Jeanne Benoît was born in 1922 in Prud’homme, a village in Saskatchewan, to a Franco-Ontarian family. In 1926 his family returned to Ottawa to live.

She received a classical education and later attended the University of Ottawa. She is bilingual, which benefits her career as a journalist with Radio-Canada, CBC and even CTV. As a journalist, she is interested in politics. In the late 1940s she married Maurice Sauvé, who later became a politician.

In 1972, after 20 years of observation, she ventured into politics, “an environment that she knows”. Commentators claim the Liberal Party has just recruited a senior figure. “She brings her inseparable personality to politics,” explains Xavier Gélinas.

Easily elected in Ahuntsic, in Montreal, Jeanne Sauvé was quickly appointed Minister of Science and Technology. “Let’s not forget that she is the first female federal minister from Quebec. […] She’s the third minister, period,” our guest recalls.

Shortly thereafter, she received the Ministry of the Environment, a difficult task at the time. In 1975 she was appointed to an important position: that of Minister of Communications.

In 1980 Jeanne Sauvé became the first Speaker of the House of Commons, a “test” mandate but a step forward for public women in Canada.

A few years later, Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau appointed her governor-general. She is the first woman in this position. Even the National Assembly of Quebec, where René Lévesque’s Parti Québécois governs, adopts a unanimous citation to congratulate her.

As a true federalist, Jeanne Sauvé must therefore get away from partisanship. Four months after his appointment, Brian Mulroney, leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada, was elected Prime Minister. Your relationships will be excellent.

Also during this programme, Xavier Gélinas describes the criticism Jeanne Sauvé has received throughout her career and explains why she describes herself as a silent feminist. Finally, he sums up in three words what history preserves of her.