Arm raised, finger pointing emphatically as he delivers an impassioned address, it is a telling portrait of eminent Canadian Réal Caouette. This image is depicted on one of the four domestic-rate stamps created to honour the lives and achievements of prominent federal politicians. In conjunction with what would have been Caouette's birthday, Canada Post will issue these commemorative stamps to recognize the contributions of Caouette and three other Canadian politicians who enriched the character of our nation: Martha Black, Lionel Chevrier and Judy LaMarsh.
Born in Chicago in 1866, Martha (Munger) Purdy first travelled to Canada's north during the Klondike gold rush. She returned to the Yukon in 1901 to open a milling business to support herself and her three children from her first marriage. Three years later, she wed George Black, a New Brunswick-born lawyer. While in England with her husband during the First World War, Martha was awarded the Order of British Empire for her efforts in aiding Yukon servicemen, and became a fellow of the Royal Geographical Society for her work with Yukon flora. Following the war, George returned to Conservative politics. In 1921, he was elected as a federal member for the Yukon, and was Speaker of the House of Commons during R.B. Bennett's administration. In 1935, however, ill heath prevented him from seeking re-election. It was at this time that Martha Black would make her way into the Canadian history books - she took her husband's place as the Conservative candidate. At the ripe old age of 70, she campaigned across Yukon, often by foot. When the ballots were cast, Martha became the second woman ever elected to Canada's Parliament. Martha Black died in 1957. In the "Canadian Encyclopaedia", Margaret Carter notes, "Martha Black had style and spirit; northerners appreciated these qualities and made her a legend."
Lionel Chevrier, known as the father of the St. Lawrence Seaway, was born in Cornwall, Ontario and educated as a lawyer at the University of Ottawa. Elected to parliament from Cornwall, Chevrier held that seat from 1935 to 1954. It was then that he was placed in charge of the St. Lawrence Seaway Authority, an organization that would oversee the construction of one of the world's greatest waterways. The completion of this massive project, led by Chevrier, had a major economic impact on Canada and made possible the exploitation of iron-ore deposits in Quebec and Labrador. As well, it enabled cargo of all types to be moved between our industrial heartland and ports overseas. Chevrier was first named to the Canadian Cabinet in 1945 as Transport Minister and in 1957, he return to Parliament. He became Minister of Justice in 1963. In 1964, he went to England as high commissioner, and upon his return in 1967, served as Ambassador and Commissioner General for Visits of State during Centennial celebrations.
Growing up in Chatham and Niagara Falls, LaMarsh was drawn to politics and law and, following wartime service with the Canadian Women's Army Corps, entered the University of Toronto. She attended Osgoode Hall Law School and, in 1950, went into law partnership with her father. Active in the Niagara Falls Liberal organization and president of the Ontario Women's Liberal Association, LaMarsh entered parliament in a 1960 by-election during a period when the Liberals were in opposition. When the Liberals returned to power in 1963, LaMarsh was named Minister of Health and Welfare. In this administration, she introduced the Canada Pension Plan Bill and began work on a national health plan, but was soon named Secretary of State with responsibility for Canada's 1967 centennial celebrations. In this new role, she initiated internal reform in the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and tabled a Broadcasting Act. After resigning in 1968, LaMarsh hit the speaking circuit, hosted a television show and an open-line program, and published a memoir and a novel. She died in 1980 at the age of 55.
Réal Caouette is best remembered for his fiery oratory and his effective use of television. A devout federalist, Caouette strongly opposed the idea of Quebec independence and supported official bilingualism and multiculturalism. He was born Joseph David Réal Caouette in 1917 in Amos, Quebec, a small town in the Abitibi region about 75 km north-east of Rouyn-Noranda. In 1939, Caouette, an automobile dealer, joined the Social Credit Movement. He later became leader of the Quebec-based Social Credit affiliate party, the Créditistes. In this post, he took 26 seats and 26 percent of Quebec's popular vote in the 1962 federal election. Robert Thompson's Social Credit party, allied with Caouette's Créditistes and with a combined total of 30 seats, held the balance of power in a Conservative minority government. In 1963, Caouette broke with Thompson and formed his own party, the Ralliement des créditistes. It had strong support from rural and small-town ridings in Quebec and, in 1970, entered provincial politics under the leadership of Camille Samson, who won 12 seats in Quebec's National Assembly. The party only survived on the provincial scene until 1973 when it was eliminated by a Liberal sweep. The federal Créditistes disappeared in 1980, just four years after Caouette's death.