Pearl Kathryne McGonigal

Click to enlarge

Pearl Kathryne McGonigal
Click to enlarge

Municipal official, Lieutenant-Governor of Manitoba (1981-1986).

Born at Melville, Saskatchewan on 10 June 1929, she worked in banking and merchandising before moving to Winnipeg with her husband in 1963. Elected as a councillor for St. James-Assiniboia in 1969, following its amalgamation into Unicity, she was a member of the Winnipeg city council (1971-1981) and was Deputy Mayor (1979-1981). Active in Liberal politics, she served as Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba (1981-1986), the first woman to hold the position.

She married Marvin Archie McGonigal (1927-1992) and they had a daughter. In recognition of her community service, she was inducted into the Order of Canada (1994) and Order of Manitoba (2000), and she received a Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal (2002), Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal (2012), and Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Medal (2022). She was made an honorary member of the Winnipeg Press Club and received an honorary doctorate from the University of Manitoba (1983).

Sources:

“Wants more women in political arena,” Winnipeg Free Press, 5 April 1969, page 22.

“Marvin McGonigal’s death shocks, perplexes,” Winnipeg Free Press, 10 December 1992, page 20.

Obituary [Marvin Archie McGonigal], Winnipeg Free Press, 12 December 1992, page 62.

This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.

Page revised: 2 September 2024