Raoul Dandurand and Joséphine Marchand, born in 1861 to bourgeois parents, were influential figures in Canadian politics and culture. Joséphine, daughter of Prime Minister Félix-Gabriel Marchand, became an early feminist advocate, while Raoul, a key advisor and senator, played a vital role in Canadian diplomacy. Their partnership was marked by shared passions for politics, literature, and women’s rights, culminating in significant educational reforms. Joséphine was a pioneering feminist writer, and together they championed cultural advancement in French Canada. She passed away in 1925, leaving a lasting legacy.
Raoul and Joséphine were born in the same year, 1861, to parents who were part of the not necessarily affluent bourgeoisie.
As the daughter of Prime Minister Félix-Gabriel Marchand – a landowner, notary, journalist, and author – Joséphine became involved in the earliest feminist movements. Raoul served as a key advisor to several prime ministers and is regarded as one of the founding figures of Canadian diplomacy.
Throughout her life, Joséphine Marchand remained closely tied to her husband’s endeavors, using her influence with Wilfrid Laurier to help advance his career. Raoul Dandurand was appointed senator in 1898 at just 36 years old and led the Senate from 1905 to 1909.
He acknowledged that his rise to this position would not have been possible without the charm and appeal his wife had on those she met. Her eloquence earned her the nickname “the female Laurier.” In 1898, Raoul and Joséphine represented Canada at the Exposition Universelle in Paris, where she served as the “Honorary Commissioner.”
As the Senate’s leader for the government, Dandurand advised Mackenzie King from 1921 until his passing in 1942. King relied on him for counsel regarding Quebec and international matters, basing his decision to appoint Louis Saint-Laurent to his Cabinet on Dandurand’s advice.
As Canada’s representative to the League of Nations, Dandurand advocated for its independence from the United Kingdom. He was involved in creating the Geneva Protocol, the first treaty to prohibit the use of chemical and biological weapons in warfare. In 1925, he presided over the League’s General Assembly.
A couple devoted to politics and culture
Both Raoul and Joséphine had a deep passion for politics, literature, and France. Captivated by each other, they “admired each other before loving,” as phrased by Marie Lavigne and Michèle Stanton-Jean. They shared an irreplaceable bond in their quest to realize their ideals.
They were united in a common mission: to promote French Canada in the fields of arts, culture, language, women’s rights, and education.
Education was one of the couple’s major causes; they fervently supported the establishment of a Ministry of Public Instruction by the Marchand government. Although adopted by the Legislative Assembly, it was ultimately rejected by the conservative majority in the provincial Legislative Council. It wouldn’t be until the 1960s that Quebec finally established a Ministry of Education.
A woman of letters and struggles
Growing up in an intellectually engaging environment, Joséphine Marchand developed a strong interest in reading and writing from a young age. Her father’s library provided her access to the works of prominent French-Canadian writers of the day, and she kept up with French news through newspapers her father received.
At 18, her first writings were published in the newspapers La Patrie, L’Opinion publique, and Le Franco-Canadien. Honoré Mercier invited her to write two columns a month for the latter.
She did not shy away from controversy. In an article titled “Our Clergy,” published on the front page of La Patrie in September 1892, she critiqued the misdeeds of the French-Canadian clergy following a morality scandal involving the Sulpician Julien-Marie Guihot. This piece, which attracted backlash from conservative and Catholic press, helped solidify her reputation as a courageous feminist author. A few months later, in January 1893, Joséphine founded Le Coin du feu, the first French-language magazine in Canada directed by a woman and aimed at women.
Feminism became the driving force of her career. “A singular motive has always guided my pen,” she wrote in 1924, “the interest and well-being of my Canadian sisters. The dignity, moral elevation, and intellectual culture of my compatriots are the subjects upon which I have offered them my advice.”
Joséphine passed away in Montreal on March 2, 1925, at the age of 63, due to complications from influenza.
Having been in ill health for a long time, she was very frail. The Canadian political elite – senators, members of parliament, ministers, and Prime Minister Mackenzie King – attended her husband’s funeral, where he grieved inconsolably.
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