Local Thievery Fuels a National Debate – The Stage Case of Eugénie Côté

Thefts in Metis are big news. Arrests are few, convictions rare. The case of a local thief became national news in 1918.  

When she broke into the Metis home of Mrs. Thomas Molson in October, 1918, Eugénie Côté had already been convicted for a theft from a Mont-Joli widow. From the Molson residence she stole 25 silver forks, 22 silver spoons, a bone-handled butter knife, a pair of opera glasses and case, playing cards, a box containing a pair of scissors and toothbrush, two balls, two linen tablecloths and 50 pieces of lingerie with the monogram “J.T. Molson”. The total value of the stolen items was $50.  

The theft was barely newsworthy. How then did Côté’s story end up on the editorial pages of the Toronto Globe? She was arrested at a Gaspe lumber mill for pretending to be a man; wearing men’s clothing was an offence. But in wartime Canada, when the arrest of a woman doing her patriotic duty made the news, many rose to her defence. Her plight was raised by irate MPs in the House of Commons and the editorial page of the Globe.   

It was only when she was booked into the Rimouski prison that the truth came to light. Côté was a master shape-shifter. She was not doing war work but trying to escape the law. She had taken on a new identity, changed gender and donned men’s apparel to avoid imprisonment.  

Eugénie Côté was again convicted. But this time she was sent to a prison from which she could not escape – the Kingston Penitentiary. There she was forced to don women’s clothes and taught to sew.