Radio career

A longtime host of CBC Radio

CBC Radio

CBC Radio generally refers to the English-language radio operations of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. The CBC operates a number of radio networks serving different audiences and programming niches, all of which are outlined below.-English:CBC Radio operates three English language...

's Radio Noon

Radio Noon

Radio Noon is the name of CBC Radio One's regional noon-hour programs in the Canadian provinces of Manitoba, Quebec and Newfoundland and Labrador...

, a daily current affairs and phone-in program in Quebec

Quebec

Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....

, she left to run in 2008. She also hosted Home Run

CBC Radio One local programming

Stations in Canada's CBC Radio One network each produce some local programming in addition to the network schedule.The amount of local programming may vary from station to station. For instance, some stations in smaller markets may produce their own morning show, but air an afternoon show from...

in Montreal

Montreal

Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...

, and was producer of C'est la Vie

C'est La Vie (radio)

C'est la vie is a Canadian English language radio program about Francophone Canadian life, language and culture. First aired in 1998, the program is currently heard on CBC Radio One at 7:30 on Sunday evening and repeated at 11:30 Tuesday morning....

. She was a news reporter, arts reporter, press reviewer, and has guest hosted Cross Country Checkup

Cross Country Checkup

Cross Country Checkup is a Canada-wide open-line radio show that airs Sunday afternoons on CBC Radio One.Every week, host Rex Murphy presides over a lively discussion on an issue of national interest or importance and invites listeners to call in with their opinions and thoughts. The topics are...

and As It Happens

As It Happens

As It Happens is a long-running interview show on CBC Radio One in Canada. Its 40th anniversary was celebrated on-air on 18 November 2008. It has been one of the most popular and acclaimed shows on CBC Radio; it is also distributed in the United States by Public Radio International.The bulk of the...

, where she was also a producer. She has been a frequent guest in the francophone media, where she was a juror on the Radio Canada version of Canada Reads

Canada Reads

Canada Reads is an annual "battle of the books" competition organized and broadcast by Canada's public broadcaster, the CBC.-Overview:During Canada Reads, five personalities champion five different books, each champion extolling the merits of one of the titles. The debate is broadcast over a series...

, entitled Le Combat des livres, where she championed Mordecai Richler

Mordecai Richler

Mordecai Richler, CC was a Canadian Jewish author, screenwriter and essayist. A leading critic called him "the great shining star of his Canadian literary generation" and a pivotal figure in the country's history. His best known works are The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz, Barney's Version,...

's Barney's Version. She was a daily presence on the Radio-Canada radio programme "Sans Preliminaires" with Franco Nuovo. She is a member of a weekly politics panel on Radio-Canada's flag ship television newscast "Le Telejournal" with Jean-Francois Lisee, Liza Frulla and Tasha Kheiriddin, hosted by Celine Galipeau.

She was the first ever anglo spokesperson for the Festival International du Film sur l'Art in Montreal-the biggest festival of films on art in the world.

From September 2009 to August 2011, she hosted a Saturday afternoon show on CJAD-AM in Montreal. She now participates in the Tommy Schnurmacher Show as a member of the Gang of Four, and does a weekly column on politics on the drive show with Aaron Rand.

Her column about anglo Quebec is entitled "Bloke Nation" and appears in the entertainment weekly Hour Community.
http://hour.ca/section/columns/bloke-nation/

Political career

She was the New Democratic Party

New Democratic Party

The New Democratic Party , commonly referred to as the NDP, is a federal social-democratic political party in Canada. The interim leader of the NDP is Nycole Turmel who was appointed to the position due to the illness of Jack Layton, who died on August 22, 2011. The provincial wings of the NDP in...

 candidate in the 2008 Canadian federal election in Westmount—Ville-Marie

Westmount—Ville-Marie

Westmount—Ville-Marie is a federal electoral district in Quebec, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1997. Its population in 2001 was 97,226.-Geography:...

, coming second to Liberal Marc Garneau

Marc Garneau

Joseph Jean-Pierre Marc Garneau, CC CD FCASI MP is a Canadian retired military officer, former astronaut, engineer and politician.Garneau was the first Canadian in space taking part in three flights aboard NASA Space shuttles...

. She had originally been the party's candidate in a by-election in Westmount—Ville Marie, which was superseded by the general election call.

She was endorsed by Cory Doctorow

Cory Doctorow

Cory Efram Doctorow is a Canadian-British blogger, journalist, and science fiction author who serves as co-editor of the blog Boing Boing. He is an activist in favour of liberalising copyright laws and a proponent of the Creative Commons organization, using some of their licences for his books...

 of Boing Boing

Boing Boing

Boing Boing is a publishing entity, first established as a magazine, later becoming a group blog.-History:...

, McGill University

McGill University

Mohammed Fathy is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university bears the name of James McGill, a prominent Montreal merchant from Glasgow, Scotland, whose bequest formed the beginning of the university...

 academics Charles Taylor

Charles Taylor (philosopher)

Charles Margrave Taylor, is a Canadian philosopher from Montreal, Quebec best known for his contributions in political philosophy, the philosophy of social science, and in the history of philosophy. His contributions to these fields have earned him both the prestigious Kyoto Prize and the...

 and Desmond Morton

Desmond Morton

Desmond Morton may refer to:*Desmond Morton , British military officer and government official* Desmond Morton , Canadian historian...

, human rights lawyer Julius Grey

Julius Grey

Julius H. Grey is a Canadian lawyer and university professor. He is particularly known for his ability to use the media.Born in Wrocław, Poland, he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1971, a Bachelor of Civil Law degree in 1971, and a Master of Arts degree in 1973 from McGill University. Grey...

 and the former mayor of Westmount, May Cutler.

Education

She holds a Masters degree in Canadian studies, and champions culture, especially literacy and books. She has played moderator at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts

Montreal Museum of Fine Arts

The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts is a major museum in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1860, making it Canada's oldest art institution, it moved to its current location in 1912 thanks to a large donation from businessman James Ross....

 to writers ranging from Salman Rushdie to John Ralston Saul

John Ralston Saul

John Ralston Saul, CC is a Canadian author, essayist, and President of International PEN.As an essayist, Saul is particularly known for his commentaries on the nature of individualism, citizenship and the public good; the failures of manager-, or more precisely technocrat-, led societies; the...

. Invited by the Governor General, she hosted events at Rideau Hall

Rideau Hall

Rideau Hall is, since 1867, the official residence in Ottawa of both the Canadian monarch and the Governor General of Canada. It stands in Canada's capital on a 0.36 km2 estate at 1 Sussex Drive, with the main building consisting of 170 rooms across 9,500 m2 , and 24 outbuildings around the...

, most recently three national panel debates on the arts.

Personal life

Lagacé Dowson is married to Brian McKenna

Brian McKenna

Brian McKenna is an award winning Canadian documentary filmmaker.He has been a frequent collaborator with his brother Terence McKenna, also an award winning filmmaker, in particular on The Valour and the Horror, a film about strategic bombing during World War 2.-References:...

, an independent documentary filmmaker.

Fluently bilingual, she is the daughter of trade unionist Hugh Dowson of Toronto and Quebec City's Claire Lagacé. Claire Lagace studied with the Ursulines alongside leading Quebec author Anne Hebert, from which she derives her name.

Her great uncle Edouard Blondin was a Conservative Minister in Prime Minister Robert Borden's government, and went on to become Speaker of the Senate. Her uncle Ross Dowson ran for Mayor of Toronto after the war on a very left wing platform.

Her aunts Lois and Joyce Dowson co-founded the Canadian Hemophilia Society in the 1950s when Joyce, married to sculptor Joe Rosenthal, discovered that their son, Ronald Rosenthal, had hemophilia. Lois and Joyce were also leading pro choice activists, and supporters of Dr Henry Morgentaler

Henry Morgentaler

Henry Morgentaler, CM is a Canadian physician and prominent pro-choice advocate who has fought numerous legal battles for that cause.-Early life:...

.