Dinner and Book Presentation: Ladies, Upstairs!

Table 40 at Fraser Café, 7 Springfield Road, Ottawa, ON
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Tickets: $70 (includes three-course meal) | More details 

Join Monique Bégin for a dinner to celebrate her new memoire, Ladies, Upstairs! My Life in Politics and After. Dinner will be followed by an author presentation and book signing. Tickets must be purchased in advance at Books on Beechwood.

ABOUT THE BOOK

More than fifty years after most Canadian women received the right to vote, very few women were elected as members of Parliament and none came from Quebec. Canada's 1972 federal election marked a refreshing transition. Twice as many female candidates ran for office than in the previous election, and, of the five women elected to the House of Commons that year, three Liberal Party candidates - Monique Bégin, Albanie Morin, and Jeanne Sauvé - shared the honour of being the first Quebec women MPs.

In this riveting memoir of a trailblazing female politician, Monique Bégin tells the story of her journey into politics and beyond. Born in Italy, Bégin spent her childhood in France and Portugal before arriving in Montreal as a refugee of the Second World War. In 1967, she was swept into the world of politics when she became executive secretary of the Royal Commission on the Status of Women. Inspired by Pierre Trudeau, she then ran for the House of Commons and served in various cabinet positions, ultimately spearheading the landmark Canada Health Act before retiring to pursue a career in academia. Offering a revealing glimpse into the pervading sexism of Canadian public life, Ladies, Upstairs! details the experiences of a feisty, candid outsider who, through sheer fortitude, intelligence, and hard work, became minister of health and welfare, a university dean, a sought-after member for commissions of inquiry, and an international expert on public health.

Monique Bégin is professor emeritus at the University of Ottawa.