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology where she studied journalism and photography.

She was first married to New Zealander Neil Fenton from 1985 to 1988.

Joined the Reform Party of Canada in the late 1980s, and met Stephen Harper at the Reform assembly in Saskatoon in 1990. They married in 1993; they have two children.

Offers her home to the Ottawa Humane Society as a foster home for kittens, and in her spare time enjoys riding her motorcycle.

Since assuming her role in 2006, as spouse of the Prime Minister she has played an active role in campaigning alongside her husband. She is frequently seen at the podium on behalf of and with her husband.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laureen_Harper
http://www.parl.gc.ca

Leslie Maitland

Architectural historian, heritage planner

President of the Board of Heritage of Ottawa.

Consultant in heritage planning; has expertise in writing heritage impact statements for designated heritage properties in Ottawa and in coordinating the writing of conservation plans.

Active in the National Historic Sites Directorate of Parks Canada since 1977.

Involved in the designation of 70 national historic sites.

Lecturer on heritage conservation in Canada and abroad; prolific writer on heritage matters.

Has over 30 years experience in historical research and report writing, and has published several books and articles on Canadian architectural history and heritage.

Author of Historical Sketches of Ottawa (1990).

www.ottawacitizen.com
www.contentworks.ca
www.caphc.ca

Veena Rawat

Electrical engineer, Industry pioneer

"In my day there wasn't much formal mentoring, so my mentoring was what I call 'silent mentoring.' You looked at your colleagues focused on their strengths. That was my mentoring. I learned by example. I was very fortunate." Veena Rawat

Born in India. Moved to Ottawa in the 1970s.

First female PhD graduate in electrical engineering; the only woman in her 1973 graduating class at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario.

36-year public service career for which she received a Public Service Award of Excellence (June 2011) for her contribution to telecommunications and to women in leadership.

First female president of the Communications Research Centre, an internationally-renowned agency of Industry Canada with 400 staff, including 230 scientists and engineers.

First woman to chair the prestigious World Radiocommunication Conference of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), an agency of the United Nations (2003).

Has devoted much of her time to formally and informally mentoring young women.

PARTIAL LIST OF HONOURS AND AWARDS

Canada’s Leading Woman High Tech Entrepreneur/Sara Kirke Award for Woman Entrepreneurship, Canadian Advanced Technology Alliance, 2008
Canada’s Most Powerful Women, Top 100, Canada’s Executive Women’s Network, 2005
Professional Woman of the Year Award, Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce, 2005
Canadian Woman of the Year in Communications, Canadian Women in Communications, 2004


http://en.wikipedia.org
www.ottawacitizen.com

Aline Chrétien

Chancellor of Laurentian University
Wife of Jean Chrétien, the 20th prime minister of Canada

Born Aline Chaîné in Saint-Boniface-de-Shawinigan, Quebec in 1936.

Was appointed as the first chancellor of Laurentian University in 2010; In this volunteer role, she will be preside over convocation ceremonies, confer degrees, advise the president and help promote Laurentian over a period of 3 years.

Was Honorary Chair of the National Advisory Council of the Royal Conservatory of Music.

www.thestar.com
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aline_Chrétien