Former Liberal senator Joyce Fairbairn has died at the age of 82.
She began her career as a journalist working in the parliamentary press gallery before entering the political realm, becoming an adviser to then-prime minister Pierre Trudeau.
During her nearly three decades in the upper chamber, Fairbairn was the first woman named government leader in the Senate.
Read more: Senator Joyce Fairbairn resigns
She retired from the Senate in 2013.
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Fairbairn was also a well-known supporter of the Canadian Paralympic Committee and was inducted into the Canadian Paralympic Hall of Fame as a builder in 2011.
In 2000, she helped found and became chair of the Canadian Paralympic Foundation, an organization that aims to ensure long-term financial support for athletes.
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