Joyce Fairbairn facts for kids

Joyce Fairbairn PC CM (November 6, 1939 – March 29, 2022) was a Canadian senator and was the first woman to serve as Leader of the Government in the Senate.

Early life and education

Fairbairn born in Lethbridge, Alberta in 1939, the daughter of Mary Elizabeth (née Young) and Lynden Eldon Fairbairn, a judge and lawyer. She attended the University of Alberta where she earned a bachelor's degree in English and Carleton University where she earned a degree in journalism. She married Michael Charles Frederick Gillan in 1967; he died in 2002.

Political life

Fairbairn worked as a journalist in the Parliamentary Press Gallery in Ottawa before being hired as a legislative assistant to Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau in 1970. In 1981, she became Communications Coordinator in the Prime Minister's Office. On June 29, 1984, just prior to leaving office, Trudeau recommended her for appointment as a Liberal senator for Alberta, her home province.

She has also had various positions in the Liberal Party, including Vice-Chair of the National and Western Liberal Caucus from 1984 to 1990, and Co-chair of the Liberal Party of Canada Election Readiness Committee in 1991.

When the Liberals returned to power after the 1993 election, Prime Minister Jean Chrétien appointed Fairbairn to the Canadian Cabinet as Government Leader in the Senate and Minister with special responsibility for Literacy. She served in Cabinet until 1997. She has been Chair of the Standing Senate Committee on Agriculture and Forestry, and the Special Senate Committee on the Anti-terrorism Act. She sat on the Senate Committee on Agriculture and Forestry until June 2012.

She was the chairwoman of the Canadian Paralympic Foundation, as of 2006.

In August 2012, it was reported that Fairbairn has taken indefinite sick leave from the Senate due to the onset of Alzheimer's disease. It was subsequently revealed that Fairbairn had been declared legally incompetent in February but had continued voting in the Senate until June. The Fairbairn case has led to calls for the Senate to establish rules to address similar situations should they arise in the future. It was announced on November 30, 2012, that she had tendered her resignation to the Governor General with effect from January 18, 2013.

Later life

On March 11, 2018, it was announced that the new middle school in Lethbridge, Alberta would be named after Fairbairn. It was named Senator Joyce Fairbairn Middle School, and opened in the fall of 2018.

Joyce Fairbairn died in Lethbridge on March 29, 2022, at the age of 82.

Honours

Commonwealth honours

Country	Date	Appointment	Post-nominal letters
Canada	4 November 1993 – 29 March 2022	Member of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada	PC
Canada	12 August 2015 – 29 March 2022	Member of the Order of Canada	CM
Canada	1992	125th Anniversary of the Confederation of Canada Medal
Canada	2002	Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal (Canadian Version)
Canada	2012	Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal (Canadian Version)

Scholastic

Location	Date	School	Degree	Gave Commencement Address
Alberta	Spring 2004	University of Lethbridge	Doctor of Laws (LL.D)	Yes