Born in Manitoba, Speaker Raymonde Gagné has worked in the field of education for over 35 years. Notably, she was President of the Université de Saint-Boniface (USB) from 2003-2014. During this time, she directed the efforts to change the institution’s status from college to university. She also spearheaded a fundraising campaign – the largest in the institution’s history – for the construction of a new health sciences building, to expand research capacity and increase the scholarship and bursary program.
Prior to her tenure as President, she served as Director of New Programs, Director of the Community College and of the Continuing Education Division of USB, as well as Professor in Business Administration.
Prior to her arrival at USB, she worked as a high school teacher, a principal in Manitoba, and as a consultant in regional and industrial expansion in New Brunswick.
Throughout her career, she contributed to numerous organizations and boards within Manitoba and across the country. She served as President of the Association des universités de la francophonie canadienne from 2005-2009, was a member of the Advisory Committee on Official Languages for the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages of Canada from 2007-2009, and was a member of the Board of Directors of the Consortium national de formation en santé, which she co-chaired from 2009-2014.
As President of USB, Senator Gagné was a member of the Council of Presidents of Universities of Manitoba and was elected Chair in 2012. She was also a member of the Senate of the University of Manitoba.
Appointed Senator for Manitoba on April 1, 2016, she became Legislative Deputy to the Government Representative in the Senate (Deputy Leader) in January 2020, a position she held until her appointment as the 46th Speaker of the Senate in the spring of 2023.
She is a member of the Order of Canada, the Order of Manitoba, and a recipient of the Prix Riel.