Lise Bacon

Early Life and Education

Lise Bacon was born on 25 August 1934 in Salaberry-de-Valleyfield, Quebec. She was the daughter of Joseph D. Bacon and Yvonne Jetté.

Bacon attended École Sainte-Angèle and Collège Marie-de-l'Incarnation in Trois-Rivières. She also studied at the Notre-Dame-du-Cap boarding school in Cap-de-la-Madeleine and at the Académie Saint-Louis-de-Gonzague in Trois-Rivières.

From a young age, she became involved in politics, particularly with her father, who was an organizer for the Quebec Liberal Party. When she was 16, Bacon attended party meetings, participated in campaigns, and gave her first speeches. All this at a time when women were rarely seen in the public sphere.

In an interview with Marie-Jeanne Robin, Bacon stated that it was her objection to Maurice Duplessis that spurred her activism:

I was a student. And in that community, there was a certain "awareness" of social events. It was the fifties with a very authoritarian government in Quebec City. If you didn't accept it, you had to take a stand against it. Especially since I lived in Trois-Rivières, Duplessis’s riding. Our first task was to encourage people to vote.

Early Political Career

In the 1950s, Lise Bacon became actively involved in the Quebec Liberal Party (QLP) and its federations. From 1952 to 1956, she was treasurer of the Association des femmes libérales in Trois-Rivières. She also held the following positions:

• Provincial Director of the Fédération des jeunes libérals du Québec (1954-56)
• Secretary of the Chicoutimi Association des femmes libérales (1960-61)
• President of the Groupement régional des femmes libérales de la Mauricie (1963-65)
• Vice-president of the Fédération des femmes libérales du Québec for the Mauricie region (1965-67)

In 1967, she became president of the Fédération des femmes libérales du Québec.

In the 1970 Quebec general election, Bacon wanted to run as a candidate in the Trois-Rivières riding. However, the party instead offered the riding to her brother Guy Bacon, who was elected as a member of the National Assembly. Lise Bacon was disappointed to see that the party was reluctant to support a woman.

In September 1970, she was elected president of the QLP, becoming the first woman in Canada to head a political party.

Entry into the National Assembly and First Ministerial Mandates

In the 1973 Quebec general election, Lise Bacon was offered the opportunity to run in the riding of Bourassa. Montreal. She did not know anyone there, but she had the names of the 500 members of that riding and called them all. She was elected and became the second woman to sit in the Quebec National Assembly, after Marie-Claire Kirkland-Casgrain. She was immediately appointed Minister of State for Social Affairs, then Minister of Consumer Affairs, Co-operatives and Financial Institutions, and finally Minister of Immigration in 1976. (See also Quebec Immigration Policy.)

In the 1976 election, the historic victory of the Parti Québécois destabilized the Quebec Liberal Party. Claude Ryan replaced Robert Bourassa, with whom Bacon was very close, as party leader. This was a difficult period for Bacon. She lost her seat and found herself at odds with her new leader.

Return to politics and rise

Lise Bacon spent a few years away from the National Assembly. She worked as a judge at the Canadian Citizenship Court and as vice-president of the Canadian Life and Health Insurance Association for Quebec.

In the early 1980s, Bacon returned to provincial politics. In 1981, she was elected in the riding of Chomedey, in Laval. She was re-elected in 1985 and 1989. After the 1985 election, she was appointed Deputy Premier of Quebec. Bacon was the first woman to hold this position. In 1994, Monique Gagnon-Tremblay took over.

In addition to her role as Deputy Premier, Bacon held several major cabinet portfolios during her career. She was Minister of Cultural Affairs, Minister responsible for the Charter of the French Language (see Bill 101), Minister of the Environment, Minister of Energy and Resources.

In 1994, Bacon left provincial politics. The Prime Minister of Canada, Jean Chrétien, appointed her as senator for De la Durantaye. She held this seat until her mandatory retirement in 2009. During her time in the Senate, she sat on several committees, including the Committee on Transport and Communications and the Committee on Internal Economy, Budgets and Administration. She also represented Canada abroad.

Key Achievements

As Minister of State for Social Affairs, Lise Bacon led a major reform in 1974 to help families. The Bacon Plan was Quebec’s first day care policy. It paved the way for the universal childcare system.

Among her other notable contributions was the introduction of the Act respecting the professional status and conditions of engagement of stage, recording and film artists. This law allowed artists to collectively negotiate their working conditions. It was a meaningful change that protected those often working in precarious situations. She defended the project fiercely. Bacon even threatened Robert Bourassa with resigning if he was not passed. "[…] taking care of its artists [...], it gives a government a soul," said Bacon in Mémoires de députés in 2017. Her initiative has been replicated in several countries.

In her roles as Minister of the Environment and then Minister of Energy and Resources, she had to deal with the key issues such as modernization, environmental protection and regional economic development during a period of transformation for Quebec.

In addition to her political career, Bacon has served on numerous boards of directors, including Espace Go, the Théâtre du Rideau Vert, OXFAM-Québec and the Montreal Cancer Institute (see Cancer).

Honours and Legacy

Lise Bacon has received numerous awards in recognition of her career. She was named an Officer of the French National Order of the Legion of Honour in 2003, a Grand Officer of the National Order of Quebec in 2004 and a recipient of the Order of Canada in 2010.

These honours highlight her contribution not only to the representation of women in politics, but also to the promotion of the French language, Quebec culture and public service.