Aline Chrétien (born
May 14, 1936 in
Saint-Boniface-de-Shawinigan, Quebec) is the wife of Canada's twentieth
Prime Minister, Jean Chrétien.
Born
Aline Chaîné, she married lawyer Jean Chrétien on
September 10, 1957. They have two sons and one daughter:
*
France Chrétien Desmarais
*
Hubert Chrétien
*
Michel Chrétien
Fluent in Italian, Spanish, English, and French, Aline Chrétien has been active in a number of charitable organizations over the years since her husband was first elected to the
Canadian House of Commons in 1963. In addition to her keen interest in languages, Madame Chrétien took piano courses during her 50s, and has become an advocate for
Toronto's Royal Conservatory of Music.
On
November 5, 1995, an intruder,
André Dallaire, broke into the Prime Minister's residence at
24 Sussex Drive, in
Ottawa, Ontario. Awake next to her sleeping husband, Aline Chrétien confronted the intruder at their bedroom door. Seeing that he was armed with a large knife, she slammed the door and locked it, then woke her husband.
Her husband sought out her advice often.
Maclean's magazine in 1996 listed her first among his most influential advisors, saying "Never mind calling her the
power behind the throne--she shares the seat of power." In 2000,
Allan Fotheringham in the same magazine described Jean and Aline Chretien as the two "most powerful" politicians in Canada, above
Eddie Goldenberg and
Jean Pelletier.
Jean Chretien has publicly stated that she is his key advisor. He once joked that Canada is run exclusively by women: The
Chief Justice of the
Supreme Court of Canada and the
Governor General of Canada were both women and Madame Chrétien was pulling the strings of the Prime Minister. He made similar jokes often, once telling a reporter that he did not know when the next election would be because he had not yet asked Aline. The Prime Minister also joked about this when he met with U.S. President
George W. Bush for a border summit two days before the first ever
America Remembers, meaning the first anniversary of
9/11.
In her role as the prime minister's spouse, she went to the memorial of the victim of the
W. R. Myers High School shooting in 1999, along with
Alberta Premier Ralph Klein, Opposition Leader
Preston Manning, and the
Attorney General of Canada Anne McLellan. She and her husband have also lauded
Operation Yellow Ribbon, saying that it was one of the ways how Canada responded to 9/11.
See also:
Spouses of the Prime Ministers of Canada. 
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