December 12, 1996 - Lise Thibault

Human Rights a Day

Lise Thibault becomes Quebec’s first woman lieutenant governor, and first ever in a wheelchair. In 1996, Prime Minister Jean Chrétien was faced with a dilemma when his recently appointed Quebec lieutenant governor, Jean-Louis Roux, resigned amidst protest over the fact he’d worn a swastika during a student protest at the age of 19. Roux had been a strong federalist, and the prime minister was looking for a problem-free appointment. On December 12, 1996, Chretien announced the appointment of Lise Thibault as the first woman lieutenant governor for the province of Quebec. Thibault was also the first person to take the post while in a wheelchair. A toboggan accident at the age of 13 had left her with pain and mobility problems that had led to paralysis from the waist down following the birth of her second child (against doctors’ advice) in 1964. Although Thibault had been a former Liberal campaigner, her work as an advocate for the rights of the disabled influenced Chrétien to consider her a good fit. Her appointment generated no significant opposition, as she pledged to keep away from partisan politics. However, a week after Thibault retired as lieutenant governor in June, 2007, she was met with banner headlines due to an audit of her finances which suggested she had mis-spent almost $700,000. She suggested that some of that money was used to show that persons with a disability could ski and golf.