Fergusson, Honorable Muriel McQueen (1899–1997)

Canadian lawyer and politician who was the first woman speaker of the Senate of Canada. From her appointment to the Senate in 1953 to her appointment as speaker in 1972, Fergusson served on various Senate committees concerned with the rights of women. Previously, she was the first woman elected to the Fredericton City Council in New Brunswick, and was the first woman deputy mayor of that city until she entered the Senate.

McQueen Fergusson was born in New Brunswick. She graduated from Mount Allison University in 1921. Fergusson went on to study law at Dalhouise University and, against her mother's wishes, articled in her father's law office; she was admitted to the bar in 1925. After her husband's death in 1942, she took over the running of the firm. Her career in politics began with her application for regional director of the family allowance programme, which was rejected because she was a woman. However, she continued to challenge the status quo and later became the first director of the family allowance and old age security programmes in New Brunswick.

She retired from the Senate in 1975 at the age of 75 and died in Fredericton, New Brunswick on 11 April 1997.