Zoé Laurier

Zoé, Lady Laurier ( Lafontaine; June 26, 1841 – November 1, 1921), was the wife of Sir Wilfrid Laurier, the seventh Prime Minister of Canada.

Biography

Madame Zoë Laurier, April 1878. By William James Topley in Ottawa.

Zoé Lafontaine was born on 27 June 1841 to Godefroy-Napoleon Robert Lafontaine and Zoé Tessier dite Lavigne in Montreal. She was baptized on 28 June at the Notre-Dame Basilica.

In Montreal, Lafontaine was educated at the School of the Bon Pasteur, and at the Convent of the Sisters of the Sacred Heart, St. Vincent de Paul. She was one of the vice presidents on the formation of the National Council of Women of Canada and was honorary vice president of the Victorian Order of Nurses.

In 1861, Lafontaine first met her future husband, Sir Wilfrid Laurier, at the home of Dr. Séraphin Gauthier, where both were boarding. During this time she was a piano teacher to Gauthier's children.

On May 13, 1868, the two were married in the Saint-Jacques Cathedral.

Legacy

Graham-Laurier Provincial Park, in British Columbia, has a lake named 'Lady Laurier Lake' and a mountain named 'Lady Laurier Mountain', which is the highest peak in the park. In 1985, a lounge in the Château Laurier was named in her honour. The lounge overlooks Rideau Street. , a Canadian Coast Guard ship was christened after her. The ship operated between 1902 and 1960. DuVillage, a specialty cheesemaker, has a soft cheese called "Lady Laurier d'Arthabaska".