Madeleine Parent – Young Worker’s Rights Advocate and Lifelong Activist

Madeleine Parent was 24 years old in 1942 when she led hundreds of Quebec textile workers on a strike for better wages and working conditions. She spent the next 70 years of her life organizing for workers', women's and Indigenous rights. 

Born in 1918 in Montreal, Parent got her start in activism at school. She was first exposed to social inequality at her convent school, where she witnessed the mis-treatment and poor work conditions of working servant-girls similar to her own age. While attending McGill University, she translated this concern for social inequality into action through her work with the Canadian Student's Assembly. She advocated for institutional change, such as providing scholarships for low-income students. While she was almost expelled for her efforts, her experiences at school would act as a foundation for her later work as a tireless lifelong advocate for the marginalized. 

After graduating from University, Parent began to work as a labour organizer at the large Dominion textile mill in Montreal. Here she witnessed abject conditions where employees, most of whom were women, worked 12-hour days and were paid 18-25 cents an hour. In response to mill owners refusing to recognize demands for better treatment, the workers walked out on strike. 

While workers were able to settle their dispute in Montreal, owners in Valleyfield refused to settle with striking workers. Here, police officers escorted strikebreakers across picket lines at the request of the Province’s Premier, Maurice Duplessis. However, violence erupted after police began firing tear gas canisters at the picket line. Strikers responded by returning fire, using the police’s own tear gas canisters, as well as pieces of pavement they had torn from the ground. Parent led the strike settlement, after her co-organizer was jailed after being held responsible for the outbreak of violence. These talks resulted in mill owners agreeing to an employee vote for union representation, which passed and led to the unionization of the company’s plants. The Dominion Textile Mill strike stands as the first of countless strikes Parent would lead in her lifetime. It demonstrated her social justice commitment that would define her activism in the coming decades. 

Madeleine Parent challenged authority, ideas and people in power. This took courage. Those she challenged found it convenient to discredit her by painting her with a red brush, despite her claims that she was not, nor ever was a communist. In 1948 she was charged with seditious conspiracy at the request of Quebec Premier Duplessis, accused of intending to overthrow the government. Madeleine Parent was acquitted, after the clerk in charge of the case died, and nobody could read his handwritten notes. (Apparently, there could be some upsides to life before computers.) 

Madeleine Parent continued organizing workers and other social justice causes for the rest of her long life. Parent stood up for what was right, not what was popular, and while she faced criticism at times, her commitment to her ideals would stand the test of time and cement her legacy as a determined, forward-thinking, widely honoured activist. 

Parent’s impact extended beyond her extensive union work. Her advocacy as a labour organizer was fundamentally connected to her feminist and anti-racist activism. As a co-founder and 8-year representative on the National Action Committee on the Status of Women (NAC), Parent pushed for reproductive rights and pay equity. Parent also recognized the unique struggles that women who were Indigenous, immigrants, and persons of colour experienced in the workplace and advocated for labour organizations to fight for their rights. She also used her position on the NAC to support Mary Two-Axe and her advocacy for the marriage rights of Indigenous women. As a result, Parent managed to bridge the gap between women’s, Indigenous and minority rights, with labour issues and, through her efforts, helped build a more equitable landscape on the job and across Canadian society. Appropriately, among the honours bestowed on her, is the naming of the large, expansive Madeleine Parent Bridge near Montreal. 

Madeleine Parent was ahead of her times, and she created better times for us. Ideas that had seemed radical in her day, such as unionization, pay equity and Indigenous rights, became far more widely accepted. Many honours and recognitions came her way. She received eight University honorary degrees, including from McGill, where she had caused so much controversy as a student. She was the subject of a film documentary, its French title translated as: Weaver of Solidarity. Former Prime Minister Jean Chrétien would refer to her as ‘my hero’. While overdue, she never took her belated honours as a reason to relax her efforts and would spend the rest of her life fighting for the marginalized. 

Madeleine Parent continued her advocacy until her passing in 2012. She stands as an inspiration to workers of all ages and shows through her passion and resolve that you are never too young or too early in your career to make a meaningful difference. Her commitment to the many intersections of marginalized existence shows that while before their time, these ideas are not new. Marginalized people and the unique ways they are exploited while on the job are a fundamental part of the labour movement. Parent’s work and advocacy with these groups is an integral part of her legacy and the fight for Women's, immigrant, and Indigenous rights in Canada. Parent’s activism demonstrates the power of commitment, organizing, and a willingness to question the status quo. Her tireless campaigning leaves an impressive legacy in Canadian and global labour history. 

Additional Resources

Videos and recordings: 

In 2002 a biographical documentary of Madeleine Parent’s was created by Sophie Bissonnette (external link)  titled Madeleine Parent, Tisserande De Solidarités (Weaver of Solidarity). At the link below you can watch the film (in French) and read thoughts from the director and others on Parent’s life and achievements. 

Madeleine Parent, solidarity weaver (cinematheque.qc.ca) (external link) 

This controversial documentary, Cotton Mill Treadmill, released in 1976, looks at the Quebec textile industry and the people who worked in it.

Cotton Mill, Treadmill / On est au coton - ENGLISH SUBS - YouTube (external link) 

Listen to an interview between Parent and the CBC from 1978 about surveillance cameras in knitting factories.

Madeleine Parent discusses Puretex strike | CBC.ca (external link) 

Further Readings: 

Released in 2003, Madeleine Parent, Activist, is a biography goes into detail on Parents many achievements.

Read | Scholars Portal Books (ryerson.ca)

The Confederation of Canadian Union, an organization Parent founded, wrote a spotlight when she passed. 

Confederation of Canadian Unions - Madeleine Parent (ccu-csc.ca) (external link) 

This Globe and Mail article celebrates Parent’s life, and goes into more detail on her charges of seditious conspiracy. 

Activist convicted of sedition for organizing under Duplessis: An early victory was the first collective agreement of the International Ladies Garment Workers Union - ProQuest (external link)