Jeanne Sauvé (1922–1993) National Historic Person

Jeanne Sauvé was designated as a national historic person in 2025.

Historical importance: well-known journalist and commentator, elected to the House of Commons, Minister, first woman appointed Governor General of Canada, pioneering female and French Canadian figure in a number of areas.

Commemorative plaque: no plaque installed^{Footnote 1}

Jeanne Sauvé (1922–1993)

Jeanne Sauvé was a pathbreaking Fransaskois woman in journalism and politics. As a well-known journalist from 1952 to 1972, Sauvé distinguished herself through the quality of her radio and television work on shows such as Fémina, Les idées en marche, and Opinions, where she addressed young people and their realities. In the 1960s, she was one of the few female journalists to be a political commentator, establishing credibility for Canadian women within the political sphere. Elected to the House of Commons in 1972, she immediately accepted leadership roles as minister of several departments before becoming the Speaker of the House of Commons. As the first woman speaker and as minister she broke barriers for Canadian women in politics and political leadership in the 1970s and 1980s, helping to establish new expectations for inclusion. She shattered another glass ceiling when she became the first woman appointed Governor General of Canada (1984–1990).

Jeanne Mathilde Benoît was born in Prud’homme, Saskatchewan, in 1922, to Franco-Ontarian parents. She was just three years old when her family returned to Ottawa. She studied with the Grey Nuns at Notre-Dame-du-Rosaire Convent and continued her education at the University of Ottawa. Involved with the Young Catholic Students Group in her latter years at the convent, she secured a five-year term as president of the national organization’s women’s section in Montréal. In 1948 she married Montréal-born Maurice Sauvé (1923–1992). When he received a scholarship from the London School of Economics, the young couple moved to London, England, where Jeanne Sauvé became a teacher, then to Paris, France, where she worked at the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) as the assistant to the director of the Youth Secretariat.

In 1952 Sauvé started out in journalism when she and her husband returned to Quebec. She acquired renown as host of the television program Opinions on Radio-Canada from 1956 to 1963, which tackled topics of interest to its teenage audience. She made appearances on other English- and French-language shows on CBC/Radio-Canada, as well as on American networks. She was also a panellist on Gérard Pelletier’s show, Les idées en Marche, where she had free rein to express her left-wing political ideas. In 1972 Jeanne Sauvé stood for election in the riding of Ahuntsic, Quebec, and was voted in under the federal Liberal banner. She was Minister of the Department of Science and Technology from 1972 to 1974, becoming the first francophone women at the head of a department. Re-elected in 1974, she was assigned the Department of the Environment. In 1975 she was appointed Minister of Communications, a position she held until 1979, when the Progressive Conservative Party won the election. From 1980 to 1984 she was Speaker of the House of Commons and ushered in major administrative and financial reforms recommended by the Auditor General and helped create a daycare on Parliament Hill in 1982. As Governor General of Canada (1984–1990), she travelled the country and made national unity, youth issues, and world peace her priorities.

“It is fitting to recognize Ms. Sauvé for her outstanding contributions to Canada. She is a great example of someone born in rural Saskatchewan who became a strong voice for Canadian national unity and peace, while at the same time establishing a path forward for women in politics and journalism."

This press backgrounder was prepared at the time of the Ministerial announcement in 2025.

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