1780s
Marie-Anne Gaboury Lagimodière (02 aug 1780 – 14 dec 1875 | Maskinongé, Quebec – Saint-Boniface, Manitoba) pioneer / settler, Canadian folk figure, aka Grandmother of the Red River
1790s
1800s
1810s
Maria Monk (27 jun 1816 – 08 sep 1849 | Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec – Roosevelt Island NY) author, memoirist, religious sister, controversial Canadian folk figure, alleged infanticide / systemic sexual abuse in Catholic convent
1820s
1830s
1840s
Dame Emma Albani (01 nov 1847 – 03 apr 1930 | Chambly, Québec | London, England) Canadian-English operatic soprano, born Marie-Louise-Emma-Cécile Lajeunesse
Henrietta Muir Edwards (18 dec 1849 – 10 nov 1931 | Montreal, Quebec – Fort Macleod, Alberta) Canadian author, suffragist, women’s rights reformer, one of the Famous Five
1850s
Alice Rollit Coe (20 sep 1858 – 08 dec 1940 | Rawdon, Quebec – Seattle WA) poet, author, immigrant, pen name: May B. Knott
Mary Adelaide Nutting (01 nov 1858 – 03 oct 1948 | Québec, Canada | White Plains NY) nurse, author, scholar, educator, administrator, graduated from first class Johns Hopkins School of Nursing, world’s first Professor of Nursing
1860s
Henriette Dessaulles (06 feb 1860 – 17 nov 1946 | Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec – Montreal, Quebec) pioneering diarist, columnist, journalist, pen-name Fadette
Kate Campbell Hurd-Mead (06 apr 1867 – 01 jan 1941 | Danville, Quebec – Haddam CT) author, feminist, preventive health pioneer
1870s
Susan [Susie] Norris Fitkin (31 mar 1870 – 18 oct 1951 | Ely, Quebec – Oakland CA) author, minister, memoirist, evangelist, founder / president of Women’s Foreign Missionary Society (now Nazarene Missions International), co-funded / co-founded numerous churches / hospitals / children’s care facilities
Éva Circé-Côté (31 jan 1871 – 04 may 1949 | Montreal, Quebec – Montreal, Quebec) poet, librarian, journalist, established first public library in Montreal, pen names: Colombine, Musette, Jean Nay, Fantasio, Arthur Maheu, Julien Saint-Michel, Paul S. Bédard
Marion Osborne (14 may 1871 – 05 sep 1931 | Montreal, Quebec – Toronto, Ontario) poet, author, dramatist
Winnifred Eaton (21 aug 1875 – 08 apr 1954 | Montreal, Quebec – Butte MT) novelist, screenwriter, pen name: Onoto Watanna
Faith Fyles (30 sep 1875 – 22 oct 1961 | Cowansville, Quebec – Ottawa, Ontario) author, artist, botanist, seed analyst, director of the Arboretum, first botanical artist with Canadian Horticulture Department
Irma LeVasseur (20 jan 1877 – 18 jan 1964 | Quebec City, Quebec – Quebec City, Quebec) physician, pioneering pediatrician, first French-Canadian female doctor
1880s
1890s
Sarah Margaret Armour Robertson (16 jun 1891 – 06 dec 1948 | Montreal, Quebec – Montreal, Quebec) painter, member of Beaver Hall Hill Group / Canadian Group of Painters
Efa Prudence Heward (02 jul 1896 – 19 mar 1947 | Montreal, Quebec – Los Angeles CA) artist, figurative painter, Beaver Hall Group member, co-founded Canadian Group of Painters and Contemporary Arts Society
Thésèse Forget Casgrain (10 jul 1896 – 03 nov 1981 | Montreal, Quebec – Montreal, Quebec) politician, suffragist, senator, first Canadian woman to lead provincial political party
Anne Douglas Savage (27 jul 1896 – 25 mar 1971 | Montreal, Quebec – Montreal, Quebec) artist, art teacher, pioneering children’s art teacher
Pauline Archer Vanier (28 mar 1898 – 23 mar 1991 | Montreal, Quebec – Trosly-Breuil, France) diplomat, humanitarian, vice-regal consort, co-founded Vanier Institute of the Family
1900s
Freda Pemberton Smith (07 apr 1902 – 08 feb 1991 | Montreal, Quebec – Vankleek Hill, Ontario) landscape / pastel / portrait / watercolor artist
Marian Mildred Dale Scott (26 jun 1906 – 28 nov 1993 | Montreal, Quebec – Montreal, Quebec) experimental abstract visual artist
Muriel Helen Duckworth (31 oct 1908 – 22 aug 2009 | Austin, Quebec – Magog, Quebec) pacifist, Quaker, feminist, social / community activist, founding member of Nova Scotia Voice of Women for Peace, first woman to run for seat in Nova Scotia legislature, singing / performing member of Raging Grannies social justice group
1910s
Françoise Loranger 18 jun 1913 – 05 apr 1995 | Saint-Hilaire, Quebec – Montreal, Quebec) author, feminist, playwright, radio producer, theatrical writer
Anne Hébert (01 aug 1916 – 22 jan 2000 | St Catherine de Fossambault, Quebec – Montreal, Quebec ) poet, novelist, playwright, screenwriter, short story writer
Hélène Baillargeon (28 aug 1916 – 25 sep 1997 | Saint-Martin, Quebec – Montreal, Quebec) singer, actress, author, folklorist, tv show host
Claire Culhane (02 sep 1918 – 25 apr 1996 | Montreal, Quebec – Vancouver, British Columbia) nurse, prison abolitionist, leading activist against Vietnam War
1920s
Pierrette Alarie (09 nov 1921 – 10 jul 2011 | Montreal, Quebec – Victoria, British Columbia) Canadian operatic coloratura soprano
Rhona Wurtele (21 jan 1922 – 17 jan 2020 | St. Lambert, Quebec – Montreal, Quebec) twin, Canadian skiing pioneer / champion, member Canada’s first official women’s Olympic alpine ski team
Rhonda Wurtle (21 jan 1922 – St. Lambert, Quebec) twin, Canadian skiing pioneer / champion, member Canada’s first official women’s Olympic alpine ski team
Madeleine Ferron (24 jul 1922 – 27 feb 2010 | Louisville, Quebec – Quebec, Canada) novelist, magazine writer, radio talk show host, Canadian government commissioner
May Ebbitt Cutler (04 sep 1923 – 03 mar 2011 | Montreal, Quebec – Montreal, Quebec) writer, journalist, playwright, publisher, world traveler, pen name Ebbitt Cutler, founded Tundra Books, first Canadian female children’s book publisher
Claire Gagnier (28 mar 1924 – Montreal, Quebec) operatic soprano
Mimi Parent (08 sep 1924 – 14 jun 2005 | Montreal, Quebec – Villars-sur-Ollon, Switzerland) surrealist artist
Janette Bertrand (25 mar 1925 – Montreal, Quebec) actor, writer, educator, journalist
Phyllis Barbara Bronfman Lambert (24 jan 1927 – Montreal, Quebec) architect, philanthropist, founded Canadian Centre for Architecture
Thérèse Renaud (03 jul 1927 – 12 dec 2005 | Montréal, Québec – Paris, France ) poet, author, painter, memoirist
Jacqueline Richard (08 mar 1928 – 02 aug 2015 | Montreal, Quebec – Montreal, Quebec) pianist, conductor, founded Boutique d’Opéra, co-founded Atelier Lyrique de l’Opéra de Montréal
Rita Letendre (01 nov 1928 – Drummondville, Québec) Canadian painter, muralist, printmaker, Automatiste member
Louise Maheux-Forcier (09 jun 1929 – 05 feb 2015 | Montreal, Quebec – Montreal, Quebec) author
Mary J. Murray LeMessurier (12 jun 1929 – 11 mar 2018 | Montreal, Quebec – Edmonton, Alberta) social activist, former provincial politician
1930s
Madeleine Ouellette-Michalska (27 may 1930 – Saint-Alexandre-de-Kamouraska, Quebec) poet, author, novelist, biographer
Cécile Cloutier (13 jun 1930 – 30 sep 2017 | Quebec City, Quebec – Orleans, Ontario) poet, writer, educator
Maureen Kathleen Stewart Forrester (25 jul 1930 – 16 jun 2010 | Montreal, Quebec – Toronto, Ontario) operatic contralto
Alice Poznanska Parizeau (25 jul 1930 – 30 sep 1990 | Luninets, Poland – Outremont, Quebec) author, essayist, journalist, Holocaust survivor
Denise Filiatrault (16 may 1931 – Montreal, Quebec) Canadian actress, director
Paule Bayard (17 jun 1931 – 29 nov 1975 | Montreal, Quebec – Montreal, Canada) actress, puppeteer, voice actress
Lise Payette (29 aug 1931 – 05 sep 2018 | Verdun, Quebec – Montreal, Quebec) writer, politician, feminist, columnist
Sylvia Tait (20 mar 1932 – Montreal, Quebec) abstract painter, printmaker
Anne Claire Poirier (06 jun 1932 – Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec) producer / director / screenwriter, documentary filmmaker, prominent Canadian female filmmaker
Dominique Michel (24 sep 1932 – Sorel-Tracy, Quebec) artist, singer, actress, comedian, born Aimée Sylvestre
Dorothea Rockburne (18 oct 1932 – Montreal, Quebec) author, mannerist, abstract painter, focus on astronomy and mathematics
Janine O’Leary Cobb (20 jun 1933 – Montreal, Quebec) author, educator, professor, newsletter founder, menopause specialist, women’s health activist
Andrée Lajoie (23 oct 1933 – Montreal, Quebec) jurist, academic, former journalist, former Radio Canada correspondent
Monique Vézina (13 jul 1935 – Rimouski, Quebec) former Canadian politician, international development NGO activist, education / women’s rights / family services advocate
Margaret Norrie McCain (01 oct 1935 – Amos, Quebec) philanthropist, family violence activist, first female Lieutenant Governor of New Brunswick
Lucie Pépin (07 sep 1936 – Quebec, Canada) nurse, former politician, former leader of Canadian Advisory Council on the Status of Women
Monique Landry (25 dec 1937 – Montreal QC) politician, administrator, physiotherapist
Jovette Marchessault (09 feb 1938 – 31 dec 2012 | Montreal, Quebec – Montreal, Quebec) poet, artist, painter, sculptor, novelist, lecturer, feminist, playwright, LGBT activist, co-founded Squawtach Press
Shelagh Dawn Grant (28 jun 1938 – Montreal, Quebec) author, co-editor, historian, retired professor of History and Canadian Studies
Madeleine Gagnon (27 jul 1938 – Amqui, Quebec) poet, author, educator, literary critic, former professor, magazine co-founder / writer
Micheline Coulombe Saint-Marcoux (09 aug 1938 – 02 feb 1985 | La Doré, Quebec – Montreal, Quebec) composer, music educator
Huguette Tourangeau (12 aug 1938 – 21 apr 2018 | Montreal, Quebec – Montreal, Quebec) French-Canadian pianist, operatic mezzo-soprano
Yolande Thibeault (08 oct 1939 – Montreal, Quebec) politician, journalist
Andrée Champagne (17 jul 1939 – 06 jun 2020 | Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec – Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec) pianist, actress, politician, casting agent, arts / cultural activist, retirement home for artists co-creator
1940s
Denise Bombardier (18 jan 1941 – Montreal, Quebec) novelist, essayist, journalist, producer, media personality
Nina Raginsky (14 apr 1941 – Montreal, Quebec) photographer
Jeanne-Mance Delisle (24 jun 1941 – Barraute, Quebec) author, novelist, screenwriter
Marie-Francine Hébert (24 mar 1943 – Montreal, Quebec) tv / stage writer, young adult novelist
Lisette Lapointe (13 sep 1943 – Montreal, Quebec) teacher, politician, journalist
Nicole Brossard (27 nov 1943 – Montreal, Quebec) Canadian novelist, formalist poet
Charlotte Gingras (10 dec 1943 – Quebec City, Quebec) visual artist, schoolteacher, children’s author, young adult novelist
Linda Laughlin McIntosh (14 dec 1943 – Montreal, Quebec) artist, author, teacher, illustrator, politician, tv commentator, educational inclusion advocate
Mireille Dansereau (19 dec 1943 – Montreal, Quebec) French-Canadian former dancer, film director, screenwriter
France Bégin Castel (31 aug 1944 – Sherbrooke, Quebec) singer, actress, autobiographial author, radio and television broadcaster / show host
Marie José Thériault (21 mar 1945 – Montreal, Quebec) writer, performer, translator
Bernadette Renaud (18 apr 1945 – Ascot Corner, Quebec) tv / film screenwriter, children’s / young adult author, former teacher and librarian
Paule Baillargeon (19 jul 1945 – Rouyn-Noranda, Quebec) actress, director, screenwriter
Nicole Houde (01 nov 1945 – Saint-Fulgence, Quebec) novelist, short fiction writer
Lise Bissonnette (13 dec 1945 – Rouyn, Quebec) Canadian author, journalist
Francine D’Amour (06 nov 1946 – Beauharnois, Quebec) writer, educator
Maryse Pelletier (20 nov 1946 – Cabano, Quebec) actress, novelist, children’s / young adult scriptwriter, former director of Théâtre Populaire du Québec
Diana Boulay (22 nov 1946 – Montreal, Quebec) found object artist sculptor
Louise Lanctôt (24 mar 1947 – Montreal, Quebec) author, political activist, convicted kidnapper, former member Front de Libération du Québec [FLQ]
Françoise David (13 jan 1948 – Montreal, Quebec) author, feminist politician, women’s rights activist, anti-poverty / women’s violence march organizer
Arlette Cousture (03 apr 1948 – Saint-Lambert, Quebec) novelist
Monique LaRue (03 apr 1948 – Longueuil, Quebec) novelist, essayist, literature professor, literary commentator
Dayle Haddon (26 may 1948 – Montréal, Quebec) model, author, actress, wellness contributor, WomenOne non-profit founder
Esther Blackburn Rochon (27 jun 1948 – Quebec City, Quebec) science fiction writer
Heather Reisman (28 aug 1948 – Montreal, Quebec) book retailer, philanthropist, businesswoman, children’s literacy activist
Marie-Lynn Hammond (31 aug 1948 – Montreal, Quebec) playwright, radio broadcaster, folk singer-songwriter
Reine-Aimée Côté (20 nov 1948 – Villebois, Quebec) novelist, retired teacher
Danielle Trussart (03 dec 1948 – Montreal, Quebec) author, teacher, folklorist, children’s writer, innkeeper, alternative school founder / educator
Jocelyne Felx (02 jan 1949 – Saint-Lazare de Vaudreuil, Quebec) writer, novelist, literary critic
Hélène Rioux (12 jan 1949 – Montreal, Quebec) writer, novelist, translator, literary columnist
Sofia Landon Geier (24 jan 1949 – Montreal, Quebec) actress, soap opera writer
Louise Dupré (09 jul 1949 – Sherbrooke, Quebec) poet, author, editor, journalist
Christiane Duchesne (12 aug 1949 – Montreal, Quebec) educator, illustrator, translator, researcher, children’s author
Carole-Marie Allard (06 sep 1949 – Dolbeau, Quebec) author, politician, designer, journalist, producer, media management trainer
Nicole Boudreau (14 sep 1949 – Noranda, Quebec) activist, politician, administrator
Francine Allard (16 oct 1949 – Verdun, Quebec) poet, novelist, educator, visual artist
1950s
Joyce Borenstein (19 mar 1950 – Montreal, Quebec) author, animator, director, illustrator, documentary filmmaker
Hinda Miller (18 apr 1950 – Montreal, Quebec) Canadian-American, former member Vermont State Senate, co-founder of Jogbra women’s sports apparel company, owner / president DeForest Concepts business consulting firm
Louise Portal (12 may 1950 – Chicoutimi, Quebec) writer, singer, actress, film director
Heather Anne Elise Lilian Munroe-Blum (25 aug 1950 – Montreal, Quebec) author, academic, epidemiologist, university leader, psychiatric disorder researcher
Joceline Sanschagrin (02 sep 1950 – Montreal, Quebec) author, journalist, researcher, columnist
Marguerite Blais (12 sep 1950 – Montreal, Quebec) journalist, , tv / radio host, former politician
Marianne McKenna (25 sep 1950 – Montreal, Quebec) architect, founding partner of KPMB Architects in Toronto
Pauline Harvey (17 nov 1950 – Alma, Quebec) poet, novelist, reporter, government translator
Marie Laberge (29 nov 1950 – Quebec, Montreal) poet, author, actress, educator, lyricist, playwright
Christiane Charette (29 mar 1951 – Montreal, Quebec) art historian, radio / television host
Janina Fialkowska (07 may 1951 – Montreal, Quebec) classical pianist
Andrée Pelletier (24 aug 1951 – Montreal, Quebec) actress, screenwriter, film director
Lorraine Pintal (24 sep 1951 – Plessisville, Quebec) actor, director, producer playwright
Monique Proulx (17 jan 1952 – Quebec City, Quebec) novelist, screenwriter, short fiction writer
Norah McClintock (11 mar 1952 – 06 feb 2017 | Pointe-Claire, Quebec – Toronto, Ontario) young adult fiction author
Danielle Simard (12 mar 1952 – Montreal, Quebec) former graphic artist, children’s author / illustrator
Shirley Cheechoo (18 jun 1952 – Eastmain, Quebec) Cree writer, actress, producer, director, visual artist, aka Cactus Rose
Suzanne Duranceau (02 aug 1952 – Montreal, Quebec) children’s book illustrator, language of visual arts and drawing teacher, founding member of Illustration Québec (Association des Illustrateurs et Illustratrices du Québec)
Jan Wong (15 aug 1952 – Montreal, Quebec) Chinese-Canadian author, columnist, professor, newspaper journalist
Ethlie Ann Vare (08 mar 1953 – Montreal, Quebec) author, journalist, screenwriter, distinguished visiting university lecturer
Margie Gillis (09 jul 1953 – Montreal, Quebec) modern-dance artist, dancer and choreographer
Marie-Danielle Croteau (01 aug 1953 – Saint-Élie-d’Orford, Quebec) young adult novelist
Linda Pauline Griffiths (07 oct 1953 – 21 sep 2014 | Montreal, Quebec – Toronto, Ontario) actress, playwright
Carole Lavallée (23 jan 1954 – Montreal, Quebec) politician, journalist, businesswoman, communication consultant
Lisa Vaillancourt (05 jul 1954 – Montreal, Quebec) mime, writer, novelist, playwright, artistic director, co-founded Théâtre Espace Go
Carole David (25 jul 1954 – Montreal, Quebec) poet, editor, novelist
Sylvie Desrosiers (28 aug 1954 – Montreal, Quebec) novelist, scriptwriter
Janet Laurie Perlman (19 sep 1954 – Montreal, Quebec) animator / filmmaker, children’s book author / illustrator
Judith Clare Thompson (20 sep 1954 – Montreal, Quebec) playwright, acting / playwriting professor
Johanne Gonthier (03 nov 1954 – Montreal, Quebec) politician, former public relations / marketing executive
Christiane Frenette (18 nov 1954 – Quebec City, Quebec) poet, writer, educator
Jill Climent (20 may 1955 – Montreal, Quebec) novelist, memoirist, professor, Canadian-born American
Marie Gervais-Vidricaire (25 aug 1955 – Montmagny, Quebec) Canadian diplomat, multi-linguist
Lorraine Desmarais (15 aug 1956 – Montreal, Quebec) pianist, jazz composer, music professor
Sylvia Sweeney (03 oct 1956 – Montreal, Quebec) executive tv producer, Olympian, Olympic activist
Agnès Maltais (07 nov 1956 – Sault-au-Mouton, Quebec) politician, feminist, theatre activist, first openly lesbian member of Canadian National Assembly
Wendy Mesley (08 jan 1957 – Montreal, Quebec) tv host, reporter, broadcast journalist, breast cancer survivor
Andrée A. Michaud (12 nov 1957 – Saint-Sébastien-de-Frontenac, Quebec) novelist, playwright
Linda Amyot (28 jun 1958 – Montreal, Quebec) novelist, short fiction writer, tv documentary writer / editor
Monique Deland (06 jul 1958 – Montreal, Quebec) poet, artist, educator, journalist, poetry critic, former poetry magazine editor
Anne Legault (07 jul 1958 – Lachine, Quebec) actor, educator, children’s tv / theater playwright
Stephanie Louise Vallance (08 sep 1958 – Montreal, Quebec) singer, actress, musician, director, voice actress, voice-over teacher, aka Louise Vallance and Stevie Vallance
Louise Lecavalier (03 oct 1958 – Montreal, Quebec) contemporary dancer / choreographer
Tosca Reno (22 may 1959 – Lachine, Quebec) author, columnist, fitness model, certified Nutritional Therapy practitioner
Hélène Desputeaux (10 jul 1959 – Quebec City, Quebec) writer, educator, illustrator, children’s book author
Marquise Lepage (06 sep 1959 – Chénéville, Quebec) producer, screenwriter, tv / film director