Aline Desjardins, Quebec Broadcaster Who Championed Women’s Issues, Dies at 92
Aline Desjardins, the Quebec journalist and broadcaster who hosted Radio-Canada's Femme d'aujourd'hui for 13 years, died Friday in Montreal at 92. She later co-hosted the popular Avis de recherche and won the René-Lévesque prize in journalism in 2024.
Aline Desjardins, the Quebec journalist and television host who brought women's issues to Radio-Canada audiences, died Friday, November 13, 2026, in Montreal at age 92.
She died of an illness that worsened a few weeks ago. She passed away peacefully, surrounded by loved ones.
Desjardins was a leading name in Quebec media. She hosted Femme d'aujourd'hui on Radio-Canada television for 13 years, in the 1960s and 1970s. The program covered feminist subjects in the news.
She later fronted public affairs programs, including Repères, La Semaine verte and Un soleil à l'autre. In the 1980s she moved into entertainment, co-hosting the hugely popular Avis de recherche with Gaston L'Heureux.
The show reunited each week's guest with people from their past. It relied on surprise and strong emotion.
Hélène Mailloux worked as a researcher on the program and became Desjardins's close friend. She also handled her professional affairs at the agency Premier rôle.
Mailloux said the show came long before Facebook, so tracking down old classmates took real investigative work. She described her friend as a free woman who loved life and good living. Mailloux said Desjardins wanted to defend women's rights and did so constantly.
Last year Radio-Canada made a video to mark the 50th anniversary of the Année internationale des femmes. In it, Desjardins looked back at the impact of Femme d'aujourd'hui.
She recalled that some men at the time accused her of "debauching" women by encouraging them to work outside the home. She regretted that some topics from the 1960s, abortion in particular, were still current. She also voiced concern about masculinist movements.
In 2024, the Quebec government awarded her the René-Lévesque prize in journalism. That same year she was named an officer of the Ordre national du Québec.
François Legault, premier at the time of the tribute, called her a leading figure for the cause of women in the media. He said she had broken many taboos. He added that she gave women a voice when public space and the media were very male-dominated.
Her journalism career spanned more than four decades.
