Joyce Fairbairn | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Leader of the Government in the Senate | |
| In office November 4, 1993 – June 10, 1997 | |
| Prime Minister | Jean Chrétien |
| Deputy | Gildas Molgat Alasdair Graham |
| Whip | Jacques Hébert |
| Preceded by | Lowell Murray |
| Succeeded by | Alasdair Graham |
| Minister with special responsibility for Literacy | |
| In office November 4, 1993 – June 10, 1997 | |
| Prime Minister | Jean Chrétien |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | Position abolished |
| Canadian Senator fromLethbridge | |
| In office June 29, 1984 – January 18, 2013 | |
| Nominated by | Pierre Trudeau |
| Appointed by | Jeanne Sauvé |
| Preceded by | Harry Hays (1982) |
| Succeeded by | Doug Black |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1939-11-06)November 6, 1939 Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada |
| Died | March 29, 2022(2022-03-29) (aged 82) Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada |
| Political party | Liberal |
| Spouse | |
| Alma mater | University of Alberta Carleton University |
| Profession | Journalist |
Joyce FairbairnPC CM (November 6, 1939 – March 29, 2022) was aCanadian senator and was the first woman to serve as theleader of the Government in the Senate.
Born in Lethbridge, Alberta on November 6, 1939,[1] Fairbairn was the daughter of Mary Elizabeth (née Young) and Lynden Eldon Fairbairn, a judge of theDistrict Court of Alberta, lawyer, andLiberal candidate for the1935 and1940 federal elections inLethbridge.[2] She was a teenage journalist when she was a student atLethbridge Collegiate Institute, and wrote a column entitled "Teen Chatter" in theLethbridge Herald.[1] She attended theUniversity of Alberta where she earned a bachelor's degree in English andCarleton University where she earned a degree in journalism.[3] She married Michael Charles Frederick Gillan in 1967; he died in 2002.[4]
Fairbairn worked as a journalist in the Parliamentary Press Gallery inOttawa before being hired as a legislative assistant to Prime MinisterPierre Trudeau in 1970. In 1981, she became Communications Coordinator in thePrime Minister's Office. On June 29, 1984, just prior to leaving office, Trudeau recommended her for appointment as a Liberal senator forAlberta, her home province.[5] Over the years as a senator, she held a number of positions within the Liberal Party, including Vice-Chair of the National as well as the Western and Northern Liberal Caucus from 1984 to 1991,[6] and Co-Chair of the National Campaign Committee for her party in 1991.[6]
When the Liberals returned to power after the1993 election, Prime MinisterJean Chrétien appointed Fairbairn tothe cabinet asGovernment Leader in the Senate, the first female senator in the post, and Minister with Special Responsibility for Literacy.[6][7] She served in cabinet until 1997, after which she took on the role as Special Advisor on Literacy to theMinister of Human Resources and Skills Development.[8] She also chaired the Standing Senate Committee on Agriculture and Forestry, and the Special Senate Committee on the Anti-terrorism Act.[9] She sat on the Senate Committee on Agriculture and Forestry until June 2012.[10]
Fairbairn became involved with the Paralympics movement in Canada as early as 1998. That year, to counter a funding shortfall, she spearheaded fundraising efforts to send a Canadian team to compete in the2000 Paralympic Games in Sydney, Australia, through "Friends of the Paralympics", a group that grew and became "a strong political and fundraising voice for the Canadian Paralympic Movement". By 2000, she co-founded and chaired the Canadian Paralympic Foundation, the first official charitable foundation connected to theCanadian Paralympic Committee, to secure long-term financial support for Paralympic athletes and the committee.[11] In recognition of her role in promoting and supporting Paralympic sports across the country, she was inducted to the Canadian Paralympic Hall of Fame as a builder in 2011.[12]
In August 2012, Fairbairn took indefinitesick leave from the Senate due to the onset ofAlzheimer's disease.[10] It was subsequently reported that Fairbairn had been declared legally incompetent in February but had continued voting in the Senate until June.[13] The Fairbairn case led to calls for the Senate to establish rules to address similar situations should they arise.[14] On November 30, 2012, she tendered her resignation to the Governor General with effect from January 18, 2013.[15][7]
On March 11, 2018, it was announced that the new middle school in Lethbridge, Alberta would be named after Fairbairn.[16] It was namedSenator Joyce Fairbairn Middle School, and opened in the fall of 2018.[17]
Joyce Fairbairn died in Lethbridge on March 29, 2022, at the age of 82.[1][18][19]
| Country | Date | Appointment | Post-nominal letters |
|---|---|---|---|
 Canada | November 4, 1993 – March 29, 2022 | Member of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada[6] | PC |
| Canada | August 12, 2015 – March 29, 2022 | Member of the Order of Canada[20][21] | CM |
| Canada | 1992 | 125th Anniversary of the Confederation of Canada Medal | |
| Canada | 2002 | Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal (Canadian Version)[22] | |
| Canada | 2012 | Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal (Canadian Version)[23] |
| Location | Date | School | Degree | Gave Commencement Address |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Alberta | Spring 2004 | University of Lethbridge | Doctor of Laws (LL.D)[24] | Yes |
32|Fairbairn, Joyce|1984-06-29|Alberta|...
Senator James Cowan: Honourable senators, last Friday we all received a communication from the Clerk advising that Senator Joyce Fairbairn is resigning from the Senate effective next month. ... Senator Fairbairn has spent some 50 years here on Parliament Hill, blazing a path as one of the first women journalists in the Parliamentary Press Gallery, then as a senior adviser to Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau, and then here in the Senate where she was the first woman to serve as the Leader of the Government. ... Senator: Marjory LeBreton:I did want to make a brief statement today following receipt of Senator Fairbairn's letter of resignation from the Senate of Canada effective January 18. ... When she was named to the federal cabinet in 1993 by former Prime Minister Jean Chrétien, Senator Fairbairn was also made Minister with Special Responsibility for Literacy
| 26th Canadian Ministry (1993-2003) – Cabinet ofJean Chrétien | ||
| Cabinet post (1) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Predecessor | Office | Successor |
| Lowell Murray | Leader of the Government in the Senate 1993–1997 | Alasdair Graham |
| International | |
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| National | |
| Other | |
