Louise Marguerite Renaude Lapointe (1912 - 2002)

Louise Marguerite Renaude Lapointe was among the first Canadian women to work as a professional journalist and the first French Canadian woman to hold the Speaker of the Senate title.

• Lapointe began her career as a writer about music and women’s issues, and eventually wrote editorials. She worked as a journalist in the 1940s and 1950s at Le Soleil in Quebec City. In 1959 she joined the staff of Montreal's La Presse. She wrote for Time and Life magazines, and for the international service of Radio-Canada.
• In 1965 Lapointe was named Journalist of the Year. Her book, L'Histoire bouleversante de Mgr Charbonneau, sold 50,000 copies.
• She worked for the Ministry of Indian and Northern Affairs and Northern Development, and served on the Commission for Social Humanitarian and Cultural Affairs. She was also a delegate to the UN General Assembly.
• In 1971, Pierre Trudeau appointed Lapointe to the Senate, and she became the first French Canadian woman to hold the position of Speaker of the Senate in 1974.
• In 1989 she was made a Companion of the Order of Canada.