Canadian veteran actress Monique Mercure passed away on the 17th of May due to throat cancer. She was 89 years old and she died peacefully by the side of her daughter, following a long illness. During her long and prolific career spanning over 60 years, she has had many roles in film, television and theatre. She was one of the country's great actors of the classical and modern repertory. In 1977, Mercure won a Cannes Film Festival Award and a Canadian Film Award for her performance in the drama film JA Martin Photographer. 
 
She studied music and dance, before sampling the theatre in the company of St. Lawrence College. In 1960 she held her first major role in replacing an Actress in The Threepenny Opera. Mercure died on May 17, 2020, at a palliative-care centre in Outremont, Montreal. She was 89, and had been suffering from throat cancer. News of her death was first announced by her daughter Michèle, who was at her bedside. Messages of condolence were conveyed by Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau, Quebec premier François Legault, and Montreal mayor Valérie Plante. Trudeau praised Mercure for how she "helped promote Quebec cinema beyond our borders", adding that "her legacy will live on through her work".