Michèle Audette

Senator

Senate of Canada

Born to a Quebec father and an Innu mother, Michèle Audette, a mother of five, became involved in the fight against discrimination of Aboriginal women early in her life. At the age of 27, she became President of the Association des femmes autochtones du Québec. Subsequently, she held the position of Deputy Minister in charge of the Secrétariat à la condition féminine du Québec. From 2012 to 2014, she chaired the Native Women's Association of Canada. In 2016, she was appointed Commissioner for the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls.

Michèle Audette has made outstanding contributions to the rights of Aboriginal women in Canada. Through her political and social commitment, she has played a key role since the 1990s in transforming the relationship between Aboriginal peoples and the Eurodescendant society in Quebec and Canada, particularly by giving visibility to political and social issues affecting Aboriginal women. She has and continues to successfully advocate for changes in provincial and federal policies to fight discrimination, violence against Aboriginal women and social inequities.

To highlight the importance of her commitment to the causes of Aboriginal women, her major role in mobilizing for a national commission of inquiry into missing and murdered Aboriginal women and her tireless work for women reconciliation between peoples, the Université de Montréal awarded Michèle Audette with an honorary doctorate in August 2018.

Photograph of Ms. Audette by Marc-André Lapierre.

Presenting at the following sessions

October 03, 2022 12:15pm

Keynote Address

We are honoured to welcome Senator Michèle Audette to the 2022 CRKN Conference as keynote speaker. Join us for a discussion of her involvement in the fight against the discrimination of Indigenous women and how she is supporting their needs and voices, as well as how she has worked to create educational opportunities for Indigenous youth in Canada, and promote reconciliation.