Lois Miriam Wilson

Who is Lois Miriam Wilson?

The Very Reverend The Honourable Lois Miriam Wilson, CC OOnt was the first female Moderator of the United Church of Canada, from 1980 to 1982. She was ordained a United Church minister in 1965 after a period of being a homemaker and mother, her husband having previously been ordained a United Church minister, and served in Winnipeg, Thunder Bay, Kingston, Ontario and Hamilton, Ontario. From 1983 to 1989 she served as co-director of the Ecumenical Forum of Canada and also served as a co-president of the World Council of Churches. A close friend of the noted Canadian novelist Margaret Laurence, she participated in several public forums with Laurence and presided at Laurence's 1986 funeral.

Wilson was active in the Student Christian Movement of Canada, as Student President in Manitoba and on the national level, and continues to be active in the World Student Christian Federation today.

A Companion of the Order of Canada, she was the 1985 recipient of the Pearson Medal of Peace. She is also a member of the Order of Ontario and a director of the Canadian Civil Liberties Association.

In 1998 she was appointed to the Canadian Senate upon the recommendation of Jean Chrétien. She served in the chamber as an Independent until her retirement in 2002.