Like many women in Quebec who have made a great contribution to society, Ms.me Irma LeVasseur (1877-1964) is certainly a figurehead in the pantheon of famous women in our province. Born on January 20, 1877 in the Saint-Roch district, in the lower town of Quebec, the young Irma began her classical studies at the Collège Jésus-Marie de Sillery and then began studying medicine at Saint-Paul University in Minnesota, in the USA. It should be noted that the faculties of medicine in Quebec did not accept women; Bishop’s University accepted applicants, but the course was only theoretical without any internship at the hospital.
Early in his career, M.me LeVasseur encountered several pitfalls on his way, the main one: women are systematically not allowed to practice medicine in Quebec. During this time, by force of circumstances, she will go to practice in New York, where she is very popular.
Mme LeVasseur is not a woman to let go easily. As soon as she returned to Quebec, armed with an unfailing will, she took steps with the Legislative Assembly to claim her right to practice medicine in her province. It was therefore in April 1903 that she was able to celebrate her victory, which finally allowed her to practice in her province.
Of course, the work of Mme LeVasseur is immense, and his legacies are just as numerous. We should mention that she is the co-founder of the Sainte-Justine hospital in Montreal and of the Enfant-Jésus hospital in Quebec. Who says better ?
Settled in Quebec in 1922, her hometown, definitively, Mme LeVasseur can boast of having made pediatrics grow in Quebec. His many achievements were highlighted in 1950 in the courtyard of the Collège Jésus-Marie in Sillery by many dignitaries and friends who witnessed his success. On January 18, 1964, she died in her hometown, Quebec.
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