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Claire Kirkland-Casgrain, the first woman elected to Quebec’s legislature and a pioneer in the women’s movement, has died at the age of 91.

Born Marie-Claire Kirkland on Sept. 8, 1924 in Palmer, Mass., she got a law degree from McGill University and worked as a lawyer in Montreal as of 1952. The daughter of a member of the assembly, she was an activist within the Quebec Liberal Party in different roles, notably as head of the Fédération des femmes libérales du Québec.

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In 1961, her father, Liberal legislator Charles-Aimé Kirkland, who had served since 1939, died suddenly. Even though no woman had ever served on the assembly in Quebec, she offered her services to finish his mandate. On Dec. 14, 1961, at age 37, she was elected with a strong majority. She was re-elected in the Jacques-Cartier riding in the 1962 general election, and then in the Marguerite-Bourgeoys riding in 1966 and 1970.

In the Jean Lesage government, she was named a minister without a portfolio within a year of being elected. Later, under Lesage and Robert Bourassa, she headed different ministries: transport and communications, tourism, hunting and fishing, and cultural affairs.