Name Zoe Laurier | Spouse Wilfrid Laurier (m. 1868) | |
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Known for Wife of Sir Wilfrid Laurier Died November 1, 1921, Ottawa, Canada | ||
Zoé Laurier, Lady Laurier (née Lafontaine; June 26, 1841 – November 1, 1921) was the wife of Sir Wilfrid Laurier, the seventh Prime Minister of Canada.
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Biography
Zoé Lafontaine was born on 27 June 1841 to Godefroy-Napoleon Robert and Zoé Lavigne in Montreal. Lafontaine 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 served as one of the vice presidents on the formation of the National Council of Women 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 August 13, 1868, the two were married in the cathedral of Saint-Jacques. The couple lived at Arthabaskaville until they moved to Ottawa in 1896. Ultimately, their union was childless, to Laurier's dismay. In 1874, Laurier began an affair with Émilie Barthe, who potentially begot him a son, Armand Lavergne. The affair continued until 1897, where it had to be broken off for political reasons.
Lafontaine served as one of the vice presidents on the formation of the National Council of Women and was honorary vice president of the Victorian Order of Nurses.
On 17 February 1919, Laurier died. Lafontaine would outlive her husband by nearly two years. She died in Ottawa on 1 November 1921 at the age of 80.
Her will bequeathed her Ottawa home to William Lyon Mackenzie King.