Laure Waridel

Laure Waridel was born in Switzerland, in the village of Chesalles-sur-Oron just north of Lake Geneva in the Canton of Vaud. She has three sisters and a brother. When she was two, their new home was a dairy farm in Mont-Saint-Grégoire, Quebec, in the Montérégie region. It was not long before Laure became aware of the shift towards industrial farming methods and the vulnerability of farm producers. As a young girl, she worked at a local organic farm, the Cadet Roussel farm in Mont-Saint-Grégoire, Quebec. She lives in Montreal and is the mother of two children, Colin and Alphée; Alphée was the subject of a 2012 documentary film, Alphée of the Stars (Alphée des étoiles), by her father and Waridel's then-spouse Hugo Latulippe. Waridel is now married to Bruce Johnston.

In 2012, she was made a member of the Order of Canada "for her contributions as a writer, commentator and social activist on environmental issues, notably as co-founder of Équiterre". In 2016, she was made a Knight of the National Order of Quebec.

Waridel defended Gil Courtemanche's novel Un dimanche à la piscine à Kigali in the French version of Canada Reads, broadcast on Radio-Canada in 2004. This novel eventually won the competition.

In 2002, she was named by Maclean's Magazine as one of 25 Canadian personalities who are making a difference.

After the Earth Summit (1992) in Rio, Waridel became one of the founders of Équiterre, a non-profit organisation based in Montreal and dedicated to promoting ecological and socially responsible choices through action, education and research. It focuses on four issues: fair trade, ecological agriculture, energy efficiency, sustainable transportation, energy conservation, and ecological and socially just choices.

From 1990 to 1992, Waridel studied social sciences at the Cégep Lionel-Groulx. Subsequently, she earned a degree in sociology and international development from McGill University. She completed her university studies with a communications certificate from the Université du Québec à Montréal and a Master's degree in law and environmental studies from the University of Victoria in British Columbia. Waridel earned a doctorate degree at the Geneva-based Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies.

Laure Waridel, CM (born January 10, 1973) is a social activist, a writer, an environmentalist, and a radio and TV commentator.