Letter from Henriette in La Tuque to Brigitte (September 2, 1945)

My Dear Friend Brigitte,

As you know, today, September 2, 1945, I just heard on the radio that Japan has surrendered. What joy! Things are getting better in my neck of the woods. How are things where you are, in the United States? Some of my friends have been working day and night for the war effort. Meanwhile, I became the La Tuque correspondent for Le Nouvelliste. I feel as if I’m getting closer to my dream of becoming a journalist… At long last!

Advertisement titled “Canada Needs 40 Million Pounds of Grease for Explosives” that appeared in L’Écho du St-Maurice on March 11, 1943. The images and text identify four locations where women could deliver grease and bones. The following lines appear at the bottom: “This campaign is for the duration of the war. Department of National War Services, National Salvage Division.”

Wartime advertisement

Black and white photograph showing five women mechanics in a hangar, where they are working on an airplane. A sixth person is sitting in the cockpit.

Women mechanics at Cap-de-la-Madeleine Airport

Black and white photograph showing four women, two of whom are in uniform, talking in front of a tent at an army recruitment centre. On the left, a man in uniform is standing in front of three other people.

Recruitment office

Photograph showing women working at machines in a munitions factory

Ammunition factory

Black and white photograph showing women contributing to the war effort. On the right, several women are sitting at tables where they are typing letters. On the left, one woman is sitting at a desk covered with papers and another is looking through a filing cabinet. At the back, a man standing at a desk can be seen through the open door of an adjoining room.

Women war correspondents

So much has happened since 1940… Conscription in 1944, which led to men being drafted into the armed forces. The arrival of women in the factories. Women even gained the right to vote in provincial elections in 1940!

Not that there aren’t still areas for improvement. Maurice Duplessis has been in power since 1944, and he still won’t grant us the right to sign financial agreements, own property or execute a will without our husband’s permission.

Black and white photograph showing Maurice Duplessis with some papers in his hands. Two of his sisters are standing on his left. The two others are standing on his right.

Maurice Duplessis and his sisters, following his election victory

Series of black and white photographs of women interviewed on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of women gaining the right to vote in Quebec provincial elections. The first row contains the photographs of three women. The second row contains the photographs of two women, including one with a child in her arms.

Perspectives on the anniversary of women gaining the right to vote

Things have also improved in other parts of Canada! For example, Agnes Campbell Macphail became the first woman elected to the House of Commons. She served from 1921 to 1940. That bodes well for the future of women in politics in Quebec.

Veteran Alberta Conservative MP Michelle Rempel Garner told CBC that the anniversary of Macphail’s election should be a moment not for complacency but for remembering that ‘we still have a long way to go.’

– Ryan Maloney, Victoria Valido and Hannah Thibedeau
CBC (December 6, 2021)

Since arriving at the Shawinigan office of Le Nouvelliste in 1942, I’ve come to realize that not all women are in favour of us having the right to vote. I’m deeply troubled by the fact that the Ligue catholique féminine du Québec is active in our region. With guidance from the clergy, its members oppose women’s suffrage while seeking to ban new fashion trends and promote the dangers of cinema.

Photograph showing members of the Mauricie branch of the Ligue catholique féminine, along with a member of the clergy. Three women are seated on a sofa, with eight other women and the clergyman behind them. There is a coffee table in front of them and a chair to their right.

Ligue catholique féminine du Québec

I still think that working as a correspondent in the La Tuque area is the best way for me to inform others about these topics, which are of such deep concern to me. It’s vital that we make the public aware of the feminist struggle during this difficult period.

I hope to hear from you soon.

Best regards,
Henriette

The Mauricie’s First Women Columnists (1928-1940) Letter from Henriette in La Tuque to Claire Roy (June 2, 1952)